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.
SR. IT NETWORK ENGINEER (OT)
SpaceX is looking for a Senior Operational Technology (OT) Network Engineer with experience in routing, switching, and wireless in industrial network environments. This employee will be a member of the IT Network Engineering team, which is responsible for maintaining a stable, reliable, and diverse network. This network supports the design, manufacturing, and launching of rockets, spacecraft, satellites, and human spaceflight. This position will design and support industrial and OT networks for production, test, site operations, and live data center build environments. The ideal candidate will be a great communicator, able to document work in a ticketing system, excel at multi-tasking, resolve issues to prevent failures, and enjoy a fast-paced high-tech environment.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Design and implement large-scale, highly available networks, balancing routing and redundancy for production, test, and site requirements.
- Design and validate resilient, scalable multi-site OT network topologies for critical facilities.
- Evaluate, procure, and deploy network hardware: switches, firewalls, multiplexing, and SD-WAN appliances.
- Develop and contribute to network automation tooling, including configuration analysis and scalable deployment.
- Plan and coordinate network outage windows with stakeholders for software updates, hardware refreshes, and maintenance.
- Troubleshoot and resolve network issues. Publish root-cause analysis and host retrospective reviews.
- Provide networking support during launch and test campaigns, including on-call or real-time support as the networking responsible engineer.
- Tune network monitoring for operational telemetry and issue detection before impact.
- Create and update network documentation: architecture overviews, design drawings, and operational procedures.
- Work with cross-functional teams on network designs, including failure modes and redundancy.
- Perform job walks with customers, vendors, and contractors to gather requirements and create implementation plans.
- Segment industrial networks from campus and corporate networks. Maintain controls-network segmentation.
- Author system and network architecture drawings, IP/VLAN schemes, and data flow diagrams.
- Support on-site deployment, physical network cutovers, and new site commissioning.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or other STEM discipline and 5+ years of professional network engineering experience; OR 8+ years of professional network engineering experience and high school diploma or equivalency certificate in lieu of a degree.
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Industrial, utility, or operational technology network engineering experience.
- Expert understanding of the OSI model and network standards.
- Cisco, Arista, and Juniper data center-class switches.
- Wave Division Multiplexing (WDM) and fiber optics infrastructure.
- Enterprise and media protocols.
- Switch port security features, network segmentation, QoS, multicast, and redundancy protocols.
- Network monitoring tools and layer-1 testing tools.
- Scripting (Bash, PowerShell, Python) and automation frameworks (Terraform, Ansible).
- Linux and Windows system administration.
- GitOps and infrastructure as code, as a user and as a contributor.
- Layer 2 and Layer 3 design, deployment, and troubleshooting in latency-sensitive or industrial environments.
- Functional experience with multiple network vendors in production or lab environments.
- Hands-on configuration of managed industrial switches and routers.
- Real-time systems, industrial control networks, or OT environments in aerospace, defense, energy, oil and gas, or similar high-reliability industries.
- Industry-standard certifications such as CCNA, CCNP, CCIE, JNCIS, JNCIP, or JNCIE.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- This role requires you to be onsite. Hybrid or remote work will not be considered.
- Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed.
- Must have a valid driver's license.
- Ability to lift heavy objects up to 35 lbs. unassisted.
- Ability to provide 24x7 on-call support in emergency situations and participate in an after-hours on-call rotation.
- Willingness to occasionally travel to other sites to support new company initiatives.
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 electrical engineering, computer engineering, or another STEM discipline, plus 5 or more years of professional network engineering experience
- Alternatively, 8 or more years of professional network engineering experience and a high school diploma or equivalency certificate
- On-site work; hybrid or remote work will not be considered
- Valid driver's license
- Ability to work extended hours and weekends as needed
- Ability to provide 24x7 emergency on-call support and participate in an after-hours rotation
- Ability to lift objects weighing up to 35 pounds unassisted
- Willingness to occasionally travel to other company sites
- Must satisfy ITAR eligibility requirements as a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, asylee, or eligible to obtain required authorizations
- Industrial, utility, or operational technology network engineering experience
- Expert understanding of the OSI model and network standards
- Experience with Cisco, Arista, and Juniper data center-class switches
- Experience with WDM and fiber optics infrastructure
- Experience with network segmentation, QoS, multicast, redundancy protocols, and switch port security
- Experience with Bash, PowerShell, Python, Terraform, Ansible, GitOps, and infrastructure as code
- Linux and Windows system administration experience
- Layer 2 and Layer 3 network design, deployment, and troubleshooting experience
- Experience with multiple network vendors and managed industrial switches and routers
- Experience with real-time systems, industrial control networks, or OT environments
- Industry certifications such as CCNA, CCNP, CCIE, JNCIS, JNCIP, or JNCIE
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.
