S

SpaceX

Builds rockets and runs Starlink satellite internet

Lead Security Officer

Full-Time
$31 - $33/hr+ Lead Differential
Senior
Bachelor's
Palo Alto, CA, USA
In PersonOn-site in Palo Alto, California. Occasional travel up to 15% may be required.
Security & Protective Services

About the job

Requirements
  • High school diploma or equivalency certificate.
  • 5+ years of experience in the military, law enforcement, overseas security contracting, or advanced corporate security realm.
  • 1+ years of experience with executive protection, mobile asset protection, or emergency response team experience.
Responsibilities
  • Red Team Operations: Conduct physical security assessments and penetration testing of SpaceX facilities, including buildings, data centers, and other critical infrastructure.
  • Red Team Operations: Develop and execute complex threat scenarios to test the effectiveness of security measures, including access control, surveillance, and alarm systems.
  • Red Team Operations: Collaborate with security teams to identify vulnerabilities and recommend mitigation strategies.
  • Special Operations: Provide rapid response capabilities to support security incidents, including but not limited to, intrusions, breaches, or other high-risk situations.
  • Special Operations: Work closely with security personnel to contain and resolve incidents, ensuring the safety of personnel and assets.
  • Special Operations: Develop and maintain security protocols, procedures, and training programs to ensure readiness and effectiveness.
  • Threat Assessment and Analysis: Conduct research and analysis to identify potential threats to SpaceX facilities and assets, including insider threats, terrorism, and cyber-physical attacks.
  • Threat Assessment and Analysis: Develop and maintain threat profiles, including adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs).
  • Threat Assessment and Analysis: Collaborate with intelligence teams to stay informed about emerging threats and trends.
  • Decision-Making in High-Stress Environments: Make split-second decisions in high-stress environments, prioritizing the safety of personnel and assets.
  • Decision-Making in High-Stress Environments: Apply analytical and critical thinking skills to rapidly assess situations and develop effective response strategies.
  • Decision-Making in High-Stress Environments: Maintain a calm and focused demeanor in high-pressure situations, ensuring effective communication and coordination with team members.
  • Training and Exercises: Develop and conduct training exercises for security personnel, including scenario-based training, tabletop exercises, and live-fire drills.Design and execute complex security exercises to test response procedures, including SWAT deployments and incident response.
  • Training and Exercises: Evaluate exercise outcomes and provide recommendations for improvement.
  • Additional Duties: Maintain a high level of physical fitness and proficiency in tactical skills, including firearms, hand-to-hand combat, and tactical driving.
  • Additional Duties: Stay up-to-date with industry best practices, emerging threats, and advances in security technology.
  • Additional Duties: Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including security, engineering, and facilities management, to ensure a holistic approach to security.
Desired Qualifications
  • Completed training in SWAT operations, including tactical response and crisis management, or military special operations.
  • Proficiency in firearms, defensive tactics, and tactical driving.
  • Bachelor's degree in security management, criminology, or international relations.
  • Experience in red teaming, penetration testing, or threat assessment.
  • Combat medic, EMT-B, or paramedic related experience.
  • Advanced medical emergency training (Tactical Combat Casualty Care, Tactical Emergency Casual Care, or Combat Lifesaver).
  • Familiarity with security protocols, including access control, surveillance, and alarm systems.
  • Knowledge of threat intelligence, including insider threats, terrorism, and cyber-physical attacks.
  • Experience with exercise design and execution, including scenario-based training and tabletop exercises.
  • Computer based proficiency with Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with minimal supervision.

About the company

SpaceX builds and launches reusable rockets and spacecraft for NASA, the military, and companies, and it runs Starlink, a satellite internet service for homes and businesses. In 2020, its Dragon capsule became the first privately built spacecraft to carry astronauts to the International Space Station. Its Falcon 9 rocket lands its first stage so the booster can fly again, which cuts launch costs, while Starlink beams internet from low-orbit satellites to small dishes for a monthly fee. SpaceX also owns xAI, maker of the Grok chatbot and owner of the social network X, and is building Starship, a fully reusable rocket meant to carry people to the Moon and Mars. Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, and it is based in Starbase, Texas.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

Starbase, Texas

Founded

2002

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Starlink demand keeps compounding: subscribers doubled to 12 million in the year to June 2026.
  • Room to grow: SpaceX listed 2,693 open roles in October 2026, over a third of them for Starlink.
  • Rivals rent its AI supercomputers: Claude maker Anthropic agreed in May 2026 to pay SpaceX $1.25 billion a month.

What critics are saying

  • Stock grants swing hard: shares closed between $108 and $211 in the four months after the June 2026 IPO.
  • Expect long weeks: 1,724 of SpaceX's 2,693 job posts in October 2026 mention extended hours and weekend work.
  • AI spending outruns sales: SpaceX put $15.8 billion into AI data centers in the June 2026 quarter, double its revenue.

What makes SpaceX unique

  • SpaceX is the world's busiest launcher by far: its 165 orbital launches in 2025 were nearly double China's total.
  • Starlink carries the profits: it earned $1.7 billion in the June 2026 quarter, while rockets and AI lost $1.8 billion.
  • Elon Musk has the final say: super-voting shares give him about 82% of shareholder votes after the June 2026 IPO.

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Benefits

Benefits and Perks - Our employees' well-being is important to us and essential to our capacity to do extraordinary things. We offer a wide variety of programs to support the health, wellness, and financial security of our employees and their families.

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

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Yahoo Finance
Oct 11th, 2026
Citi: Starship milestones, not earnings, to drive SpaceX investor sentiment after Flight 14

Citi Research has reiterated a Buy rating on SpaceX after its Starship Flight 14 test, saying the launch reinforces the company's lead in space launch. Analysts said technical milestones, not quarterly results, are the main catalyst for investors. Flight 14 was Starship's first orbital entry and first revenue-generating mission. It deployed 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites and completed the vehicle's first de-orbit burn. One Raptor vacuum engine shut down early during ascent, but the control systems burned the other five longer to keep the intended trajectory. The Super Heavy booster made a soft splashdown in the Gulf off Starbase. Citi expects at least one more launch this year. Flight 15 should attempt to catch the Starship upper stage with the launch tower arms, a key step toward full reusability.

Yahoo Finance
Oct 10th, 2026
SpaceX stock jumps 4% on $8B spectrum deal for satellite mobile expansion

SpaceX shares rose on Friday following the announcement of an $8 billion deal to acquire Grain Management's nationwide portfolio of low-band wireless spectrum licenses. The stock opened approximately 4% higher, though the transaction still requires regulatory approval. The acquisition addresses technical limitations in satellite-based mobile connectivity. Low-band signals offer better building penetration and longer range than higher frequencies, potentially enabling Starlink Mobile to compete more directly with established telecoms like AT&T and Verizon. SpaceX reported 92% year-on-year revenue growth to $7.8 billion in its latest quarter. Adjusted EBITDA roughly tripled to $3.5 billion. The company holds $100 billion in cash and equivalents. Wall Street maintains a "Moderate Buy" rating with a mean price target of $224, suggesting 40% upside potential.

Yahoo Finance
Oct 10th, 2026
Cathie Wood trims $4.7M from SpaceX after rally, rotates into defence tech

Cathie Wood's ARK investment funds sold $4.7 million worth of SpaceX shares on 8 October, following a $9.4 million sale two days earlier. The sales mark a reversal from aggressive summer accumulation of the stock. However, the pattern suggests portfolio rotation rather than bearish sentiment. On the same day, ARK also sold Advanced Micro Devices shares and invested $6.7 million in Kratos Defense, a defence technology company. ARK had previously built up its SpaceX position substantially through June, July, and August. The timing coincides with SpaceX acquiring Grain Management's 800 MHz spectrum portfolio, positioning Starlink Mobile to compete with major wireless operators. Wood's strategy typically involves taking profits from strong performers and redirecting capital towards opportunities she views as offering better upside potential. ARK is increasingly focusing on what it terms "physical AI" — autonomy, drones, and aerospace applications where artificial intelligence moves beyond data centres into real-world machines.

Yahoo Finance
Oct 9th, 2026
Musk confirms SpaceX will use Nvidia GPUs exclusively, including in $40B chip purchase for space data centres

Elon Musk recently praised Nvidia GPUs as the best available option for AI processing, stating that SpaceX will exclusively use them. Some of those processors will head into space next year on the company's first data center test satellites. SpaceX is raising $40 billion to purchase more Nvidia chips. The deployment will test whether Nvidia's latest processors are ready for the space economy or need enhancements for orbital conditions. Nvidia's market capitalisation is approaching $6 trillion. The chipmaker more than doubled its revenue year over year in its fiscal 2027 second quarter, posting a 62% net profit margin. The company is forecasting 70% revenue growth for fiscal 2028. Nvidia trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.5, below the tech industry average.

Yahoo Finance
Oct 9th, 2026
Crown Castle surges 13% as SpaceX's $8B spectrum deal keeps tower build option alive

Crown Castle shares jumped 13% after SpaceX agreed to buy nationwide low-band spectrum from Grain Management for approximately $8 billion in cash. Bernstein analysts said the deal keeps alive the possibility of SpaceX building a ground network, which would make it a new rent-paying tower tenant. Investors had worried that Starlink's satellite-to-phone service could bypass cell towers entirely. However, analysts note SpaceX would need ground towers for reliable building penetration in urban areas. Tower companies earn revenue per tenant on each site. AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile — expected to generate nearly 90% of Crown Castle's 2025 site rental revenue — fell 5% to 7% on concerns about SpaceX as a competitor. Consensus estimates project Crown Castle's revenue at $4.2 billion by 2028, meaning a SpaceX build would represent additional growth not currently modelled.