I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at SpaceX in May 2014
Interview
Was called up by HR two weeks after an employee referral. They asked "why do I want to work here" and I gave them the normal spiel about how passionate I am about space. We setup an interview for the following week.
*I never faced any "trick questions" but was asked about projects I have designed, the thought process, the final outcome, troubleshooting etc.
After answering the questions below I was called a week later to do a "design project" which I had a week to complete. It was a high level receiver design, with requirements for inputs and outputs. After submitting that I was given an offer.
Interview questions [4]
Question 1
What is the "noise floor"? How could you calculate it, where would you see it, and how do you "reduce it"?
The interviewers were cold and disrespectful. There was no rapport despite good answers to questions. They used a condescending tone if I asked a clarifying question. Would not recommend - so negative despite being invited back for another interview round.
Pretty straightforward. They just asked some standard questions regarding previous work experiences, academics, etc. There were also technical questions typical of RF engineering involving Smith charts and impedances, and whatnot.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They asked about the impedance of free-space, for example.
Started with a brief screening call. The second call was a technical interview where the interviewer went deep on resume and asked lots of questions relating to my projects. I think it's important to have side projects to land an interview at some of these companies, because they like to see interest outside of school.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
- Noise Figure, Power, Antenna Radiation, etc.
- What are the different factors to consider when designing a specific wireless system (related directly to one of my projects)? Be prepared to explain each one of these factors and how to design for it.
