SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.
DATA ENGINEER (STARSHIP)
The Starship Supply Chain team is building the machine that builds the machine. We are engineering a supply chain to feed Starfactory and support thousands of Starship launches per year. Our team spans planning, procurement, supplier development, quality, material flow, and inventory.
At the heart of this effort is the Data and Operations Engineering team. We build data pipelines, improve processes, and develop tools and automation that inform, accelerate, and focus the organization.
Aerospace experience is not required to succeed here. Instead, we look for smart, motivated, and collaborative engineers who love solving problems and want to make a meaningful impact on an inspiring mission. You will own challenging problems end-to-end, working alongside a team of enthusiastic engineers to design and deliver solutions that help SpaceX move toward its goals at a rapid pace.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Be the extreme owner of automations, applications, and data pipelines
- Own projects throughout their entire lifecycle: problem identification, solution ideation, architecting, implementation, adoption, monitoring, and iteration
- Query, clean, and transform data to inform and focus all levels of supply chain—from individual contributors to senior executives.
- Collaborate with central software teams on a shared vision for the software ecosystem, project requirements, roadmaps, and implementation details.
- Develop, standardize, and continuously improve key process indicators and other operational metrics
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, data science, engineering, math, physics, or scientific discipline; OR 2+ years of professional experience building software or data pipelines in lieu of a degree
- 1+ years of experience doing data engineering, data science, full stack development, or software engineering via project team, research, internships, and/or professional experience
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Experience managing UNIX-like operating systems via the command line
- Strong proficiency with SQL and experience designing and querying relational databases
- Experience building and maintaining data pipelines and ETL processes
- Experience with data orchestration tools (e.g., Airflow, Prefect, or dbt)
- Programming experience in Python, C#, or similar languages
- Experience with data analysis and machine learning libraries such as Pandas, NumPy, and PyTorch
- Experience with data visualization and business intelligence tools (e.g., Power BI, Grafana, Metabase, or Tableau)
- Experience developing web apps, dashboards, or self-service platforms for non-technical stakeholders
- Experience with version control (Git), CI/CD, testing, and monitoring
- Strong understanding of data quality, statistical analysis, and data visualization best practices
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Must be able to work extended hours and/or weekends as needed to meet major milestones
- Must be able to travel - up to 10% work week travel may be required to other sites
- This position is based in Starbase, TX and requires being onsite - remote work not considered
ITAR REQUIREMENTS:
- To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to [email protected].
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, data science, engineering, math, physics, or scientific discipline
- 2+ years of professional experience building software or data pipelines in lieu of a degree
- 1+ years of experience doing data engineering, data science, full stack development, or software engineering
SpaceX Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about SpaceX and has not been reviewed or approved by SpaceX.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity grants are a core part of total compensation, with periodic company-run tender offers that create liquidity before any public listing. These mechanisms can make the equity component feel materially valuable in practice.
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Healthcare Strength — The package includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, with on-site clinics and health resources at major sites. This breadth of coverage is presented as a strong element of the offering.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Major locations feature on-site amenities such as fitness facilities, food/coffee, clinics, and other conveniences. These lifestyle perks enhance day-to-day value alongside cash and equity.
SpaceX Insights
What We Do
SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches the world’s most advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk to revolutionize space transportation, with the ultimate goal of making life multiplanetary. SpaceX has gained worldwide attention for a series of historic milestones. It is the only private company ever to return a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit, which it first accomplished in December 2010. The company made history again in May 2012 when its Dragon spacecraft attached to the International Space Station, exchanged cargo payloads, and returned safely to Earth — a technically challenging feat previously accomplished only by governments. Since then Dragon has delivered cargo to and from the space station multiple times, providing regular cargo resupply missions for NASA.
