How to Answer: Tell us about a time you faced failure at work.
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a SpaceX job interview.
33. Tell us about a time you faced failure at work.
What You Need to Know
Elon Musk has repeatedly been quoted as saying, "A failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating."
This interview question focuses less on the fact that you failed and more on your emotional intelligence and whether you learned from that failure. Taking your failure in stride and finding the lesson to be learned from your failures ensures you are less likely to repeat your mistakes. There's an expression that says no one can hold over you what you already own. There is nothing to fear in admitting to the mistakes you've made. Consider this when formulating your answer.
Written by Kevin Downey on October 25th, 2022
Answer Example
"I ran a simulation that repeatedly resulted in a rocket failure. I couldn't determine which calibration was off until I realized somehow that my propagation paths were slightly off between the four rockets. It took me about twenty simulation run-throughs before I unraveled the issue. But I kept at it and refused to give up."
Written by Kevin Downey on October 25th, 2022
Mechanical Engineer Example
"I failed designing a custom motor shaft. The shaft diameter was supposed to be 1.375" and I reversed the numbers to 1.357". I had to quickly design a sleeve that fit over the existing shaft to avoid a $100,000 loss and 3 month delay. This taught me to be more diligent when I release drawings."
Written by Joseph Murphy on November 4th, 2022
Manufacturing Engineer Example
"I once attempted to tackle a project far too quickly. The project was designing and building a small desktop lathe for winding coils. I tried to tackle the entire thing in a period of two days and as a result released a lathe (controlled by an FPGA) with several bugs in it. This would cause the lathe to react strangely at times and to even turn on its own sometimes."
Written by Timothy Cannon on November 18th, 2022