Space Operations Engineer
US$95,000 – US$160,000 / yr base salary
Posted 14 Oct 2026
Advertised as “Space Operations Engineer (Ground Operator Training)”
BranchFactor Summary
The original posting with the fluff stripped out
- Expected experience
- 1+ yrs
- Management level
- People management
| Base salary | US$95,000 – US$160,000 / yr |
|---|
Field of studyEngineering, Science
Study levelBachelor's
Field of studyTechnical
Study levelMaster's
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.
SPACE OPERATIONS ENGINEER (GROUND OPERATOR TRAINING)
SpaceX Operations Engineers are dedicated to innovation in all aspects of spaceflight execution and training. As an Operations Training Engineer, you will prepare team of spacecraft operators to safely execute human and cargo spaceflight missions, become a SpaceX spacecraft operator yourself, and personally drive the development of a new paradigm for 21st century spaceflight training. Our team’s charter is to efficiently prepare hundreds of humans to safely operate space vehicles on interplanetary missions, and we need outstanding engineers to make this future a reality. If you are driven to fly spacecraft, train others to fly spacecraft, and have a passion for streamlining operations, then come join us in our work to ensure safe and sustainable spacecraft operations.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Develop, train, and evaluate operations teams to safely conduct Dragon and Starship missions
- Devote 50% of time to full stack development and 50% to operator training and supporting operations
- Challenge requirements, develop tooling, and reshape training workflows to create efficient operator training processes
- Create training content, develop training plans, and provide instruction to mission control operators
- Plan, schedule, and execute training events and simulations with SpaceX, NASA, and customer teams
- Script, test, and deploy simulation software components to ensure a high-quality training experience
- Develop and maintain the simulation environment (servers, applications, and automation)
- Become an on-console mission control operator to support human and cargo spaceflight missions
- Develop subject matter expertise and clearly communicate technical concepts to a wide audience
- Work closely with operations teams to innovate how humans interact with a diverse fleet of interplanetary spacecraft
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s degree in an engineering or science discipline
- 1+ years of experience providing technical training to an audience that must apply it in a critical environment or real-time operations experience on a system that has high consequence of failure (e.g. a pilot, flight or test engineer, spacecraft operator, high performance automotive, etc.)
- 1+ years of programming experience in Python or JavaScript