Mechanical Engineering Intern applicants have rated the interview process at SpaceX with 3.8 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 65% positive. To compare, the company-average is 53.4% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Mechanical Engineering Intern roles take an average of 17 days to get hired, when considering 17 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at SpaceX overall takes an average of 29 days.
Common stages of the interview process at SpaceX as a Mechanical Engineering Intern according to 17 Glassdoor interviews include:
Phone interview: 32%
Skills test: 29%
One on one interview: 23%
Group panel interview: 6%
IQ intelligence test: 3%
Other: 3%
Personality test: 3%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at SpaceX in Jan 2024
Interview
Overall, the process was extremely smooth and quick. The interviews were more difficult than average, but not unreasonable.
I was contacted by a recruiter for a Starlink team in Redmond, WA. I was initially interviewing for a full time position, but I transitioned to an internship (with potential for a full time position) after expressing interest during my interview with the manager.
I had 3 phone interviews:
Screening: Introduction, basic questions about my resume, and some technical questions (don't overthink these - I went into some design concepts, but the recruiter also wanted me to specifically give simple textbook answers)
Manager: Half technical, half deep dive into my resume and projects. Be prepared to go into detailed specifics of your contributions in projects and work, including engineering fundamentals, measurable improvements, and next steps. They will ask about your assumptions and challenge them. My technical questions were related to heat transfer and mechanics.
Team Member: Another deep dive into one of my projects - I was steered towards talking about different concepts than my discussion with the manager (mechanical fundamentals instead of thermo/fluids/heat).
The whole process took less than a month - the recruiter was very communicative during the whole process.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Q: You have 2 plates connected with a bolt, with a force applied to the plate horizontally. What is the primary failure mode? What is the equation for the stress? How can you reduce these failures?
Q: In a simple RWD car, how much torque is required at the rear wheel? (they wanted a first-order approximation equation)
Q: What are the modes of heat transfer? What factors govern the effectiveness of each method?
Q: You have 2 dimensionally identical metal plates bonded together, 1 steel, 1 aluminum. They are heated together to the same temperature. What will happen? Which is in tension/compression?
Q: Give an example of a time you showed extreme effort.
Q: I have to write a letter to my CEO - how should I justify hiring you?
Q: Have you received any awards that you are proud of?
(in the context of an automotive cooling loop)
Q: Give me a detailed explanation of what happens to one "particle" of heat in your system.
Q: How did you determine your safety factor?
Q: What assumptions did you make? Is there anything wrong with them?
(in the context of a mechanical fixture)
Q: How did you arrive on this shape? What are the alternatives?
Q: How did you set up the FEA for this?
Q: How did you choose your material? What were the tradeoffs?
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at SpaceX (Cape Coral, FL) in Jul 2026
Interview
Round 1 - super chill, was with 2 leads. Asked about one of my projects, asked super in-depth questions about material choice, FEA (meshing validity). Then asked some basic structural engineering technical questions. got to ask questions at the end. *This does not include round 2 as I haven't taken it yet.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Minimize deflection on catilever beam, increase buckling force, difference between steel and aluminum.
It was pretty fast. Two rounds, you typical first principles questions. They dig deep into your personal projects so know what you are saying. The engineers are actually pretty helpful is making you feel confident and giving guidance where needed.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Based off of your intuition, how long can you extend a tape measure until it fails? How is the failure mode?
I applied online. I interviewed at SpaceX in Mar 2025
Interview
The process was only one round. It was completed with the team lead.
The interview covered a review of my resume as well as some technical and fluid system focused questions.