Great culture. High pressure. Fun as hell. - Engineering Manager SpaceX Employee Review

5.0
Oct 3, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Huge amounts of responsibility placed on engineers, even brand new engineers. Projects are large in scope, ownership is typically concept through implementation. Great benefits. Very strong "best idea wins" environment - no cronyism or red tape. Fertile learning environment - cross training is encouraged and normal. #1 Pro: the culture. Thousands of energetic, passionate, intelligent, and pleasant folks to work with. Night and day compared to the (old-space) aerospace places I've worked.

Cons

Long hours at times. Constant 'task saturation' for all teams and all employees. This is the name of the game for Elon. Can get burned out if you don't pace yourself and learn to shoulder the pressure.

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5.0
Jun 17, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

good place to work and earn money

Cons

Heavy workload and long time work

5.0
Jun 29, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

* **Unmatched Mission & Impact:** You are literally working on rockets and spacecraft. The cool factor is 10/10. * **Brilliant Coworkers:** You will be surrounded by some of the smartest, most driven engineers in the world. * **Insane Career Growth:** SpaceX on your resume is a golden ticket. You will learn more here in 3 months than in 3 years at a normal company. * **Hands-on Experience:** They actually trust interns with real, critical hardware. No boring coffee-fetching tasks.

Cons

**Cons:** * **Zero Work-Life Balance:** 70-80 hours a week is the norm, not the exception. Say goodbye to your social life and sleep. * **Extreme Burnout:** The "hustle culture" is toxic. You are expected to treat the company as your entire life. * **Mediocre Pay:** The hourly pay is average, especially when you factor in the insane hours and the high cost of living in LA/Hawthorne. * **Chaotic Management:** Decisions can change overnight based on whatever Elon Musk tweets or feels like doing that morning.

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