I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at SpaceX (Hawthorne, CA) in Jul 2014
Interview
My experience consisted of 10 interviews and 1 presentation.
Interview 1: phone screening with HR - fairly standard
Interview 2: phone interview with I&T manager - fairly standard and enjoyable
Then came the on site interviews (1 presentation + 8 interviews in 1 day)
It started with the presentation of a past project of mine. Before I started they told me that if they didn't think I was a fit after the presentation I would go home without any interviews. I thought this was really unprofessional and that they should have mentioned this beforehand.
The next 8 interviews were the same 30 minute interview over and over, just with different members of the team. They all asked the same questions to the point where I was incredibly tired of my own answers.
One note on HR: they don't get diversity. I was concerned about the white boy culture and asked about diversity efforts. She got really awkward on the phone and acted like she didn't know what I meant. She said everyone can be who they are and people even wear shorts to work like wearing shorts to work is important. When I visited in person it was clear why she avoided it - the work force is a mirror image of a college frat.
After interviewing, I didn't hear back for two weeks and two follow-ups.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
We had an issue with people installing batteries upside down. How would you prevent this from happening?