Principal AI Engineer, Special Programs

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Principal AI Engineer, Special Programs in USA

SpaceX
Full time
Email

USA
09/29/2026
Report

Washington, DC

Responsibilities

Design, build, and optimize integrations between frontier AI models and government systems, platforms, and data environments.
Develop custom SDKs, APIs, developer tools, and documentation for government and enterprise developers.
Partner with agency stakeholders to gather requirements, prototype solutions, and iterate based on real-world feedback.
Ship production-grade code and features focused on speed, simplicity, and measurable impact.
Collaborate with product, research, infrastructure, and legal/governance teams on safe, transparent, and useful AI deployments.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science or another STEM discipline, or 2+ years of professional software development experience in lieu of a degree.
6+ years of hands-on software engineering experience building scalable systems, APIs, or AI/ML applications.
Strong Python proficiency; experience with other programming languages is a plus.
Experience with large language models, generative AI, or agentic systems is preferred.
Familiarity with government, public-sector, regulated-industry, policy-adjacent, civic-tech, or public-interest technology environments is preferred.
Experience with AWS, GCP, Azure, Docker, Kubernetes, or API orchestration is preferred.
Prior work in AI safety, governance, red-teaming, or responsible AI deployment and contributions to open-source AI projects or developer tools are preferred.
Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed, travel 20% to government sites, and successfully obtain and maintain a Top Secret Security Clearance.
Must satisfy applicable ITAR eligibility requirements or be eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations.

Benefits

Base salary range is $220,000.00 - $350,000.00 per year.
Potential eligibility for company stock, stock options, long-term cash awards, discretionary bonuses, and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
Medical, vision, dental, 401(k), disability, life insurance, paid parental leave, discounts, and other perks.
Approximately three weeks of paid vacation, 10 or more paid holidays per year, and paid sick leave under company policy.
The role requires 20% travel and may require extended hours and weekends; a Top Secret Security Clearance must be obtained and maintained.

Salary: $220k - $350k/yr

SpaceX

SpaceX builds advanced rockets and spacecraft with the aim of making human life multiplanetary, particularly focusing on establishing a sustainable presence on Mars. Its innovative technologies and ambitious missions cater to space enthusiasts, researchers, and industries looking to push the boun...

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