If by flat you mean that we don't have a bunch of bureaucratic hierarchy, that's true. We have Engineer 1, 2, and Senior on the individual contributor line, and Lead, Manager, Sr. Manager, Director, and Sr. Director on the personnel management line. It could probably be simplified further without losing scope of responsibility information. Right now we have about 50 individual contributors and 11 personnel managers. Keeping a ratio of 5 individual contributors or less per manager makes it possible to have real career development conversations regularly.
Senior Engineer carries high expectations around scope, impact, and autonomy. In other words, Seniors have a lot of responsibility, are expected to move mountains regularly, and operate with relatively little direction.
I'm Steve. I work for SpaceX, and I'm the hiring manager for the 'Senior Full Stack Software Engineer (Application Software): https://grnh.se/1f5a69532us' position. I've been here for 4.5 years and I think what we do is neat.
This is an exciting time to be working in this organization. We just launched Starlink Beta; we have engineers writing software to help produce Starlinks (the dish), control our network, and manage customer accounts. At the same time, we have engineers writing software to help produce Starships, Dragon capsules, and refurbished Falcon 9 first stages. The projects we take on to aid these programs are challenging and rewarding.
If you have any questions about the role, our organization, or working at SpaceX, ask away. I'll do my best to respond promptly.
Senior Engineer carries high expectations around scope, impact, and autonomy. In other words, Seniors have a lot of responsibility, are expected to move mountains regularly, and operate with relatively little direction.