SpaceX has hundreds of open job positions

[FutureSpaceTourist]

According to: https://futurism.com/elon-musks-spacex-just-announced-hundreds-of-open-positions/ 473 open postions

SpaceX is looking to fill a whopping 473 open positions at posts around the United States. A great majority, 313, of these positions are at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne

Details at: http://www.spacex.com/careers/list

[John Alan]

WOW... that's quite a list... 

[abaddon]

Breaking it down a little:

Launch sites:
- CAPE CANAVERAL, FL - 33 positions
- VANDENBERG, CA - 18 positions
- BROWNSVILLE, TX - 1 position

Satellite sites:
- IRVINE, CA - 17 positions
- REDMOND, WA - 69 positions

Test facility:
- MCGREGOR, TX - 22 positions

Other:
- WASHINGTON, DC - 2 positions
- HAWTHORNE, CA - 313 (note I didn't count these myself!)

[jpfulton314]

Well, they need a cook in McGregor.   

...and it doesn't require a college degree, just two years in food service.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Slightly OT, but look how many spring interns SpaceX has. Really brings home how big the company is now:

Our spring intern class is helping @SpaceX #EngineerTheFuture. Check out our fall internships to join the mission: bit.ly/2oxVZDe

https://twitter.com/spacexjobs/status/855482656573739008

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Your definition of cool may vary but certainly some interesting positions in this selection:

11 of the Coolest Job Openings at SpaceX

https://www.inverse.com/article/30746-spacex-job-openings

[Darren_Hensley]

IMO Nobody wants to be a slave. I've looked into the company for a while. Seems they work you to death for low wages, 6 day work weeks are common even without a looming launch, 7 day work weeks are common near launch window.

They have higher than normal expectations for entry level positions, they want higher than normal quantities of experience for skilled labor work, and tech jobs like IT are out sourced 60% of the time.

Bad pay, Bad hours, and meager benefits add up to a bad work environment, it would seem only the management positions are worth having. I also heard from a shaky source 40% of the interns are washed out late in the game, who wants to go that far just to be handed a pink slip?
For a company that needs bodies, they act like have enough. IMO

[guckyfan]

For a company that needs bodies, they act like have enough. IMO

Lots of unsubstantiated claims. Also they don't need bodies, they mostly need brains.

[Dalhousie]

IMO Nobody wants to be a slave. I've looked into the company for a while. Seems they work you to death for low wages, 6 day work weeks are common even without a looming launch, 7 day work weeks are common near launch window.

They have higher than normal expectations for entry level positions, they want higher than normal quantities of experience for skilled labor work, and tech jobs like IT are out sourced 60% of the time.

Bad pay, Bad hours, and meager benefits add up to a bad work environment, it would seem only the management positions are worth having. I also heard from a shaky source 40% of the interns are washed out late in the game, who wants to go that far just to be handed a pink slip?
For a company that needs bodies, they act like have enough. IMO

SpaceX rated quite poorly on Glass Door in the past. But they seem to have lifted their game a bit in recent months.

[Svetoslav]

Hm... I've heard enough about the work process at SpaceX. To put it simply: this is a company I prefer to be a fan of, not to work for

[Welsh Dragon]

IMO Nobody wants to be a slave. I've looked into the company for a while. Seems they work you to death for low wages, 6 day work weeks are common even without a looming launch, 7 day work weeks are common near launch window.

<snip>

Bad pay, Bad hours, and meager benefits add up to a bad work environment,

<snip>

I'm in academic medical research, sounds exactly like my job. People who are passionate about their jobs don't care about these things. I don't.

[MikeAtkinson]

IMO Nobody wants to be a slave. I've looked into the company for a while. Seems they work you to death for low wages, 6 day work weeks are common even without a looming launch, 7 day work weeks are common near launch window.

They have higher than normal expectations for entry level positions, they want higher than normal quantities of experience for skilled labor work, and tech jobs like IT are out sourced 60% of the time.

Bad pay, Bad hours, and meager benefits add up to a bad work environment, it would seem only the management positions are worth having. I also heard from a shaky source 40% of the interns are washed out late in the game, who wants to go that far just to be handed a pink slip?

You could have written this any time in the last 10 years.

For a company that needs bodies, they act like have enough. IMO

And yet they have grown from less than 1000 to 6000 in that time.

[philw1776]

IMO Nobody wants to be a slave. I've looked into the company for a while. Seems they work you to death for low wages, 6 day work weeks are common even without a looming launch, 7 day work weeks are common near launch window.

<snip>

Bad pay, Bad hours, and meager benefits add up to a bad work environment,

<snip>

I'm in academic medical research, sounds exactly like my job. People who are passionate about their jobs don't care about these things. I don't.

Yup.  I was in high tech. Did startups.  Can be tough.  SpaceX embraces the Silicon Valley startup culture and work ethic.  It's not for everyone. You need to be psyched to make that kind of a life commitment. Fortunately, SpaceX has a mission goal that energizes many young tech types.

[docmordrid]

IMO Nobody wants to be a slave. I've looked into the company for a while. Seems they work you to death for low wages, 6 day work weeks are common even without a looming launch, 7 day work weeks are common near launch window.
<snip>
Bad pay, Bad hours, and meager benefits add up to a bad work environment,
<snip>

I'm in academic medical research, sounds exactly like my job. People who are passionate about their jobs don't care about these things. I don't.

Sounds like health care in general, especially trauma care  and oncology. Not to mention the stressors involved.

You need to be careful of those ratings sites because complainers are often the most likely to gravitate to them.

[Patchouli]

Yup.  I was in high tech. Did startups.  Can be tough.  SpaceX embraces the Silicon Valley startup culture and work ethic.  It's not for everyone. You need to be psyched to make that kind of a life commitment. Fortunately, SpaceX has a mission goal that energizes many young tech types.

I say the silicon valley culture is both one of their greatest strengths and liabilities at the same time.

It has allowed to to accomplish many daring things other companies are too risk adverse to attempt.
But also causes a high turn over rate that makes it difficult for them to keep an experienced staff that could have caught problems such as the helium tank issue before they resulted in the loss of a mission.

Crunch mode can be useful to make up lost time but if it become your norm productivity can fall off and mistakes go up.
Plus if you do need to make up lost you have no reserves to do it.

http://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs201/projects/crunchmode/econ-hours-productivity.html

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/01/26/working-more-than-50-hours-makes-you-less-productive.html

Maybe if they could achieve some sort of compromise keep the daring mind set but don't over work the staff or at least the top engineers and the ones in physical contact with the vehicles.

[RedLineTrain]

SpaceX rated quite poorly on Glass Door in the past. But they seem to have lifted their game a bit in recent months.

SpaceX has never rated poorly at Glassdoor.  Nowadays, they rank as high as Google (4.4), much better than Apple (3.9) and Microsoft (3.9), etc.  Musk is one of the highest rated CEOs.

Compare to ULA at 2.7.

[AncientU]

Just watch a launch webcast... 
The troops 'act' like they're loving it -- might be they are.

[RonM]

Just watch a launch webcast... 
The troops 'act' like they're loving it -- might be they are.

Lots of corporate technical jobs today have long hours and low pay. At least work at one that you can enjoy.

The webcasts show an enthusiastic workforce. Looks like most SpaceX employees (at least the ones we see) are happy to work there.

[laszlo]

Just watch a launch webcast... 
The troops 'act' like they're loving it -- might be they are.

Lots of corporate technical jobs today have long hours and low pay. At least work at one that you can enjoy.

The webcasts show an enthusiastic workforce. Looks like most SpaceX employees (at least the ones we see) are happy to work there.

My employer sends out a notice that they need "clappers" at publicity events. We are informed of the dress code, given a cost center to charge our time to, refreshments are provided and we are told to be professional and enthusiastic. So it becomes part of our job to look enthusiastic and as professionals, we do our job.

The President of the USA brings along White House staffers to enthusiastically cheer and clap when his target audience is too quiet (e.g. his address at the CIA).

In today's environment I'd take the images of the happy kids jumping up and down with a grain of salt. Not saying that SpaceX isn't the best company ever to work for, just saying don't take the PR images as proof.

[AncientU]

The workers at SpaceX would be highly insulted by your comment -- and justifiably so.
Some lame programs need paid clappers...