Rocket Lab Mechanical Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

So I had this interview for a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer role. It started with a quick 15-minute recruiter call asking basic stuff like why I want the job, my experience, and if I'd relocate. Then, a 45-minute call with the hiring manager where we talked about my detailed experiences and some technical questions; he seemed good and answered my questions. The next part was a technical task where I had 7 days to design a thrust actuator, including CAD, picking parts, materials, and giving recommendations. This was a massive ask considering I have a full-time job, and I spent tons of time on it, researching, designing, and justifying everything. I had to create a slide deck with all this plus CAD and calculations. After submitting, I waited, followed up twice with the recruiter over 3 weeks with no reply. Finally, I got a generic AI-written rejection email. It said my design was good for a first iteration but needed more development for production, specifically on assembly and manufacturing ease. I was confused because the task said 'concept,' and they wanted it production-ready in a week while I work full-time, for free? They even suggested I keep developing the concept. I emailed again asking for more feedback, but got no clear answer on whether the application was totally done. Not a great experience, honestly, and it made me question how this company operates.

The hiring manager reached out to me for an initial phone call a couple days after I applied to the job. Initial phone screening was pretty chill, not a lot of questions. Process was relatively quick, received negative response few days after the phone screening. Based on the initial chat, the application process includes a phone screening, panel interview and an onsite interview/visit with the team.

I interviewed with Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA. The first interview was with the Lead Mechanical, covering my background and some small technical questions. The second was with a mechanical engineer on their team. Both rounds were technical. It wasn't clear if they were hiring for an entry-level or associate-level role, as it seemed they wanted someone more experienced. The second round focused on fundamental engineering concepts, but some questions were very specific and required knowledge from specialized classes. The interviewer offered no guidance for educated answers; if you got it wrong, that was it. Given it's still a startup phase, they could be more relaxed in their filtering. Your experience doesn't matter unless you can pass their technical questions. It seems they haven't decided on a specific role for you and won't until your first day. If you're entry-level and looking to gain experience, I'd suggest applying elsewhere with a more organized process and clear job description.