SpaceX Structures Engineering reviews

4.9

98% would recommend to a friend

(40 total reviews)
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Elon Musk

99% approve of CEO

99% positive business outlook

Structures Engineering employees have rated SpaceX with 4.9 out of 5 stars, based on 40 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Structures Engineering professionals have an excellent working experience there. SpaceX is rated 35% above average by Structures Engineering professionals compared to other employers within the Aerospace & Defense industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

40 reviews
4.0
Mar 17, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The work environment is very fast paced. The average age of the SpaceX team is well under 30. Groups are typically very small and each individual engineer has a huge amount of responsibility. It is very nice as an engineer to have such a large amount of control over your project and to make large impacts on the flight vehicle design. You will be exposed to a wide variety of projects which keeps work interesting and you learning as an engineer. Engineers are responsible for their parts from conception to flight - making CAD models, doing analysis, making drawings, and working with the manufacturing and production teams. Engineers are very unlikely to be pigeon-holed into a specific tasks for years on end. As the company is growing in size it has managed to keep much of the small company feel within the engineering groups. In addition most peoples hours have been scaled back to 50-60/week, but it can still jump to 80+ in crunch time. Working as an engineer at Spacex is really about working with a bunch really bright people to build some awesome hardware and send it to space. You will have to make some sacrifices to do so but being part of such an incredible endeavor is worth it.

Cons

Management styles, hours worked, and compensation all vary wildly among groups within engineering and throughout the company. Large expectations, little direction from managers, frequent changes of direction, and general hard work culture makes SpaceX not for everyone.

5.0
Mar 17, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Work at Spacex is demanding but rewarding. There are few if any other places in the world where you'll find the opportunities Spacex offers. Highlights include: -Incredible opportunities to design, analyze, test and build flight hardware. All in an extremely short time frame, especially for aerospace. Get to truly see your projects cradle to grave. -Unsurpassed learning pace. Easily the fastest I've ever learned. Given the pace of progress and the flexibility expected from engineers you will learn a wide skill set very quickly. -Range of projects. Most employees aren't be doing the same thing every day. Many opportunities to run analysis, conduct testing, manufacture R&D parts, concept designs etc. etc. -Rockets are built in the same building. Very tight feedback loop between engineering and production. Go walk 100ft and see your parts being built or the problem item in person. -Company culture. Relaxed but very motivated with get-things-done attitude. Casual dress code. Silicone valley inspired perks, free coffee, froyo, subsidized food etc. -Company is overall pretty young and most employees are like-minded and amiable.

Cons

-Due to the responsibility placed on each employee work hours can often be long. Generally if you are reasonable about your time this isn't so much an issue. Some days will require longer hours or than normal no doubt. -Compensation is generally competitive but not outstanding considering the hours most employees keep.

5.0
Mar 17, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Space X is driven by technology and development and being an Engineer it is an exciting place to be. Things are moving fast and you really get a chance to see your projects make it through which is very rewarding. The management structure and communication is very open which helps at every level. Having worked in different places and different industries in the past, I feel there is a real desire to make things better as opposed to just make things cheaper. The atmosphere is pretty good, a lot of young people, very talented and motivated which means that the work environment is chilled while extremely focused on the technical side of things. Space X recognizes talent and provides individual with opportunities to learn new skills at the highest level of the industry. Very stimulating place!

Cons

Obviously the work pace is such that you spend a lot of time at work. Location is not great either but easily accessible so you don't have to live nearby.

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Glassdoor has 3,694 SpaceX reviews submitted anonymously by SpaceX employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if SpaceX is right for you.