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Avionics Test Engineer (Starfall)

SpaceX — Aerospace · Artificial Intelligence (AI) · Automotive

Hawthorne, CA Mid Posted Jul 22, 2026
PythonReact Native

About the role

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.

AVIONICS TEST ENGINEER (STARFALL)

Want to design test systems at a speed never before seen in the industry? At SpaceX, we are designing systems to test avionics in a matter of weeks, not months or years! The Avionics Test group is the last line of defense testing and screening out all electronic hardware on our rockets and spacecraft. Hardware tested by the team includes but is not limited to: flight computers, power conversion units, analog and digital circuit boards, FPGAs, and communication system units. The team is critical in SpaceX's fundamental goal: allowing humanity to explore the stars. It is a huge undertaking and with it comes extreme responsibility to ensure the safety of the crew and payload.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Develop test solutions for in-house developed avionics hardware products that will fly to space

Write automation software in Python to interact with units under test, test equipment, instrumentation, and production documentation systems

Work closely with and consistently provide feedback to responsible design engineers, manufacturing engineers, and test lab teams to drive design or infrastructure improvements to increase product reliability and yield

Root-cause test failures to ensure issues are understood and develop and implement mitigations as part of a process of continuous improvement

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science or physics

1+ years of experience with hardware development or electronics test engineering via professional experience, internships, research and/or outside the classroom projects

1+ years of python programming experience

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

Experience with test equipment and measurement techniques to verify and validate product requirements

Understanding of electrical schematics and electronics manufacturing to analyze and improve test coverage

Understanding of metrology, sources of measurement error, and uncertainty analysis

Experience developing object oriented software

Experience analyzing circuits and developing functional test plans

Understanding and experience in environmental testing such as vibration, shock, thermal, burn-in, and TVAC

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS: Pay range: Level I: $105,000.00 - $122,500.00/per year Level II: $120,000.00 - $150,000.00/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 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 .

What the index says about this role

  • First seen by JobLarper — Aug 2, 2026, 6 days ago. Older postings collect hundreds of applicants — a tailored résumé matters more the longer a role has been live.
  • No pay range in our index for this listing. Across 37 indexed QA & Test Engineer roles in US that do publish one, the middle half sits between $140k and $175k, median $155k — JobLarper's read of the market, not a figure from SpaceX.
  • What QA & Test Engineer roles ask for — across 407 indexed openings: Python (41%), React Native (26%), REST/APIs (25%), C++ (12%), SQL (10%). This posting names Python, React Native.
  • SpaceX is hiring actively — 500 open roles indexed.

Derived from the 27,000 roles JobLarper indexes daily from official company boards — not from the job description above.

⚡ JobLarper watched this role appear on SpaceX's official board on Jul 22, 2026. Sign up free to get alerted minutes after roles like this go live, and tailor your real résumé to the exact description — nothing invented.

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