10 SpaceX software engineers
Lead Software Engineer, Principal Software Engineer and Senior Software Engineering Manager are among the titles these ten SpaceX software engineers hold today. A reader can learn what software engineering at SpaceX involves from people who have done it.
Professionals to explore
Aidan Higginbotham
LinkedInExperience: Lead Software Engineer · SpaceX
Aidan Higginbotham has been a Lead Software Engineer at SpaceX since January 2026, after serving as Software Engineer II (2025–2026) and Software Engineer (2024–2025) at SpaceX. The profile also lists Software Engineer at Datavant from 2022 to 2023 and a teaching assistant role at the University of California, Berkeley.
Daniel Benaderet
LinkedInExperience: Software Engineer · SpaceX
Daniel Benaderet has been a Software Engineer at SpaceX since November 2025, based in the Los Angeles area. The profile also lists Principal Software Engineer (2023–2024), Lead Software Engineer (2018–2023) and Software Engineer (2017–2018) at NBCUniversal and describes experience as a web and application developer.
Daniel Cantwell
LinkedInExperience: Principal Software Engineer · SpaceX
Daniel Cantwell has been a Principal Software Engineer at SpaceX since April 2025, after serving as Senior Software Engineer (2022–2025), Software Engineer II (2018–2022) and Software Engineer (2017–2018) at SpaceX. The profile describes most of their engineering experience as full stack web development.
Daniël du Preez
LinkedInExperience: Software Development Engineer (Sr) · SpaceX
Daniël du Preez has been a Software Development Engineer (Sr) at SpaceX since May 2026, based in Seattle, and also held Software Development Engineer (SDE II) and (SDE I) roles at SpaceX from 2023 to 2026. The profile also lists software development engineer roles at Amazon from 2021 to 2023 and describes a love for mathematics and elegant, efficient solutions.
Derek Lore
LinkedInExperience: Lead Software Engineer · SpaceX
Derek Lore has been a Lead Software Engineer at SpaceX since May 2026, after serving as Senior Software Engineer at SpaceX from 2025 to 2026. The profile also lists Software Engineer II (2022–2025) and Software Engineer (2020–2022) roles at SpaceX and a Flight Software Intern role there in 2020.
Gleb Batalkin
LinkedInExperience: Principal Software Engineer · SpaceX
Gleb Batalkin has been a Principal Software Engineer at SpaceX since May 2021, after serving as Senior Software Engineer (2019–2021), Lead Software Engineer (2018–2019) and Software Engineer (2016–2018) at SpaceX. The profile headline mentions building a large scale telemetry startup inside SpaceX, and the profile also lists a Software Engineer role at Independent from 2014 to 2017.
Gurmehar Singh
LinkedInExperience: Software Engineer · SpaceX
Gurmehar Singh has been a Software Engineer at SpaceX since July 2025, based in Redmond, Washington, and the profile headline reads Starlink SWE @ SpaceX. The profile also lists Software Engineering Intern roles at SpaceX in 2023 and 2024 and Software Developer & Telescope Operator at the SETI Institute (2023–2025).
Julien Spanneut
LinkedInExperience: Sr. Software Engineer · SpaceX
Julien Spanneut has been a Sr. Software Engineer at SpaceX since January 2025, after serving as a Software Engineer at SpaceX from 2023 to 2025. The profile also lists Software Engineer roles at Meta (2022), Electronic Arts (EA) (2021) and Tesla (2020).
Thomas Kiernan
LinkedInExperience: Senior Software Engineering Manager · SpaceX
Thomas Kiernan has been a Senior Software Engineering Manager at SpaceX since June 2026, after serving as Principal Software Engineer (2024–2026), Lead Software Engineer (2022–2024) and Software Engineer II (2020–2022) at SpaceX. The profile also lists Senior Software Engineer at Wayfair from 2017 to 2020.
Zack Robinson
LinkedInExperience: Lead Software Engineer · SpaceX
Zack Robinson has been a Lead Software Engineer at SpaceX since June 2026, after serving as Software Engineer II (2025–2026) and Software Engineer (2025) at SpaceX. The profile also lists Software Engineer, Infrastructure at Arcesium (2024–2025) and describes building software and systems to help people accomplish their goals.
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's software area to your question, since web, infrastructure, embedded and telemetry work each involve different tools and partners. Consider whether you want the view of an individual engineer, a lead or a manager, since each sees planning and delivery differently.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How do you decide how much testing a change needs before it ships in your area?
- 02How do you work with hardware or operations engineers who depend on your software?
- 03What changed in your day-to-day work as you moved into your current role?
Reaching SpaceX software engineers
How can I contact one of these SpaceX software engineers?
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About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.