Not what you think - Engineer SpaceX Employee Review

2.0
Oct 19, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

New factory, very modern and upscale. Fancy meeting rooms. Free lunch once a month.

Cons

SpaceX only wants to squeeze the most work out of you until you burn out, like a paper towel you use and then throw in the trash. Very little career mentoring and developing. Many people say the management is awful, and trust me, IT IS. You work yourself to death because you believe in the goals of the company, but management only cares to pin point and emphasize what you have done less than perfect. It is very difficult to stay motivated in an environment that does not reward good work and shames you into working harder regularly. People from the outside see the great things that SpaceX is accomplishing but on the inside it is very different. Great, outstanding engineers and experienced technicians leave every week. I have received too many "Farewell..." emails, it is beyond sad. The recruiting team in HR does a great job of hiring top talent but there are no good managers to keep them with the company. Thing is that everyone is threading water to stay afloat and if you lend a hand to train or help someone else, you will sink. Very few managers actually have any interpersonal skills. The management style of this company is unsustainable, they burn through engineers like an Olympic runner burns thru shoes. The company gets away with paying substandard salaries because of the cool company image and the stock options. But the thing is that it is not a small company anymore, it is a fairly big company now and the stock options do not make up for not having 401K matching and low pay. No tuition assistance either to get your masters. If you joined the company 3+ years ago, sure the stock options will pay for you. But joining now you will not make money with the stock options. Do not recommend at all, to anyone, single or married, with children or no children. This company will suck the life out of you and leave you demoralized and an empty shell of your former self.

Explore other reviews about SpaceX

5.0
Apr 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Lots of fun work to do! Your manager will make or break it for you!

Cons

Burnout culture Depending on department learning is very much a self guided journey

1
4.0
Apr 6, 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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