I had an excellent experience.

The HR team was professional. Everyone was timely and fast-paced. I totally enjoyed interacting with everyone involved!

I was even a bit surprised because some reviews that I read here prior to my interview were not the most positive ones. Everyone at SpaceX was very friendly, from my first-line recruiter to the engineers on the hiring team.

The visit at the Hawthorne facility was super! The part I enjoyed the most was presenting my project and discussing it with the team. The folks were pretty knowledgeable, including many aspects outside the typical aerospace/rocketry domain, so it was a great experience to talk to them.

I learned a lot during my interview and never thought it could be so enjoyable. Of course, it was also very stressful, especially during the visit, but overall, pretty awesome! :)

I really enjoyed all my 1:1 interviews. They were mostly technical questions. Some were a bit challenging, but nothing was unbearable. Most questions were, in fact, pretty interesting to discuss. Topics included general engineering thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, as well as some questions about fundamental rocket concepts. Truly, nothing was too bad. I was challenged the most by a structures question because I haven't dealt with structures for a while.

I think a candidate who did well throughout all their undergraduate and graduate school, is strong in fundamentals, and has a reasonable background in propulsion (e.g., took propulsion classes, actually did well, and feels comfortable with the subject) has good chances to prepare themselves and do well in an interview like this, at least from the technical perspective.

Another side to this is that it might be difficult to prepare for something like this overnight. The type of questions and the discussions that take place really require you to have a thorough and solid understanding of the important concepts in your field. This is something you learn in school (or a good job, e.g., in R&D), and it takes several years to build and solidify in your head.