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Principal Test Engineer, Compute Payload (Starmind)

SpaceX · Bastrop, TX

Posted Oct 21, 2026

Est. total comp~$151K–$236K

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From the posting

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.

PRINCIPAL TEST ENGINEER, COMPUTE PAYLOAD (STARMIND)

SpaceX is leveraging its experience deploying and operating the world’s largest satellite constellation to develop Starmind, a new constellation of satellites capturing solar energy in space to power low-cost, high-performance AI compute for Earth. Realizing this vision demands highly reliable, high performance compute hardware systems which must operate in the extreme environment of space.

The Starmind team designs, builds, and operates the orbital compute fabric of the future. We develop nearly every key piece of technology in house – from the satellites’ flight computers and power systems to the fully custom compute electronics, memory, and networking that form the brain of our on-orbit data centers.

As a Principal Test Engineer on the Starmind Compute Payload team, you’ll have ownership over the system which validates the hardware that enables advanced on-orbit AI processing and data center workloads. You will dive into technical details, drive architecture and design trades, mentor engineers, and build the team’s technical bar. …

Excerpt from SpaceX's public job board. Read the full posting.

About this listing. Pulled automatically from SpaceX's public job board and refreshed daily; closed roles are removed. Mars Mining Co. is not the employer, does not take applications and does not screen candidates. Field and level labels come from the job title and can be wrong.

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About the pay figures (~): These are estimates. Yearly figures are estimated total comp ranges: the employer's posted pay range, or, with no posted pay, the median to 90th-percentile BLS wage for similar jobs, plus typical benefits and bonus, without stock. Hourly figures for internships and contract roles are posted rates or BLS hourly wage ranges. Figures outside the U.S. and for loosely matched titles are rough ballparks. How we estimate