The interview process involved the following stages:

• General phone screen with a recruiter.
• Technical resume screen with a lead engineer.
• Open-ended engineering scenarios to test fundamentals with a manager.
• Presentation and Q&A session.
• On-site interview with one-on-ones, whiteboard problem-solving, system-level questions, etc.
• Phone technical interview and high-level thinking assessment with a VP.

It was a challenging but really fun interview process. The interviewers were super smart but also humble and made you feel comfortable. Know your fundamentals, show your application of first principles, and really nail the presentation. Show your technical skills and intense passion for your work through it.

It’s more important to show good communication and sound engineering principles versus knowing the exact answer beforehand. Don’t jump to the answer; take your time, ask questions, communicate clearly, and state all assumptions (e.g., simply supported vs. fixed). Most of all, be calm and confident, and show your honest, passionate attitude to learn and grow!

Good luck!

Conceptual/system-level questions

Questions related to previous projects and reasoning for design choices

Why SpaceX?