How to Become a Data Scientist at SpaceX? Do You Have a Chance?

Published on:

19 Apr 2022, 8:00 am

Want to land a job as a data scientist at SpaceX? Look out for the steps and responsibilities to follow

SpaceX is a private aerospace company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk. SpaceX's objective is to reduce the cost of space travel for passengers and cargo. They've developed reusable rockets that can land themselves after launching a payload into orbit, as well as more efficient ways to launch their rockets from Earth. SpaceX has been working on reusability for over a decade. Since then, they've started working on the Falcon 1 rocket, which would eventually become reusable. They require data scientists that can use machine learning and other algorithms to construct models to do all of these things.

Data science is a rapidly expanding field in business and industry. It's what enables businesses to make data-driven decisions, recommendations, and predictions. Want to land a job as a data scientist at SpaceX? Look out for the responsibilities and salaries.

SpaceX employees are part of teams in the areas of avionics, materials engineering, mission management and space operations, satellite development, test operations, and vehicle engineering, among others. According to data from Glassdoor, SpaceX employees aren't compensated as high as those working for tech giants like Facebook or Google.

SpaceX provides two ways to work with their company, and there are several positions for which one can apply according to their skill-sets.

The two ways to get a job in SpaceX:

Full-time Job
Internship

For both jobs, candidates can apply online through the link https://www.spacex.com/careers. By this link, one can check and apply for the current opening and opportunities in SpaceX. Once you apply for SpaceX and if your resume got selected, they will start your recruitment process. Once you apply for SpaceX, you might have to wait for a long time of 2-5 months approx.

Data Scientist Responsibilities:

Streamline processes and improve vehicle reliability by developing anomaly detection and automated data review systems
Assist in developing project plans, provide technical oversight, and conduct code review
Be the "ambassador" for predictive analytics and machine learning throughout the company by identifying high-impact applications
Deliver production-quality code (mainly Python) against an aggressive timeline

Basic Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in computer science, data science, physics, mathematics, or a STEM discipline
1+ year professional, or educational/intern experience in analytics, data science, data engineering, or software engineering
Development experience with SQL, Python, Spark, R, or other programming languages

Preferred Skills and Experience:

Experience building predictive models and machine learning pipelines (clustering analysis, failure prediction, anomaly detection)
Experience working with in-stream data processing of structured and semi-structured data
Experience in custom ETL design, implementation, and maintenance
Experience with schema design and dimensional data modeling
Experience working in a Linux environment, and open-source tools
Experience handling large (TB+) datasets
Domain-specific experience is a plus, but not required
Demonstrated ability to own projects from start to completion
Strong attention to detail

SpaceX Data Scientist Salary

The average SpaceX Data Scientist earns US$191,000 annually, which includes a base salary of US$91,000 with a US$100,000 bonus. This total compensation is US$61,786 more than the US average for a Data Scientist. The Engineering Department at SpaceX earns US$50 more on average than the Legal Department.