Sr. Security Software Engineer, Applied Computing; Starshield

Sr. Security Software Engineer, Applied Computing (Starshield)

Hawthorne, CA

Space

X 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 Space

X is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.

Starshield leverages Space

X’s Starlink technology and launch capability to support national security efforts. While Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use, Starshield is designed for government use, with an initial focus on earth observation, communications, and hosted payloads. The Starshield team is building highly reliable in‑space mesh networks, designing secure systems to guarantee access to space, designing next‑gen communication and sensing software, and more.

As a Sr. Security Software Engineer, you will leverage AI to automate security‑related efforts and ensure safe AI integration into new and existing systems. If you are passionate about AI, security, and pushing the limits of combining both together, this role is for you.

Ideally, you have notable skills in the following:

• Software engineering
• Agent engineering and security
• Network and operating system security
• Incident response and adversary detection

Being flexible, communicating clearly, and establishing and maintaining productive working relationships with other engineering teams are paramount to success. If you are passionate about building quality products, love the challenges of outsmarting adversaries, and want to make an impact on an inter‑planetary scale, then you will fit right in.

• Design and build security‑critical agents for Starshield that automate network and systems defense
• Leverage AI to discover and fix security issues in Starshield infrastructure and systems
• Provide guidance and perform testing of AI integrations into new and existing Starshield systems
• Identify new areas of the program where meaningful security improvements can be gained via automation and AI
• Maintain existing production systems and improve security posture via both direct implementation and recommendations to other teams

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or another STEM discipline AND 5+ years of professional experience in security software development; OR 7+ years of professional experience in security software development in lieu of a degree
• Experience with one or more software development languages (i.e. Python, C++, Golang)
• Experience designing and implementing security solutions for operating systems, distributed systems, or other enterprise/large‑scale infrastructure
• Experience designing and implementing solutions with LLMs, LLM‑based agents, or other AI topics

• Demonstrated ability to deal with ambiguity, learn quickly, problem solve, and take ownership of the end result
• Understanding of core security engineering topics: cryptography, authentication, network security, operating system security
• Experience designing, prompting, and securing agents that can perform long‑running autonomous tasks
• Experience red‑teaming/penetration‑testing LLMs, including prompt injection, jail breaking, and data exfiltration
• Experience deploying and managing LLMs, including infrastructure and maintenance to ensure reliable, scalable operation
• Experience contributing security improvements to complex systems
• Flexibility, communicating clearly, and establishing and maintaining productive working relationships with other engineering teams
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Ability to work both independently and in a team
• Advanced degree in a technical or engineering discipline
• Active Top Secret, Top Secret SCI, or DOE Level Q clearance

• Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed
• 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…