Rewarding but tough; gain knowledge and experience but no career development - Software Engineer SpaceX Employee Review

4.0
Apr 15, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Working with some of the smartest engineers in the world and taking on some of the most challenging engineering problems is truly rewarding. Good workplace with free coffee, free froyo, and cheap meals. Very fast-paced and you get to see your efforts go into application very quickly.

Cons

Management is still trying to figure itself out. Constant reorgs and shifting priorities results in loss of productivity and a decrease in morale. Career development is not directly valued. Very much a "sacrifice for the team" kind of place. Work/life balance gets lost -- not out of force, but because of the environment.

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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

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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