I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at SpaceX
Interview
I applied online, I was then given an phone call to set up a phone interview.
The interview was with two engineers from the group I was applying for.
They asked a series of "standard" quiz style qualitative questions about mechanical engineering mostly pertaining to cantilevers. They then asked about a project I was involved with and we had a long discussion about that. ~ 40 min total
I then got setup for a second phone interview with the group manager. He did a lot of talking about the position itself and then asked me about multiple projects and experiences on my resume. ~ 30 min total
The HR that setup my interviews was very helpful and detailed, but then I got a terse denial email after the second interview.
I applied through other source. I interviewed at SpaceX in Jan 2018
Interview
First interview was a short phone call. Lasted about 20-25 minutes. I did most of the talking, I was just asked a few questions and that was it. The questions were straight forward about my experience, toughest project, and my role in process improvement.
I applied through university. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at SpaceX in Jul 2015
Interview
I had a phone interview that lasted about 30 minutes. We went over my background and what I had worked on followed by some general engineering questions to test my knowledge. It was a very straight forward interview and was about what you would expect.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
General engineering questions that you would see during a statics or mechanics of materials course.