Sr. Mission Integration Engineer (Starshield)
SpaceX
hawthorne, ca, usa
USD 125k-175k / year + Equity
Posted on Dec 8, 2025
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. MISSION INTEGRATION ENGINEER, MISSION MANAGEMENT (STARSHIELD)
In a dynamic global security environment, SpaceX’s agility is more necessary than ever. Starshield brings SpaceX’s strengths to national security, focusing on intelligence, communications, and hosted payloads. Starshield is now looking to disrupt how our nation approaches homeland defense with proliferated ground infrastructure.
We are looking for a highly driven and creative engineer to serve as the mission integration engineer for new sensing technology. This is an opportunity to get in on the ground-floor and be an influential decision-maker for an emerging program with potentially billions of dollars of impact. You will be a key contributor, leader and customer communicator driving the hardware design, demo, and production of this product.
Engineers on this team love driving projects to success and working effectively with internal and external partners and customers. We are looking for team players with exceptional communication skills and strong engineering fundamentals to tackle a wide breadth of work. The ideal candidate will have project experience in mechanical, electrical, and software engineering as well as the demonstrated ability to learn.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Support all phases of the program from development, initial proposal, through successful test, deployment and operational commissioning. This will include educating the customer on our designs and methodologies
- Work with all internal and external stakeholders to drive prototype development. Collaborate with subsystem representatives across team boundaries to consider all necessary trades and ensure end-to-end mission success
- Serve as the customer interface at meetings, tests, and reviews to develop operations plans, design missions, and verify payload flightworthiness
- Ensure contract deliverables are completed on-time and per customer expectations, distill customer requirements into actionable development objectives
- Own system from conceptual design through volume production and deploy operations to support various customers’ needs
- Work closely with partners on the RF, software, and controls teams to develop design criteria, collaborate on requirements, and drive system-level optimization
- Rapidly iterate on designs and analysis to inform high-level systems trades and steer overall product direction
- Own product delivery timeline through conception, design, assembly, and deployment
- Demonstrate extreme ownership of product outcomes at every stage of development and production
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline
- 5+ years of experience working in the aerospace or space industry
- 5+ years of technical project management and/or systems engineering experience
- Experience working with RF systems and/or sensing technologies
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Demonstrated ability to work under pressure and deliver results across multiple parallel priorities
- Highly detail oriented, hardworking, and professional with excellent written and verbal technical communication skills
- Spacecraft mission design, development, integration, and/or test experience
- Strong penchant for innovation in process improvement and system design
- Positive, “can-do” attitude, self-starter, and ability to work in a high pace dynamic environment
- Strong analytical, verbal, and written skills
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- This position requires successfully obtaining and maintaining a Top Secret Security Clearance as a condition of employment. While the clearance may not be immediately necessary upon hire, we encourage you to initiate the application process promptly upon accepting this offer. Your ability to secure the necessary clearance is essential for fulfilling key responsibilities of the role. Should you be unable to obtain it, SpaceX reserves the right to modify or terminate your employment to align with operational needs.
- Must pass DoD level background checks for entry into various government facilities.
- Ability to travel up to 25% of the time.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:
Pay range:
Mission Integration Engineer/Senior: $125,000.00 - $175,000.00/per year
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, stock options, 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.