Software Engineer – New College Graduate

At Sift, we’re redefining how modern machines are built, tested, and operated. Our platform gives engineers real-time observability into high-frequency telemetry—eliminating bottlenecks and enabling faster, more reliable development.

Sift was born from our work at SpaceX on Dragon, Falcon, Starlink, and Starship—where scaling telemetry, debugging flight systems, and ensuring mission reliability demanded new infrastructure. Founded by a team from SpaceX, Google, and Palantir, Sift is built for mission-critical systems where precision and scalability are non-negotiable.

As a New College Graduate Software Engineer, you’ll join a small, fast-moving team building foundational systems for the future of engineering. You’ll have the opportunity to learn from experienced engineers, contribute to production code, and help design scalable solutions from the ground up.

In This Role, You’ll

• Contribute to the design and development of high-performance, scalable systems for data processing and visualization

• Build features for engineers to explore and act on millions of sensor data points

• Work closely with senior engineers in code reviews, design discussions, and product planning

• Learn best practices in distributed systems, DevOps, and frontend/backend development

• Help shape engineering culture, standards, and processes at an early-stage startup

The Skillset You’ll Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Math, Physics, or another STEM discipline

• Strong coursework or project experience in data structures, algorithms, or data analysis

• Eagerness to learn large-scale distributed systems and real-time data platforms

• Collaborative mindset and strong communication skills

• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment

Bonus Points

• Experience with streaming or data tools (Kafka, Flink, Spark, Beam)

• Familiarity with databases (PostgreSQL, Timescale, Druid, or similar)

• Exposure to frontend frameworks (React, TypeScript)

• Experience with DevOps practices (Git, CI/CD, testing, monitoring)

Engineering At Sift:

You'll have the opportunity to help evolve and scale our platform because we're still in the early stages of building the product. Relevant technologies include:

• Web frontend & backend: ECharts, Go, gRPC, PostgreSQL, Protobuf, Radix, React, Redux, and TypeScript

• Data: Rust, Arrow, DataFusion, Kafka, Flink, Parquet

• Infrastructure: Docker, AWS, Kubernetes, Linux, Grafana

Location:

Sift’s headquarters is in El Segundo, CA. We collaborate in person twice a week—on Mondays and Thursdays—and come together for a full week every two months. We’re open to relocating candidates to LA for the right candidate.

Salary range: $100,000 - $140,000 per year. Plus equity and benefits.

Eligibility:

U.S. Person Required: Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual such as an asylee or refugee in compliance with ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) / EAR (Export Administration Regulations) regulations.