
SpaceX Engineer Interview Questions
& Process
Real candidates share what happened, how many rounds they had,
and how the experience turned out.
Based on 73 interview experiences · FREE TO READ
Candidate interview experiences
First-hand accounts from people who interviewed at SpaceX.
Engineer
It was a fair interview process with multiple phone screens. They asked mostly technical questions, along with some situational questions about what I would do in certain scenarios. The interview felt fair and reasonable, and the questions accurately reflected my technical skills.
- Questions about your resume and previous work experience.
Engineer
The interview process involved two phone screens followed by an on-site interview, which included a presentation about a project I worked on. The questions were pretty typical. Both phone interviews started a bit late, about 5-10 minutes after the scheduled time. I felt good about how my on-site interview went and that I connected well with the team, but unfortunately, I didn't get an offer. When I asked for feedback, the recruiter mentioned it's their policy not to give any. Just wanted to share that in case you're interviewing with them – I put a lot of effort into preparing and traveling, so some helpful feedback would have been appreciated.
- What motivates your interest in working at SpaceX?
- Describe your approach to scaling a process.
- Explain how you would expedite the completion of a process.
Engineer
Four rounds of interviews. First, a screening call with basic engineering questions. Then, two 1-hour phone interviews with different team engineers, including more screening engineering questions and a couple of more abstract/complicated problems. You'll also discuss a significant project you worked on with follow-up questions. The onsite interview is about 6 hours long. It includes a ~30-minute tour of the main building, a ~1-hour panel presentation/interview, and a 30-minute lunch. There are 6 one-on-one interviews covering your background, technical questions, and scenarios. For some interviews, you'll be given hardware and asked to explain its function, purpose, and manufacturing process. The process was fun but very long. I got an automated email rejection with no feedback. Nobody you spoke to during the process responds after this point.
- What is the maximum stress on a beam?
- If a balloon is inflated inside a car and the car accelerates, what direction does the balloon move?
SpaceX Engineer Interview Questions
Quoted word for word from SpaceX interview reports.
“For a fixed cantilever beam with a point load P at the end, what is the equation for deflection?”
Read reports →“Regarding a water bucket with a hole, will it empty completely?”
Read reports →“If a balloon is inflated inside a car and the car accelerates, what direction does the balloon move?”
Read reports →“Can you provide the formula for the force exerted by a spring?”
Read reports →“Given a beam fixed at one end with a downward force at the free end, where would it break?”
Read report →“Describe the effect on stress if the hockey pucks were made of steel instead.”
Read report →“Regarding two metals of a certain thickness, what is the appropriate weld size?”
Read report →“For a cantilever beam with a point force at the free end, where do you anticipate the highest bending moment to occur?”
Read report →“Regarding pressure vessels, how can one determine if a component exhibiting a crack is still safe for operational use?”
Read report →Formats, difficulty and experience
Across all 73 SpaceX interview reports.