I applied through college or university. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at SpaceX (Hawthorne, CA) in Jun 2012
Interview
Very technical. They want to dig into details of how you executed a project, not just hear about it on a high level. Need to fully understand the concepts behind the project you are presented, as there will be experts on those concepts present. Don't make things up, this is way worse than not knowing something.
Phone screen with recruiter followed by two phone calls with engineers and then an on-site interview where you present a presentation on a topic of your choice. Also other technical interviews on site as well.
Got reached out to by a recruiter on LinkedIn. Setting up an interview time was easy. The first interview screening was basically describing your past experiences. The second interview is technical. Whole process took a week.
Technical interview, pretty simple beam questions. Interview with lead engineer was about different machining/bonding techniques. Not a bad process. The recruiter was pretty responsive. Did not get another interview after interview with lead.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
If you applied a point load on a beam at the end, at which point does the beam experience the highest stress?
