i just got an offer from SpaceX as a new grad software engineer (class of 2025). took a while to find any current numbers so posting mine.
the offer: role: software engineer, Hawthorne CA base: $128,000 bonus: discretionary, recruiter mentioned 'around 5%' historically but was clear this is not guaranteed equity: RSUs, $80k total grant over 4 years. so roughly $20k/year if the grant value holds signing bonus: they offered $10k
approximate all-in year 1 if the bonus hits at 5%: $128k + $10k signing + $6.4k bonus + ~$20k RSU = somewhere in the $164k range before tax.
for la/hawthorne COL that's... fine? not bad, not as competitive as the big tech new grad offers i saw. i have a friend at Google SWE L3 in the bay at about $165k base alone.
why i'm considering it anyway: the resume is legitimately strong after a few years here. the engineering problems are real. and after spending four years dreaming about aerospace this feels like one of those decisions you make with your gut not your spreadsheet.
the process for new grads was: campus recruiter reach out, a coding phone screen (two medium-level algo problems, 45 minutes, Python was fine), then an onsite loop with four technical rounds (two coding, one systems fundamentals, one behavioral). the bar felt similar to midlevel tech companies, not quite FAANG hard but not easy either.
timeline: about 6 weeks from initial screen to offer.
did anyone else get an offer recently? curious if the numbers i got are typical or if there's room to push.