I was interviewing with you guys and we got about 3 rounds in, then contact with your org completely disappeared. I figured it had to do with a the big launch you just had, but still nothing after following up. Is that normal?

Which position?

Are you guys doing anything to improve the reports of poor work/life balance? I really feel like you'd attract a lot more engineers that way, and get higher quality work out of them?

Wondering the same thing... Really bizarre, unfortunate stories coming out of SpaceX.

We're actively trying to change the culture and management is onboard. What this means is that not working long hours isn't a negative in performance reviews and advancement. However, people often feel compelled/pressured to work the long hours because a lot of their peers do it.

> because a lot of their peers do it

Then just shut down the office and lock the doors at 6pm. This is how things are done in Europe and we (and our families) are pretty happy with it.

I guess the candidates are still limited to one particular country on one particular planet, right?

To be fair, that is not really SpaceX's fault. It is due to the U.S. laws that make an overly broad definition of what is a weapon, and an overly optimistic belief that the technology can be hidden from dedicated spies.

Strictly speaking, they could hire non-U.S. persons, but that requires a specific individual exemption from the state department. I don't know how hard it is, but I suspect it is only something they would try to do if they really wanted you (i.e. they recruit you, not you apply to them).

There are certainly places where ITAR could be described as "overly broad" (for instance, the infrared cameras used by firefighters are limited due to ITAR restrictions), but the only difference between an Falcon 9 and an ICBM is the bit on the end...

That said, a large part of the world has little need for just a different variation of their existing ICBM's.

Best planet in the Solar System, though!

No, the best planet is Pluto, no matter what the IAU says.

If pluto was a planet we'd have to memorize way more than nine planets

http://web.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/dps.html

I'll take that over the inconsistency of the "clearing the neighborhood" rationale for Pluto's exclusion.

I wouldn't be so assured.

> BASIC QUALIFICATIONS: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science

That is shutting out a very real group of extremely talented people. You can't teach initiative and passion.

I noticed that GPA is also required for recruiter applications; SpaceX is a really interesting company that's been on my radar for a long time, but seeing this is a huge turnoff. The best recruiters I know probably don't remember their GPA from college and some of them were so busy traveling around the world exploring during college that their GPA would only be a tiny detail in the overall narrative of their lives. Seems like a very short-sighted requirement (and means otherwise qualified and impressive candidates may never apply).

For what they are doing, a very strong background in data structures and memory management is required, at least in so far as the code running on the rocket itself.

Very few people learn that on their own, and even fewer learn it to the proficiency level they need.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and ask if you think that because you've had very, very few people without a degree apply for that kind of position? Your ad is ensuring that you'll never see the people that have learned it. As a self-taught programmer, I don't apply to listings with this requirement, even if I have everything else they're looking for, because it's just as much an indicator for me as it is for you. I just want you to be aware that you're excluding a very special niche group that could do wonders for any business.

I don't have application demographics in front of me, but I'd wager that you're correct, most people without a degree don't apply to that position.

However, that doesn't actually speak to what I was saying. My claim refers to the population of non-formally educated developers as a whole.

You might fall into the small portion of the population where you do have the requisite knowledge and skill. However, I think you're missing key element to recruiting, that took me a long time myself to understand.

Recruiting is a numbers game. Finding good people is hard, but the best way to find them is A) have competitive compensation, and B) volume. If the signal to noise ratio of college educated applicants is 50:1 and the ratio for non-college educated applicants is 100:1, then as long as there isn't a shortage of college applicants, it improves the recruitment process to require a college degree.

I think you're missing fapjacks point. its not that you're not letting a few people in that are just as capable, its that you're not finding all of the top talent possible. looking around my organization I would say of the people that one out of every 50 people who are hired are observably way more talented than all of the other engineers in the org (ignoring years of experience and strictly speaking about talent + measured output). half of those do not have degrees whereas 90% of engineers in the org do.

so if youre looking for top talent, you are limiting yourself by a significant amount by only looking for people with degrees. looking further into this, if the top talent you do have doesnt have many people to challenge them, then they will leave because they either feel like they arent progressing or feel like they get frustrated by the others not being able to contribute at a level that they expect.

Call me when the ITAR is lifed. Other than that, trying to get my green card.

Do you need Mathematicians?

Well, we're an engineering company, so it'd have to be math with a practical slant. Do you have a background in machine learning, statistical modeling, and data analysis (all done in matlab or python)?

Palo Alto shows no positions available...

Apply to the Hawthorne position and mention you're interested in the SF Bay area during the interview process. We don't formally have an office there yet.