Software Engineer Interview Experience - Hawthorne, California
Process
Call from recruiter. He talked like he had been drinking a gallon of coffee, but was nice.
Call from program manager. He was also talking like he drank a gallon of coffee. He asked about resume stuff and some general distributed computing questions, such as threading and multi-processing.
The last question was pretty ridiculous: “We hire the top tenth of the top 1% of engineers. What are you the top tenth of the top one percent at?”
Really, bro? How do you even measure that figure? It was probably the worst interview experience I have ever had.
Questions
What was your GPA in college?
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 35 interview experiences for the SpaceX Software Engineer role in Hawthorne, California.
Success Rate
SpaceX's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in Hawthorne, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for SpaceX's Software Engineer interview process in Hawthorne, California.
SpaceX Work Experiences
- 2.0Interesting projects but toxic management and no balanceSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeTexas City, TXSeptember 5, 2026Pros: Good projects and smart peopleCons: No work-life balance and toxic upper management.
- 2.0Sink or Swim (usually sink)Software Engineer • Current EmployeeRedmond, WAApril 2, 2025Pros: Full end-to-end ownership of work. Work with extremely skilled people. Diversify skills. The work is constantly changing.Cons: You get pulled in many directions at once and are expected to execute at the highest level for all of them. You rarely get the time to stop and get really good at one thing, and are often too spread out. Everyone is being pulled in many directions, which results in a stressful and often blunt/harsh environment. There are barely any women...
- 3.0Strong career growth but low compensation and benefitsSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeRedmond, WASeptember 14, 2026Pros: Great career outlook; you learn so muchCons: Comp and benefits are measly if you joined at the wrong time.
