SpaceX Structures Design Engineer reviews

3.4

58% would recommend to a friend

(31 total reviews)
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Elon Musk

73% approve of CEO

99% positive business outlook

Structures Design Engineer employees have rated SpaceX with 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 31 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Structures Design Engineer professionals have a good working experience there. SpaceX is rated in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) by Structures Design Engineer professionals compared to other employers within the Aerospace & Defense industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

31 reviews
4.0
Nov 17, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Work with a lot of really smart people on cutting edge projects. Given tons of responsibility and lots of room for growth.

Cons

Work towards very aggressive schedules and in what can be a very high stress environment. Hard work can go unnoticed at times.

4.0
Nov 17, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

SpaceX is a great place to learn a lot very fast, the work will be challenging but there are a lot of resources to help you solve problems. The teams are very talented and individuals are intelligent, which makes for an inspiring atmosphere pushing you to do good work.

Cons

The engineering team isn't diverse, if you were on a Formula SAE team be ready for that same kind of atmosphere. People can be very competitive and at times it felt like coworkers were more likely to try and keep people below themselves than help them out, even if that was worse for the company as a whole.

3.0
Oct 20, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I'll be frank: if you are after a challenging engineering problem, there are very few companies offering the challenges that SpaceX can offer. The feedback loop on your designs involves flying a sapcecraft/rocket, and there is no sweeter feel than seeing your contribution perform in the complicated mechanical orchestra that is flying spacecraft and launching rockets. The amount of responsibility a young engineer is given can be claustrophobic at times, and its most definitely sink or swim. But as you start finding that stroke and swimming, you'll find what SpaceX wants you to: the self confidence to solve problems that you search out and find. You need to learn modal FEA? Here's the license, figure it out. Production struggling with making your designs? Straighten it out. The berth that you are given is wide, and the expectations are high. One engineer (that has since quit) once told me the best part of his day was driving by another aerospace company and knowing that he personally is accomplishing the same amount as 3-4 engineers anywhere else. We are doing awesome things every day, and being offered a job at SpaceX is a big deal, the only question you'll have to answer is "How much do i want to sacrifice to have these cool problems?" The heyday of the small sexy spacex is long gone, but the challenges and opportunities to solve them haven't disappeared.

Cons

Zero career development. Very long review process. Lower pay compared to industry contemporaries. Being held accountable for problems out of your control. Work life balance can be good in a lull, which rarely happens. Very large chasm between management and boots on the ground.

Viewing 7 - 9 of 31 Reviews

Glassdoor has 3,683 SpaceX reviews submitted anonymously by SpaceX employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if SpaceX is right for you.