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Principal AI Engineer, Special Programs
Principal AI Engineer, Special Programs
As a Principal AI Engineer, Special Programs, you will be responsible for designing, building, and deploying AI capabilities, models, APIs, and tools for U.S. federal agencies. You will integrate frontier AI models with government systems, collaborate on custom SDKs, and work closely with stakeholders to develop and iterate on solutions while maintaining safety and ethical standards. This role requires significant software engineering experience, strong Python proficiency, and the ability to obtain a Top Secret Security Clearance.
About the role
PRINCIPAL AI ENGINEER, SPECIAL PROGRAMS
This team focuses on engineering and deploying AI capabilities (models, APIs, tools, and integrations) for U.S. federal agencies. You'll work closely with product, research, infrastructure, and legal/governance teams to make AI and future models maximally useful for missions while upholding safety, transparency, and ethical standards.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Design, build, and optimize integrations between AI frontier models (e.g., Grok family) and government systems, platforms, and data environments
- Collaborate on custom SDKs, APIs, developer tools, and documentation tailored for government and enterprise developers
- Partner with agency stakeholders to understand requirements, prototype solutions, and iterate rapidly based on real-world feedback
- Ship production-grade code and features with a bias toward speed, simplicity, and measurable impact
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor's degree in computer science or another STEM discipline; OR 2+ years of professional experience in software development in lieu of a degree
- 6+ years of hands-on software engineering experience building scalable systems, APIs, or AI/ML applications (strong Python proficiency, other languages a plus)
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Experience working with large language models, generative AI, or agentic systems—either in research, production, or applied engineering
- Familiarity with government or public sector technology environments (federal civilian agencies, state/local gov, or regulated industries like healthcare, finance, or infrastructure)
- Strong product sensibility: ability to translate ambiguous stakeholder needs into concrete technical solutions
- Demonstrated ability to write clean, maintainable, high-performance code under tight timelines
- Exceptional problem-solving skills and intellectual curiosity—you thrive on hard, ambiguous challenges
- Excellent communication skills; you can explain complex technical concepts to non-technical partners clearly and concisely
- Prior work on AI safety, governance, red-teaming, or responsible AI deployment
- Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure), containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), or API orchestration
- Background in policy-adjacent technical roles, civic tech, or public-interest technology
- Contributions to open-source AI projects or developer tools
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed
- 20% travel may be required to government sites
- 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 is essential for fulfilling key responsibilities of the role. Should you be unable to obtain it, SpaceX reserves the right to modify or terminate your employment to align with operational needs.