Challenging and Fulfilling - We're Going to Mars! - Lead Build Reliability Engineer SpaceX Employee Review

5.0
Oct 11, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Challenging opportunities that will test your creativity and problem solving, and you'll always learn something new. Good benefits, competitive pay (even for Los Angeles), and you are surrounded by a culture of openness and dedication to a common cause. No 'us vs. them' mentality between groups, we all work together to accomplish the mission. Maintaining a proper work/life balance is not nearly as challenging as it was in years past as leadership has adjusted to the feedback and gives us more opportunity to decompress.

Cons

Cross-communication between functional groups (i.e. Dragon to Falcon to Composites) is much better than it used to be, but still needs improvement.

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5.0
Jun 29, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

* **Unmatched Mission & Impact:** You are literally working on rockets and spacecraft. The cool factor is 10/10. * **Brilliant Coworkers:** You will be surrounded by some of the smartest, most driven engineers in the world. * **Insane Career Growth:** SpaceX on your resume is a golden ticket. You will learn more here in 3 months than in 3 years at a normal company. * **Hands-on Experience:** They actually trust interns with real, critical hardware. No boring coffee-fetching tasks.

Cons

**Cons:** * **Zero Work-Life Balance:** 70-80 hours a week is the norm, not the exception. Say goodbye to your social life and sleep. * **Extreme Burnout:** The "hustle culture" is toxic. You are expected to treat the company as your entire life. * **Mediocre Pay:** The hourly pay is average, especially when you factor in the insane hours and the high cost of living in LA/Hawthorne. * **Chaotic Management:** Decisions can change overnight based on whatever Elon Musk tweets or feels like doing that morning.

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