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SPACEX
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19 reviews

SPACEX Employer Reviews

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Long hours, always on the move.
Inventory Control Clerk (Current Employee), Hawthorne, CA – June 13, 2013
Long hours, always on the move. Never repeat same work twice. Everything changes minute to minute.
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Ok
Avionics Hardware Test Technician (Current Employee), Hawthorne, CA – May 29, 2013
It's exciting making history, but pay sucks.
Raises that are considered for average employees at other companies is considered, "great" raises for top employees here.
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Top to bottom it is catagorically the best place I have ever worked
Loads Engineer (Current Employee), Hawthorne, CA – April 16, 2013
Pros: fast paced, exciting
I won't lie, working at SpaceX isn't for everyone. It requires both capability as well as a stern willingness. There is a great deal of responsibility placed on everyone. We're still too small a company with too much work for poor performers to hide in the numbers. Greater still, is the rule to always get the job done. Every company I've worked for – more... had this 'rule', but SpaceX has actually provided the management/environment to allow for this statement to be possible.

They have removed almost all of the stops which get in the way of every motivated engineer. There will always be 'hoops' to jump through, but they all serve legitimate roles, it isn't chaos in here.
Since I arrived here 6 months ago, I have, without exaggeration, accomplished more legitimate work and made a larger impact on the tasks at hand, than I had in the previous 3 years at jobs with other '5S' and 'streamlined' companies. While the pace is ferocious, everyone's willingness to make changes rapidly allow us to correct problems and move on. Other jobs would ponder and debate the merit of fixing a known issue.

Most importantly, I have enjoyed working here. I rarely work fewer than 12 hours a day simply because the job can always be stimulating. The typical employee here is not average. They are the greatest collection of legitimate, hardworking, brilliant, well-rounded engineers I've ever known. I have yet to meet an employee here whom didn't simply impress me or lack in capability. There are no weak links, and that feeling has instilled confidence in every task I do or hand-off to someone. They are all thinkers, all willing to ask questions, will figure it out on their own, is capable of making a decision, won't take suggestions personally (most of the time), and no one hides or plays the blame game when something goes wrong. Everyone jumps on the grenade and fixes the problem together. Simply amazing.

I gave a low rating to the Work/Life balance because it is VERY easy to get sucked into and do nothing but work and the rest of your life will suffer. These are sacrifices which you must honestly be willing to make from time-to-time. It isn't constant though.

Technology like this won't manifest itself, it takes honest hard work; but, working here you know, feel, witness, and experience that work make an immediate difference. – less
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Great Place for a Young Engineer
Production Engineer (Current Employee), Hawthorne, CA – April 8, 2013
Pros: excellent learning opportunity, work environment has a good fun/hard work balance, stock options
Cons: long hours - easy to get sucked into being a workaholic!
I have learned an outrageous amount as a young engineer at SpaceX. I do not know of any other place that gives such young engineers so much responsibility and opportunity to succeed. That being said, they expect a lot out of their employees, and many people work long hours to keep up with the pace and to continue excelling. If this isn't an issue for – more... you (as is the case with me), and if you want to be a part of a very unique and innovative company, this is the place for you! – less
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Inspiring and Challenging
Propulsion Engineer (Current Employee), Hawthorne, CA – April 5, 2013
Pros: free lunches occasionally, ice cream, good benefits, and stocks
Cons: long hours
I love coming into work every day knowing I'll be working on rockets and spacecraft. I get to work with very intelligent and accomplished engineers on developing the hardware that will be part of something historic. Additionally, because I interact with several different groups at SpaceX and it is so integrated, it has allowed me to develop to become – more... a well-rounded engineer and professional. It is somewhat difficult as there is a lot of responsibility given right away and priorities can shift, but it keeps the job interesting and challenging. – less
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Racism will always be there!
Avionics (Current Employee), Hawthorne, CA – March 27, 2013
Pros: benefits
Cons: racism, no structure training, no advancement
As a Asian-American employee I have a friend who was hired (African American). Advancement has come come a lot easier for me without really trying being honest. We have the same experience we used to work together at small machine company. I have notice that most of the African Americans either work in the inventory, shipping & receiving or the cleaning – more... up something. I'm writing this review because I know he has child and he is a smart guy who is highly motivated. The problem space x is a private company which means they can do whatever they want because here is no government funding. They promote advance and train whoever they like and from looks of things it's not black. I can go on-on but if you planning on working here be aware of the racism it's quiet but if you look around its extremely loud!!!! – less
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ijanyn – April 12, 2013

you are right racism is very ovbious, most of the hispanic, african americans and old (well experienced workers) are being left behind. while everybody else works, in some departments caucasians get the lead positions (even if they started as general helpers with not experience at all, or recently hired), they spend the day texting on cell phone or playing at computer, one simple work order takes days to be finished, stay at work 12-14 hours doing nothing, and or brown nosing... ! ... poor training and managment is making this company spend tons of money on failured proyects. does the big fishes at spacex know how bad is the managment????

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A Great Place To Work For Any Hard Charger
Propulsion Tech Lead (Current Employee), Hawthorne, Ca – March 27, 2013
Pros: systems i work on will be in orbit
Cons: tough schedule to balance personal life but i still make things happen
I have been here for less than three months, I have been cross-trained in three departments and now I am a lead man for a shop that has new challenges every day. I have learned much from the veterans here at SpaceX. I am encouraged to think outside the box, my supervisor allows me to figure things out on my own. My position as a lead man is tentative, – more... so far I am doing a great job. It is stressful at times but i work best when I am under pressure, thanks to my Military experiance. I would recomend this place to any hard charger. – less
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ijanyn – April 14, 2013

really? three months and they promoted you as a lead man? you are lucky , that sounds very "interesting" tell me the secret! good workers have been working there since falcon 1 and they still unapreciatted. the ethics of the staff in production is horrible, new hires -leadman- harass the workers just because they feel superior. good workers are walking away because of the environment,staff does not have any managament or people skills. favoristism and buddy groups are the main support of this company. the long hours working there is because of the failures and mistakes in proyects that unexperienced workers made. ( guess who is fixing those mistakes: the unappreciated worker). i hope your new career is giving you the opportunity to see how pushy and stressful your manager could be. (make a difference and do not promote brown nosing as still now)

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Awesome
Avionics Technician (Current Employee), Hawthorne, CA – March 26, 2013
Pros: free lunch on weekends, cheap but awesome quality clothing, free yogurt coffee and soda.
Cons: long hours and sometimes weekends.
Space X has been a blast to work for so far. I have worked here for 3 months now, and I have nothing to complain about. There is plenty of overtime and they work with your schedule to help you out(If you need to). The people all around are fun to be with and make time fly by. I do not dread coming to work, it is sometimes what I look forward to. Most – more... of the time, I think about all the good I am doing here, its a good feeling to know you are a part of history here and taking things out of the world. – less
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Excellent company to grow as an engineer
Engineer (Current Employee), Hawthorne, CA – March 26, 2013
Pros: great environment to thrive as an engineer
Cons: parking
The company has a start up mentality and takes it to the fullest; long hours and intense deadlines. But this also gives an ideal environment to grow as an engineer. There is a broad range of skills that can be learned and there is exposure to new things every day. Great place for a true engineer to work at!!
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A truely amazing place to work!
Propulsion Technician (Current Employee), Hawthorne,Ca – March 26, 2013
Pros: working on spacecraft that may one day change history for humanity.
I started SpaceX almost 2 years ago and it has truely changed my life! The company grows incredibly fast and is constantly changing for the better. I recomend working for SpaceX for several reasons one being I am excited everyday I come into work no matter the work load. Two, getting to work on the most advanced technology in the world. Three it is – more... fast paced and always keeping you on your toes. Four, learning an incedible amount in such a short time period. – less
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Amazing opportunities and job satisfaction awaiting those willing to put in the effort.
Engineer (Current Employee), Hawthorne, CA – March 20, 2013
Pros – Note: This is from an Engineer's perspective.

SpaceX has been in a state of growth since I first started at the company, constantly increasing the scope of it's projects, it's capabilities, and it's vision. With that comes the amazing opportunities that only comes from a small/medium sized company!

There aren't many companies where you can – more... have something you designed or built in space within 1~2 years! If flying something you've worked on in space is a career goal of yours, I can't think of a better place to be.

Another side effect of a rapidly growing company is the opoprtunities for increased responsibility. SpaceX employees often find themselves responsible for very important elements very quickly. Responsibility it placed upon people based more on merit than tenure, which allows for career growth not possible with larger aerospace companes.

In my experience, SpaceX does a good job of rewarding efforts and successes with perks and bonuses. While compensations may be below aerospace industry standards initially, SpaceX (in my opinion) does a better job of rewarding performance.

At the end of the day, there isn't any thing quite like watching a rocket take off and a spacecraft at the space stations, and SpaceX captures that excitement and passion of that dream!

Cons – Hours and work/life balance at SpaceX is likely the biggest and most-common complaint, but in my experience it is what each person wants to make of it. SpaceX will take as much as you want to give it, which for a lot of energetic fresh from college engineers is alot. There are lots of folks who have made a successful transition from 60+ hour workweeks to something more sustainable, but you must make a concious decision to do so.

For better or worse, there is definitely less structure, organization, and training at SpaceX than other companies. Nearly all of the training and learning is "on the job" training, as there are minimal mentoring programs. Also, some of the institutional protections of larger companies will not there at SpaceX (for better or worse). – less
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The most enjoyable challenges you'll ever have.
Avionics Engineer (Current Employee), Hawthotne – March 19, 2013
Pros: see your designs operating in space, stock options, free food/frozen yogurt/coffee, subsidized massages, laundry service, in addition to good health/dental benefits, lasik is reimbursed
Cons: long, occasionally brutal, work hours
Typical day at work for me:
10am: Arrive, drink large mug of free hot chocolate. Review and reply to emails.
10:30: Vehicle assembly design in CAD.
1:00pm: Grab free lunch from kitchen or buy from food trucks outside, bring back to desk. More CAD. Occasionally called down to factory floor to review fabrication element or installation verification.
2-5pm: – more... meeting. Scheduled for half an hour, cut down to 20 minutes because we're done talking and have stuff to do. Average 1 nerdy reference per meeting.
6pm: Free coffee/frozen yogurt. Walk around the factory with it to see what's new. Back to work after about 20 minutes.
8:00pm: on a normal/light day, wrap up and go home. Before a milestone, though, this is dinner time before returning to work.

Management:
Highly variable between groups, but usually amazing. My boss is a year older than I am (we're both in our 20s), and our interactions are uniformly positive. She is supportive, facilitates getting me the tools I need, and has a great sense of humor.

Your co-workers:
In a word: amazing. They are passionate, intelligent (often mind-bogglingly so), dedicated, accomplished, friendly, and funny. They are more than coworkers: they are friends. They are the proverbial "best and brightest" and it is an honor and a pleasure to work with them every day. I have experienced a few isolated cases of certain individuals being persistently rude or arrogant, but they are in the tiny minority. The application and interview process is rigorous; the occasional lazy/incompetent/untruthful person that gets through washes out in short order.

The hardest part of the job:
We engineer and send things into space. That's extremely hard. Also sleep deprivation sometimes.

The most enjoyable part of the job:
We engineer and send things into space. That's extremely enjoyable. – less
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Work/Life Balance
Quality Surface Plate Receiving Inspection (Current Employee), Hawthorne, CA – March 18, 2013
Pros: free lunches on saturdays, plenty of overtime
Cons: work/life balance
They don't particularly have a Work/Life Balance accommodations. If you have family hardships they won't structure your work hours for support. Managers aren't employee friendly and no initial training exists from the company.
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Tooling nightmare
tool maker / laser tracker operator (Former Employee), Hawthorne – March 1, 2013
Pros: none in tooling
Cons: horrible management, rude, condescending
Tooling management is one of the worse in the business.
There disrespectful and rude and belittling. Would not recommend anyone to work there. I have been in tooling for 25 years in automotive,aircraft and space.
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Best place in the world to be an Engineer
Employee (Current Employee), Hawthorne – January 22, 2013
Pros: new espresso bar and restaurant, casual and fun environment
Cons: high high expectations
Yes the hours are long, yes expectations are high. But there is nowhere else you should be if you're interested in performance engineering.
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Not fit for professional parents
Statics Engineer (Former Employee), Hawthorne, CA – November 25, 2012
Pros: great and exciting product, the engineering team is wise and most of them very fun to work with, the company sponsors fun events to keep employees happy.
Cons: spacex will hire and fire as quick as the flavor of the months comes and goes, some management is comprised by inexperienced youngsters with no leadership skills, profane language is widely used, the team practices very little fellowship, work hours are in the range of 13 hrs daily including weekends.
Great place for an intern but not so much for professional parents that need the stability of a set work schedule. The company is growing through some growing pains and your happiness here will depend on how much you are willing to tolerate. If you mind a harsh non-collaborative culture that endorses the use of profane language, and work hours in the – more... rage of 13 hrs daily then this place might not be for you. – less
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Great benefits if given time to use
Technician (Former Employee), Hawthorne – November 25, 2012
Pros: health benefits, sodas, frozen yogurt
Cons: work/life balance. favoritism, racism a few more isms.
If you have an interest in aerospace but have no prior experience in aerospace than SpaceX is the place for you. Do you wake up every day looking forward to working in an environment that is unnecessarily full of stress and where the coworkers that you are working closest to are always ready to direct their faults on you? Than come on and join the team! – more... No life? Perfect! That's why you'll fit in. Spend your life away at Spacex. Believe me they won't mind at all. Don't let me forget to mention the excitement of all the dangers associated with this wonderful dream job where most of the company is being built on employee mistakes because there is no official training. Good luck! – less
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– December 11, 2012

How much did they pay you to start?

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General Helper Workplace
General helper (Former Employee), Hawthorne, CA – September 24, 2012
Pros: company benefits
Cons: bad co workers
I would start my day off with checking the work from the night before, making sure everything is still in place. I would start cleaning metal chips from the ground and if any technical work with the machines it was quickly done.
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fun and young place to work
aerospace specialist (Current Employee), Los Angeles, CA – July 13, 2012
Pros: free lunches
Cons: management
had a lot of fun working hard, learned a lot. co workers was cool, enjoyed talks with the owner
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About SPACEX

Space Exploration Technologies wants to be the go-to cargo company of the future. Also known as SpaceX, the company is developing space – Read more