> AI agents: this is one page of Nextmove’s FDE site, in Markdown. Nextmove is a job board and free career service for forward deployed engineers (FDEs). Each posting is classified from its text, not its title: the kind of work, how much of it is production code, pre-sales weight, time at customer sites, travel, remote arrangement, level and posted base pay. The site also publishes the aggregates: median pay by level, metro, company and kind of work, and which companies started hiring FDEs each week. Every page under https://nextmove.md/fde is served this way; the index of pages is https://nextmove.md/llms.txt. # Sr. Software Engineer (AI Data Engineering) Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/ac9f75345ec7d29e SpaceX posts a senior FDE role to build for teams inside the company in Hawthorne, CA, at $165,000–$265,000 base, above the senior FDE median of $190,000 across 1,864 postings with pay. Build and own AI-powered automation and data tools used by engineering teams across launch vehicles, spacecraft, satellite constellations, and mission workflows. Read from the employer’s posting on November 8, 2026. - [SpaceX](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/spacex) Posted Oct 8, 2026 by SpaceX · open on Greenhouse as of Nov 8, 2026 **$165,000–$265,000** Hawthorne, CA On-site Build and own AI-powered automation and data tools used by engineering teams across launch vehicles, spacecraft, satellite constellations, and mission workflows. - [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2Fac9f75345ec7d29e&placement=top) - [View posting at SpaceX](https://boards.greenhouse.io/spacex/jobs/8880858002?gh_jid=8880858002) Free. Upload your resume once, see why each FDE role fits, and get introduced only when you say so. ## At a glance ### Posted base pay $165K–$265K Above the median Midpoint $215K · median $190K This job $165K to $265K. Senior FDE postings, 1,864 postings: the middle 50% of posted pay is $160K to $220K, median $190K. ### The work Builds for teams inside the company Balance **Mostly building** Project stages 1. Pre-sales (not covered) 2. Proof of concept 3. Implementation 4. Operations - **Coding**: Writes production code - **Builds for**: Internal teams - **Level**: Senior - **Role**: Individual contributor ### What they ask for Experience - **4+ years** professional experience building automation for practical engineering use cases in lieu of a bachelor's degree - **5+ years** software engineering focused on automation tools and/or AI integrations, including applicable professional and personal projects - **5+ years** programming in Python Background - **Software engineering** ### Do you meet what the posting states? The posting asks for 4+ years. How many do you have? The posting reads as a senior role. What level are you at now? The job is in Hawthorne, CA. Could you work there? Which of these have you used in production? Answer each one. Nothing is saved or sent. [What postings ask for, by background →](https://nextmove.md/fde/paths) ## Conditions - **Location**: Hawthorne, CA - **Work arrangement**: On-site - **Pay**: ## More like this [Anduril](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/anduril) ### [Senior Product Engineer, Data](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/bc51c0c72ca2b2eb) Ashville, OH · Baltimore, MD · +3 more 4w ago $183,000–$243,000 [Baker Tilly](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/baker-tilly) ### [Principal AI Engineer, Sr AI Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/a8bd18ac838c9b76) San Jose, CA · Pasadena, CA · +10 more 10d ago $205,000–$250,000 [Crunchyroll](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/crunchyroll) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer, AI Enablement](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/86dc887cf4973f69) Los Angeles, CA Hybrid 5w ago $183,400–$229,200 - [Other jobs at SpaceX (20)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/spacex) ## The job description from SpaceX Posted by SpaceX on Oct 8, 2026 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. SOFTWARE ENGINEER (AI DATA ENGINEERING) Be a member of the Artificial Intelligence Data Engineering Software team, building AI-powered tools and automation that solve real engineering problems for our launch vehicles and spacecraft. Our team builds software that takes recurring, time-consuming work off engineers' plates so they can focus on hard engineering, from automated review of flight and test data to AI agents that help engineers prepare for missions and investigate anomalies. Your work will directly accelerate rapid reuse of the Falcon launch vehicle, support the world's largest satellite communication and AI constellations, and contribute to the development of the world's largest rocket capable of sending humans to Mars. You will work side-by-side with engineers across avionics, propulsion, structures, and more to find where their time goes and build tools that give it back, using agentic AI systems, MCP servers, RAG-based search, data pipelines over large telemetry datasets, and traditional automation where it is the right answer. You will own problems end-to-end: scoping the solution with the engineers who have the problem, rolling it out, measuring the time it saves, and maintaining it as the vehicle and processes evolve. Aerospace experience is not strictly required - we are looking for smart, motivated, collaborative engineers who love solving problems and want to make an impact on an inspiring mission. ### RESPONSIBILITIES - Partner directly with engineering teams to identify their most time-consuming, repetitive, or error-prone work, then design and build tools that automate it - Build automation that processes large volumes of engineering data, including telemetry, hardware design databases, configuration files, and manufacturing and test records, to automate data review, flag anomalies, and surface insights - Design agentic AI systems, multi-agent workflows, and MCP servers that let engineers query, analyze, and act on data across many internal systems - Integrate tools into CI/CD pipelines, mission workflows, and review/sign-off processes so automation runs where engineers already work - Build internal web dashboards that give engineers a clear view of mission status, open work, and data review results - Rapidly prototype and iterate, then take tools to a production-grade, maintainable state - Thoroughly test and validate all tools, including evaluating AI outputs against known-good results, so engineers can trust them in a flight-critical environment - Prioritize work by return on investment and track the engineering hours saved ### BASIC QUALIFICATIONS - Bachelor's degree in computer science, data science, engineering, math, or physics; OR 4+ years of professional experience building automation for practical engineering use cases in lieu of a degree - 5+ years of experience in software engineering with a focus on automation tools and/or AI integrations (professional and personal projects are applicable) - 5+ years of programming experience in Python ### PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE - Track record of building tools that engineers or other end users actually adopted, including gathering requirements directly from users and iterating on their feedback - Comfort processing and analyzing large engineering or scientific datasets (time-series telemetry, sensor data, logs, etc.) using tools such as pandas and NumPy - Built code or configuration generators that turn a source of truth (design databases, spreadsheets, schemas) into validated outputs - Hands-on work building complex agentic AI systems and multi-agent workflows, including prompt and context engineering, tool/function calling, and MCP servers or agent skills - Ability to design evaluations for LLM-based tools, and the judgment to know when a deterministic script is a better fit than an AI model - Skilled at integrating with many systems through REST APIs, and quickly learning unfamiliar internal tools and data sources - Working knowledge of relational (PostgreSQL), non-relational, and vector databases, with strong SQL skills - Full-stack experience building web applications or dashboards (e.g., React/TypeScript frontends with Python backends such as FastAPI or Flask) - Proficiency developing on Linux, with a solid understanding of Git, testing, CI/CD, and monitoring - Familiarity deploying containerized applications using Docker and Kubernetes - Familiarity with hardware engineering concepts (electrical schematics and wiring, sensors, propulsion, controls, or test and manufacturing processes), or a background as a hardware or test engineer who moved into software - Strong communication skills and ability to explain technical tradeoffs to engineers in other disciplines - Self-directed and comfortable owning ambiguous problems from initial idea through long-term maintenance ### ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS - Willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed ### COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS Pay Range: Level 3: $165,000.00 - $265,000.00 Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience. Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Employees accrue paid sick leave pursuant to Company policy which satisfies or exceeds the accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the law. ### 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 EEOCompliance@spacex.com *. * [View posting at SpaceX](https://boards.greenhouse.io/spacex/jobs/8880858002?gh_jid=8880858002) ## About SpaceX Builds reusable launch systems, spacecraft, Starlink satellite connectivity, and integrated AI infrastructure to lower the cost of access to space and scale orbital services. 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