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Pay from SpaceX's own postings

SpaceX Software Engineer Salary

SpaceX's 334 open roles for software engineers post a median $163k/yr, typically $149k–$270k/yr, from 243 distinct pay figures, read from its own job board every hour.

See the roles and their payEvery SpaceX salary →Space jobs for software engineers →How to apply to SpaceX →

Against other pay

Every SpaceX role
median $138k/yr
SpaceX's software engineers: 18% above it
Software engineers at every space company
median $169k/yr
SpaceX: 4% below it
All US software developers, May 2025
median $136k/yr
SpaceX's postings: 20% above it
Highest posted top
$355k/yr
Principal Security Software Engineer (Starlink)

Typical pay is the 25th percentile of what roles pay (the middle of each posted range, as a year's pay: an hourly rate counts at 2,080 hours, 40 a week for 52 weeks) to the 90th-percentile posted top. Pay is compared as a year's pay: an hourly rate counts at 2,080 hours (40 a week for 52 weeks), a weekly one at 52 weeks, a monthly one at 12 months. A posting that names only a ceiling ("up to $X") is left out of the figures.

SpaceX software engineer pay by level

Level the title namesOpen rolesMedianTypical pay
Intern or co-op2Too few figures
Entry, associate or level I13$163k/yr$160k–$210k/yr
Senior94$205k/yr$198k–$270k/yr
Lead6$215k/yr$209k–$265k/yr
Principal or fellow19$276k/yr$250k–$354k/yr
Manager4$205k/yr$165k–$290k/yr
Title names no level196$150k/yr$139k–$200k/yr

A level is read from the title, the first that applies from an internship to a director (the reading of our research on career levels and pay). A figure needs three distinct posted rates.

Where SpaceX hires software engineers

  • Hawthorne, CA127 roles, median $160k/yr
  • Redmond, WA76 roles, median $163k/yr
  • Palo Alto, CA44 roles, median $173k/yr
  • Bastrop, TX26 roles
  • Starbase, TX24 roles
  • Washington, DC9 roles, median $163k/yr
  • Cape Canaveral, FL7 roles
  • Memphis, TN4 roles
  • Sunnyvale, CA4 roles, median $174k/yr

Open SpaceX roles for software engineers, highest pay first

Updated 1 Nov 2026, 08:02 UTC

All 334 SpaceX roles for software engineers, with their pay

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Software Engineer salaries at other space companies

Every open SpaceX role

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Questions about SpaceX pay for software engineers

How much does SpaceX pay software engineers?

SpaceX's open roles for software engineers post a median $163k/yr, typically $149k–$270k/yr, from 243 distinct pay figures in 271 of its 334 postings. Typical pay here is the 25th percentile of what roles pay (the middle of each posted range, as a year's pay: an hourly rate counts at 2,080 hours, 40 a week for 52 weeks) to the 90th-percentile posted top. The highest posted top is $355k/yr, for Principal Security Software Engineer (Starlink).

What does SpaceX pay software engineers at each level?

By the level each title names: entry, associate or level I: a median $163k/yr (13 roles); senior: a median $205k/yr (94 roles); lead: a median $215k/yr (6 roles); principal or fellow: a median $276k/yr (19 roles); manager: a median $205k/yr (4 roles). A level is read from the title ("Engineer II", "Senior", "Lead"); titles that name none are left out of this answer.

Does SpaceX pay software engineers more than other space companies?

SpaceX's median, $163k/yr, is 4% below the $169k/yr median of the 1,991 open roles for software engineers at every space company we read (SpaceX's among them).

Do software engineers earn more than other roles at SpaceX?

SpaceX's roles for software engineers post a median $163k/yr, 18% above the $138k/yr median of all its open roles that state pay (SpaceX salaries compares every kind of work).

How does SpaceX's pay for software engineers compare with the national wage?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median wage of software developers at $136k/yr (May 2025); SpaceX's posted median, $163k/yr, is 20% above it. A posting states what a new hire is offered, the national figure what everyone in the occupation earns, so the two measure different people. Source: BLS wage estimates by state (OEWS, May 2025), read through O*NET OnLine, CC BY 4.0.

Where does SpaceX hire software engineers?

Its open roles for software engineers are in Hawthorne, CA (127), Redmond, WA (76), Palo Alto, CA (44), Bastrop, TX (26) and Starbase, TX (24). By place, they post a median of $160k/yr in Hawthorne, CA, $163k/yr in Redmond, WA and $173k/yr in Palo Alto, CA.