SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.
SPRING 2027 GRADUATE ENGINEER
As a Graduate Engineer, you will be responsible for working on creative solutions to real aerospace challenges. This is not an ordinary “internship” – you will be given as much responsibility as our full-time engineers and will be an integral part of the team. If you’ve demonstrated a commitment to academic success and motivation to apply your knowledge outside of the classroom, you are a great candidate!
Internships are available with a variety of engineering teams across the company including design, manufacturing and operations at Bastrop, TX; Bloomfield, CT, Brownsville, TX; Cape Canaveral, FL; Hawthorne (Los Angeles), CA; Irvine, CA; Long Beach, CA, McGregor (Waco), TX; Palo Alto, CA; Redmond (Seattle), WA; Vandenberg, CA; and Woodinville, WA.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- 6+ months of applied engineering experience (internship, laboratory, and personal/team project experience is applicable)
- Enrolled in a graduate program by the start of employment and holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering, physics or math discipline
- Applicant for this graduate engineer position must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful permanent resident (e.g., green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158.
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- GPA of 3.5 or above
- 9+ months experience of application of technical skills outside of the classroom (examples: laboratory, research, extracurricular project teams, volunteering, personal projects or prior internship/work experience)
- Ability to work well in an integrated collaborative team environment, including frequent interactions with technicians, other engineers, and managers
- Ability to work effectively in a dynamic professional setting with changing needs and requirements
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Able to work full time, onsite for a minimum of 12 consecutive weeks beginning in January or March 2027
- Able to provide own transportation for positions at Brownsville, Cape Canaveral, McGregor and Vandenberg locations
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:
Pay range:
Graduate Engineer/Completed Bachelor's: $83,200.00/per year
Graduate Engineer/Completed Master's: $91,000.00/per year
Graduate Engineer/Completed PhD: $100,100.00/per year
Your salary will be determined by academic level. Pay is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for a stipend to subsidize relocation costs, as well as access to our comprehensive medical coverage and a 401(k) retirement plan. Students joining SpaceX through our internship program will receive the opportunity to attend presentations from company leaders, social and networking events, as well as professional and personal development trainings. Interns are also eligible for paid company holidays. SpaceX offers 10 or more paid holidays per year.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS:
VEHICLE
- DRAGON: The Dragon spacecraft is capable of carrying up to 7 passengers to and from Earth orbit, and beyond. It is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth and is the first private spacecraft to take humans to the space station.
- FALCON: The Falcon program tackles space exploration’s toughest problems through the ongoing development of our reusable launch vehicles, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. These vehicles are currently responsible for delivering commercial, national security, and NASA satellites into orbit, as well as supply critical science, supplies, and crew to the International Space Station.
- STARSHIP: The Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket – collectively referred to as Starship – represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, designed to carry more than 100 metric tonnes to orbit in a fully reusable configuration and powered by our Raptor and Raptor Vacuum (RVac) engines, which are designed for use in the vacuum of space.
SATELLITE / SPACEXAI
- STARLINK: Starlink is the world’s largest satellite constellation and is providing fast, reliable internet to millions of users worldwide. We design, build, test, and operate all parts of the system, including thousands of satellites, consumer receivers, and the software that brings it all together. Our Starlink teams are also undertaking SpaceX's next-generation mobile network, Starlink Mobile, connecting human beings all around the globe anywhere they can see the sky.
- STARSHIELD - Starshield leverages SpaceX’s Starlink technology and launch capability to support national security efforts. While Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use, Starshield is designed for government use, with an initial focus on earth observation, communications, and hosted payloads.
- SPACEXAI - SpaceXAI’s mission is to create AI systems that can accurately understand the universe and aid humanity in its pursuit of knowledge. This includes Grok, the frontier AI model for everything you need, trained on the world's largest supercluster, and developing Starmind, a new constellation of satellites capturing solar energy in space to power low-cost, high-performance AI compute for Earth.
ITAR REQUIREMENTS:
- To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to [email protected].
Skills Required
- 6+ months of applied engineering experience (internship, laboratory, personal/team projects)
- Enrolled in a graduate program by the start of employment and holds a bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, or math
- Applicant must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful permanent resident, Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158 (ITAR requirement)
- Able to work full time, onsite for a minimum of 12 consecutive weeks beginning in January or March 2027
- Able to provide own transportation for positions at Brownsville, Cape Canaveral, McGregor and Vandenberg
- GPA of 3.5 or above
- 9+ months experience applying technical skills outside the classroom (laboratory, research, project teams, internships, personal projects)
- Ability to work well in an integrated collaborative team environment
- Ability to work effectively in a dynamic professional setting with changing needs and requirements
SpaceX Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about SpaceX and has not been reviewed or approved by SpaceX.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity grants are a core part of total compensation, with periodic company-run tender offers that create liquidity before any public listing. These mechanisms can make the equity component feel materially valuable in practice.
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Healthcare Strength — The package includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, with on-site clinics and health resources at major sites. This breadth of coverage is presented as a strong element of the offering.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Major locations feature on-site amenities such as fitness facilities, food/coffee, clinics, and other conveniences. These lifestyle perks enhance day-to-day value alongside cash and equity.
SpaceX Insights
What We Do
SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches the world’s most advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk to revolutionize space transportation, with the ultimate goal of making life multiplanetary. SpaceX has gained worldwide attention for a series of historic milestones. It is the only private company ever to return a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit, which it first accomplished in December 2010. The company made history again in May 2012 when its Dragon spacecraft attached to the International Space Station, exchanged cargo payloads, and returned safely to Earth — a technically challenging feat previously accomplished only by governments. Since then Dragon has delivered cargo to and from the space station multiple times, providing regular cargo resupply missions for NASA.
