> To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
If not for this, I would have applied years ago. Your company is changing the world and I just wish I could be part of it.
I sometimes wonder what "or eligible to obtain the required authorizations" means. Does that just mean that SpaceX has to sponsor the clearance process for you?
I remember reading another thread where they were talking about one or two non-US people working there, it would be nice if they elaborated more on what the process is for foreigners and maybe had some profiles of non-US people in their employee gallery. Even confirmation from a SpaceX person here that they do have people like that would be nice :)
> I sometimes wonder what "or eligible to obtain the required authorizations"
For stuff that goes beyond just being a US Citizen or Permanent Resident with no criminal record:
If they want you to do an SF-86 with the US OPM for a Secret or better clearance, it really means "if you even THINK you have something negative in your personal background, don't waste our time or yours in applying"
(reference: I'm one of the peoples whose full set of personal data was stolen in the OPM data breach)
Not really in any way SpaceX specific, but this is something you will commonly see if applying with any large defense contractor/US-based aerospace industry firm.
Please don’t spread this sort of FUD. I’ve had cleared colleagues who had nuanced opinions on which pot or acid to use, or who were draft dodgers from their home countries, or who were flamingly out with any kink you could care to name.
They care about blackmail material, oaths to other governments, felonies, and not a lot else.
Not my experience at all - prior clearances and NDAs preclude me from going into detail, but I personally saw a number of people who wasted a lot of time going through the process and getting denied for things in the same category as the first part of your statement.
It's true that almost any randomly chosen member of the DoD can get a regular 'secret' clearance for things that aren't especially super sensitive (I've met some very immature 20 year olds who only had Secret probably by virtue of the fact they were too young to have made any major mistakes in their life yet), but when you go beyond that, the requirements are greater.
Re: being flamingly out and kinky, the key part there is out. This isn't the 1950s were getting blackmailed over being gay is a super high risk to somebody if they're already voluntarily flamingly out.
>Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends
I'm not completely sure that a web developer doing typical frontend work would consider "being in the same company as people building rockets" to be exciting enough to justify the extended hours and weekends thing. For a mechanical engineer getting to practice the pinnacle of mechanical engineering? Yeah, I get it. For react work? Maybe not so much.
There’s not many greater missions out there than helping pioneer human space exploration. Realistically whatever your role, it’ll be incredibly small - SpaceX has thousands of employees. But however small, it’s moving the needle forward.
If you’re at the point in your life where you can make major sacrifices to a greater cause I’d say this is a fantastic opportunity.
Disclaimer: I’ve have no affiliation to SpaceX, I just believe in their mission.
For a mechanical engineer, working at SpaceX is not making a major sacrifice. You're earning a serious pedigree from a place that is on the cutting edge of your field. If you're a frontend developer, you're going to be paying the cost and not collecting the benefit. It would be nice to hire a React dev from spacex, but we all know they'd be the same as a react dev from any other startup. That is not true for people in engineering career paths. A SpaceX line on their resume will help them for the rest of their career.
I've said this a few times in other comment threads on HN, but be careful with this mentality. Any hiring manager who sees you as a person who always "watches the clock" downgrades you to someone unreliable for the team, and probably added to a list of "first people to cut" when the opportunity or need arises.
If you are the only person in the world with your skillset, you can maybe get away with this. But "web developer doing frontend work" is one of the more replaceable jobs out there, and it's only getting more competitive.
Don't underestimate the hunger of others in the marketplace. Just because you have a comfortable setup now doesn't mean this will always continue.
I assume you're talking about staying a little late during an emergency, balanced out by leaving a little early when nothing important is going on. SpaceX is talking about 80 hours a week baseline. I understand your platitudes about not being a clock watcher, but if you go to work for spacex expecting to merely not watch the clock, you will find yourself unpleasantly surprised. If we're talking about the average hiring manager, the average hiring manager could not handle SpaceX hours.
Damn. ITAR requirements? Surely with Starlink expanding globally (and focused on functioning in space, rather than the "easily-converted-to-ICBM's" that get it there) there's potential for hiring a more global workforce.
Hit me up when EU nationals can apply for the more interesting positions.
If not for this, I would have applied years ago. Your company is changing the world and I just wish I could be part of it.