It's not for everyone - Engineering Manager SpaceX Employee Review

5.0
22 Oct 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The aim of the company is to ensure the continued survival of the human species by making us multi-planetary. It that doesn't get you excited...check your pulse... You get to work truly hands on with cutting edge technology. You are surrounded by incredibly smart and driven people. You are given complete ownership and responsibility for your work. You get to contribute to an endeavor that only nation states have previously accomplished. You also get to accomplish world firsts. I had tears in my eyes when we landed the first booster!

Cons

There's no such thing as a free lunch. With the outrageous pros described above come equally outrageous demands and stress. These do not come strictly from Management. They are primarily self created by the superstar type A's who work there. See if you can't read between the lines on some of the negative reviews that the person is basically saying "I'm awesome and I couldn't handle SpaceX, therefore SpaceX must be broken"... If you work only to live, and are looking for a 9-5. THIS IS NOT IT! If you really believe in what the company is trying to achieve; and are prepared to make some personal sacrifices to ensure they do. Welcome to Nirvana!

Explore other reviews about SpaceX

4.0
6 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

You learn so much because the work is so freaking intense, its a lot of fun if you're the type of person who loves to get emerged in hard problems. The hours for me were not too bad but I was the exception, all the other interns I was with dealt with 60-70+ hour weeks, some interns came in at 10am and left at 12am, when I say its intense, I'm not joking. This is however very unique to the Starbase location. I've heard Hawthorne is a lot more chill. I honestly despite how challenging the role was always look back on it with a sense of pride in my work, and longing to be back there. It really does feel that you're doing world changing things.

Cons

Very un diverse upper management, I'd say the company is pretty diverse in the lower ranks, but once you start to look at the org chart and see who's in charge, you realize that its mainly just white people. Makes you wonder if as a person of color you too will be able to move up. Housing sucks: there was limited housing on campus for full time employees, you have to wait a year plus to get off the queue and once you're off you only really get tiny homes as the option that are in an inconvenient location. Interns don't even have the option to get on campus housing, they give you 3k in a housing stipend and expect you to find a place in Brownsville. I'd say its very hard to maintain a relationship while working here if you don't have an understanding partner, the work schedule is brutal and you really can't slack off.

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