Awesome mission and people but demanding - Materials Engineer SpaceX Employee Review

4.0
Sep 10, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

SpaceX is at the forefront of space and launch so you will get to work on some of the coolest most challenging problems in the industry. This sets you up with incredible work experience that sets you apart for future opportunities. Other than a few outliers, the people you get to work with are very hardworking and extremely knowledgeable in their fields. The overall pay and benefits are good and competitive with the rest of the industry. I got at least nearly 10% raises every year and the stock has continues to rise in value.

Cons

There is an expectation that permeates the company that you must work long hours and be available to answer messages/emails at any time of the day. SpaceX sometimes treats its employees as disposable and you see some pretty high turnover on certain teams. However, if you can set boundaries there is a possibility for a reasonable work schedule. Some teams that work together across different SpaceX sites do not see eye to eye on engineering practices with a different approach to risk. A lot of managers are not well-trained to be people managers. Just because someone is a good engineer, does not mean they make a good manager. I did not always feel supported in my tasks and lacked overall direction in my work scope.

Explore other reviews about SpaceX

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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