So Much Potential - werkgeversreview Build Engineer bij SpaceX

*SpaceX isn't a small company any more. There are layers of bureaucracy and politics that make real work difficult. Worse, the management is really young and many have never worked outside the company. Fresh engineers are frequently thrown under the bus by eager Leads looking to impress. *Hawthorne employees don't want to work on Starship. While the Company has stated our priority is to build this new vehicle, there are few willing to relocate to the build site in Texas. SpaceX dangles a lot of carrots to entice the Hawthorne crew out, with various "Boca site improvements" directed squarely at visiting staff. Once a person transfers to Boca, however, their needs are promptly set aside to make room for the visitors. This is important concept to understand: Accepting a job at Boca means you are filling in for an engineer in California. And they will be enjoying the Hawthorne Barista while you sweat. *Work environment. (Boca Specific) We have the money to build a booster bay and an orbital launchpad, but not air conditioning or toilets. Build engineers sit in trailers and use dirty porta-potties. The factory floor is often 90-degrees (F) / 90% RH and your clothing is completely drenched in sweat after 15 minutes. Only one of the 2 parking lots is paved, and there isn't enough space so many employees park on the highway. Your vehicle will be covered in dust, mud, and rock dings unless you are lucky enough to get a paved spot. Mosquitoes... so many mosquitoes. Someone planted a bunch of palm trees and that's considered improvement? Perhaps if everyone in the company had to struggle this way it might be bearable. *Doing a good job here just means you get more work. *Staff read Elon's tweets like tea leaves. If the CEO tweets he will have a new Superheavy update by Monday, be prepared to cancel your vacation because your Manager is drafting an email about how it might be possible to build one if we all work extra hard. *Speaking of Elon, he actually does threaten to fire people. Employees seem divided on this topic. Some think it's awesome/inspirational when a person is given the ultimatum "achieve this by X or I expect your resignation." Some find it horrifying. Either way, if you work for said person, your life is about to become miserable. *Wasted effort. Prioritization is a serious problem in the Starship program. There are many competing needs on site and it seems personality is the largest factor in determining who gets resources. I cannot tell you how many times we have spent serious effort on some new, totally unvetted idea that received funds because the requester had good connections. Often these projects will consume several engineers' bandwidth and then end up in the dumpster without explanation. Even when the idea *is* really sound, the execution may be rushed as "fastest path to Mars" and the end product doesn't achieve its function. *Engineers get pressured into working nights and weekends. This is a peer thing, really. New guys come in and attempt to have a life, which sadly fails as they succumb to pressure, losing their time with family/friends. The hourly employees think Engineers are nuts. No... they just aren't capable of pushing back. *Finally, there is less to learn here than you may think. New engineers constantly reinvent the wheel as experienced engineers leave for greener pastures. If you are the new engineer this is actually quite fun- you may even think you're blazing a path.