Dynamics Engineer Interview Experience - Hawthorne, California
February 1, 2014
Positive ExperienceGot Offer
Process
A recruiter found me on LinkedIn and asked for a phone interview.
This was followed by a technical interview with the group manager on academic topics such as vibrations, control theory, and dynamics.
Lastly, I had a phone interview with the VP of structures. This involved a brain-challenging problem regarding a satellite and damping, and methods to suppress vibrations in multi-degree-of-freedom systems.
I found studying for a few hours the day before the technical interview really helped.
Questions
How to suppress 3-axis vibrations using only linear actuators for a satellite?
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the SpaceX Dynamics Engineer role in Hawthorne, California.
Success Rate
100%
Pass Rate
SpaceX's interview process for their Dynamics Engineer roles in Hawthorne, California is incredibly easy as the vast majority of engineers get an offer after going through it.
Experience Rating
Positive100%
Neutral0%
Negative0%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for SpaceX's Dynamics Engineer interview process in Hawthorne, California.
SpaceX Work Experiences
3.0
Great work, great engineering, terrible managers
Dynamics Engineer • Former Employee
Hawthorne, CA
December 8, 2024
Pros: Engineers have the final say. This company has a great culture of finding and following the truth, taking accountability, and picking things because they are the best.
The big picture is very exciting, and you are surrounded by others who are all excited to push the boundaries of rocket technology.
You get to work with some of the leading experts in aerospace on projects that have never been done before.
Good pay fresh out of college.
Employee stock awards provide incentives for individuals to improve the company.
Cons: Management does not care about you. They care about the work getting done at all costs.
A team's best individual contributors are the ones promoted to managers. These are usually the people worst suited to managing others. Managers range from enthusiastic but inexperienced, to incompetent.
It's not a sustainable workplace. Most people are here for under 2 years. To make it here longer than 5 years, you have to be a little crazy.
Long hours, but I assume you already knew that.
Your experience here will depend entirely on your manager. Some teams are very relaxed, have good management, and have fun. Often the teams working with the government are this way (Dragon, Starshield, HLS). The teams driven entirely by internal pressure are the worst (Starship mainline, user terminal, etc.)
They give performance bonuses in the form of stocks that vest over the next few years, and they WILL try to cheat you out of them.
I was fired due to performance reasons when a brand new manager came in, and they let me go 2 weeks before the bonus I had earned a year ago vested. This is not unheard of, and I know of several others who were treated the same way.
3.0
Avionics Engineer at Starbase TX Review
Avionics Engineer • Current Employee
Brownsville, TX
October 30, 2025
Pros: Good pay, meaningful projects, and plenty of autonomy.
Cons: Long, long hours, immaturity, and fighting with teams for every small decision.
3.0
Lots of work but rewarding!
Reliability Engineer • Current Employee
Hawthorne, CA
June 14, 2024
Pros: The coolest people to work with. You will make some very close friends. Work on extremely cool projects with a lot of ownership.
Cons: Each employee is given way too much work for one person for the sake of keeping teams lean.
- 3.0Great work, great engineering, terrible managersDynamics Engineer • Former EmployeeHawthorne, CADecember 8, 2024Pros: Engineers have the final say. This company has a great culture of finding and following the truth, taking accountability, and picking things because they are the best. The big picture is very exciting, and you are surrounded by others who are all excited to push the boundaries of rocket technology. You get to work with some of the leading experts in aerospace on projects that have never been done before. Good pay fresh out of college. Employee stock awards provide incentives for individuals to improve the company.Cons: Management does not care about you. They care about the work getting done at all costs. A team's best individual contributors are the ones promoted to managers. These are usually the people worst suited to managing others. Managers range from enthusiastic but inexperienced, to incompetent. It's not a sustainable workplace. Most people are here for under 2 years. To make it here longer than 5 years, you have to be a little crazy. Long hours, but I assume you already knew that. Your experience here will depend entirely on your manager. Some teams are very relaxed, have good management, and have fun. Often the teams working with the government are this way (Dragon, Starshield, HLS). The teams driven entirely by internal pressure are the worst (Starship mainline, user terminal, etc.) They give performance bonuses in the form of stocks that vest over the next few years, and they WILL try to cheat you out of them. I was fired due to performance reasons when a brand new manager came in, and they let me go 2 weeks before the bonus I had earned a year ago vested. This is not unheard of, and I know of several others who were treated the same way.
- 3.0Avionics Engineer at Starbase TX ReviewAvionics Engineer • Current EmployeeBrownsville, TXOctober 30, 2025Pros: Good pay, meaningful projects, and plenty of autonomy.Cons: Long, long hours, immaturity, and fighting with teams for every small decision.
- 3.0Lots of work but rewarding!Reliability Engineer • Current EmployeeHawthorne, CAJune 14, 2024Pros: The coolest people to work with. You will make some very close friends. Work on extremely cool projects with a lot of ownership.Cons: Each employee is given way too much work for one person for the sake of keeping teams lean.
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