IT Systems Engineer, Mission Systems

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.

IT SYSTEMS ENGINEER, MISSION SYSTEMS

As a Systems Engineer in the SpaceX IT organization, you will play a crucial role in ensuring the reliability, scalability, and performance of our Launch Operations infrastructure. Your contributions will provide SpaceX's IT organization with the tools necessary to exceed the ever-increasing demands associated with a continuously increasing launch cadence and the rapid development of launch vehicles and infrastructure. This role requires excellent technical proficiency, ingenuity, flexibility and the propensity to flourish in a fast-paced and challenging environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Design, implement, and maintain highly available and resilient systems for launch operations, including mission-critical systems and software, data pipelines, and network infrastructure.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to distill requirements and design effective IT solutions that support the entire launch lifecycle from pre-flight preparations to post-launch analysis and recovery operations.
• Develop automation tools and scripts to streamline deployment, administration, monitoring, and incident response processes, leveraging technologies such as infrastructure as code frameworks (Ansible, Terraform, Puppet), containerization (Kubernetes, OpenShift), and GitOps source control platforms.
• Implement robust monitoring and alerting solutions to proactively detect and mitigate issues before they impact operations.
• Lead incident response efforts, coordinating with multi-disciplinary teams to troubleshoot and resolve issues promptly as well as conducting post-mortem analysis to determine root causes and implementing corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
• Collaborate with information security teams to ensure security and compliance of our systems, implementing best practices for data protection, access control, and regulatory compliance.
• Create and maintain comprehensive documentation, runbooks, and knowledge base articles to facilitate knowledge sharing and enable other team members to troubleshoot and resolve issues independently.
• Provide coaching and mentorship to other members of the SpaceX team, fostering team cohesion, knowledge redundancy and professional growth.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, math, physics, information systems, or other engineering discipline and 3+ years of experience in IT administration, engineering, or site reliability engineering; OR 5+ years of experience in IT administration, engineering, or site reliability engineering in lieu of a degree

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Proficient in programming/scripting languages such as Python, Go, Bash or PowerShell
• Strong understanding of Windows or Linux server OS administration concepts, best practices and configuration management tools
• Experience administering networking technologies such as switches, routers and firewalls
• Expertise in source code and version control tools
• Experience working in a mission-critical environment preferably within the aerospace or defense sectors
• Ability to create and maintain detailed technical documentation and operational runbooks
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to effectively convey complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
• Ability to independently and effectively manage and communicate the status of projects in an extremely fast paced and constantly changing environment
• Analytical mindset with excellent problem-solving abilities and a proactive approach to recognizing and overcoming technical challenges

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Willing to work extended hours or weekends as necessary
• Ability to provide 24x7 on-call support in emergency situations
• Recurring travel, including air travel and occasional extended time at sea, is required for operational and training purposes
• Ability to pass Air Force background check for Cape Canaveral

ITAR REQUIREMENTS:

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