I applied through a recruiter. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at SpaceX (Hawthorne, CA) in Mar 2016
Interview
I had 1 quick phone call with the recruiter to understand my interests, 2 phone interviews (1 with the hiring manager, and another with someone in that role), and an on campus visit consisting of a 1 hr technical presentation and several interviews that lasted a full day. I was invited for a tour of one of their lab facilities, and the recruiter mentioned several times in the process that she heard great feedback about me so far, but in the end I did not get the position since "they didn't think my background was in line with the position."
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Walk us through something you have troubleshot before (eg: failure analysis).
I applied online. I interviewed at SpaceX in Jun 2026
Interview
I completed the initial 20- 30-minute call. This did not have any technical questions. I provided my portfolio and explained how certain projects fit this role. I was given the next interview and set up a time at the end of this call.
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.
