r/aerospace

Hey everyone, I am having some trouble deciding the best path forward career wise and would like some advice and input.

I am currently with Blue Origin as a level 2 engineer. Been here almost two years. Love my team and company mission, but I have slowly seen an increase in toxic company culture and push to be more like SpaceX to launch New Glenn at a faster rate. Also a huge disconnect between management and engineering.

I recently was offered a senior level position with Lockheed Martin at Kennedy Space Center. It would be an incredible opportunity to work on Orion and comes with about 20% pay increase.

Would this be a smart switch/transition? Blue just feels like a lot less of a stable/secure job but I love my coworkers. Not sure what my path to promotion looks like due to a high turnover in managers since I started at Blue. Wife and I are also looking to start a family soon, and the stability of Lockheed is certainly appealing. And working on Orion would be incredible and is very exciting. Any advice and input is welcome.

I may be overthinking this. Last week I had my 4th round of interviews and I was quite sure I would get an offer as the senior engineer and hiring manager told me “we’ll be in touch” after I shook his hand at the end. This was onsite for a defense firm:

They then moved me to the next room where I spoke w the head engineering manager for the department. In that round, they asked where my heritage was from and how I could speak 3 languages.

I mentioned I was born in Seattle and never left the country since. They asked me where my parents are from and I couldn’t lie so I said my parents are Kurdish.

They just said “oh interesting”. Then “that’s unique”. Literally after that the convo kind of become stagnant and then they told me they had another meeting soon so they needed to wrap up.

This was for a defense firm. But I guess going forward should I just not list languages? Also should I just lie in that scenario?

Sounds like Vast let go of 46 employees. Just under the amount needed for them to scrape by Cal-WARN reporting. Money issues on the horizon? The business model never did seem like it was going to close.

I'm curious how the space software industry (NASA, ESA, commercial companies, etc.) actually treats AI coding assistants (Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT, etc.) in practice. Specifically:

• Is there a formal or informal ban on using LLM-generated code in flight/mission-critical software?
• If AI tools are allowed, where exactly are they used — requirements analysis, test generation, boilerplate code, documentation — versus where they're strictly forbidden (flight control logic, safety-critical modules)?
• The main issue I keep hearing about is explainability: AI output can't be traced back to a clear rationale the way a human engineer's design decisions can, which seems fundamentally at odds with standards like DO-178C that require full traceability from requirement to code to test. Is this the actual blocker in practice, or are there ways around it (e.g. formal verification on top of AI-generated code)?

Would love to hear from anyone with direct experience in flight software, avionics, or satellite software development.

Hey all, I'm 26M, planning to switch careers abroad. I have been working for roughly 5 years at one of the big 3 aerospace parts supplier/aero manufacturer. I have worked on Nacelles sustenance, Nacelles R and D and also quite a bit of ITAR specific projects as well. Now I also started a new role in the same company as a repair engineer - stress support. I really enjoy creating codes for process improvement and saved about $200k this year. I think I'm good enough and confident to move further upside in my career.

I'm good with tools like Hypermesh 2019 and 2023, NASTRAN, PATRAN, Excel VBA, and python.

I want to move to another country to develop and grow my career and have a good profile. Any thoughts, advice and referrals are welcome 😁.

Saw this on the mech E sub and was curious. No clue how people even get work emails.

I was accepted into METU aerospace engineering program (Although my first preference was Computer Engineering). I really want to accept the offer, but I think choosing aerospace wasn't a good decision because it looks like the job market is very narrow if you are a foreign student. No doubt the program is very intriguing but at the end it comes down to career option and flexibility.
I would appreciate any advice regarding the decision I should take and also clarify if job market really is the problem

Hello everyone. Let me introduce myself, and my situation.

As written above, I am a senior in high-school. College applications are rapidly approaching

For all of HS, I was sure I wanted to go the medical route. All my ECs are medical/Bio related.

I volunteered in a hospital, interned in 2 life science research labs over 3 years, did my schools biomed program, participated in medical Olympiads, etc. I did pretty well in these areas too.

Now that college apps are approaching, and I have to choose a major/path, I'm not sure. I think I would enjoy aerospace engineering as a career and be much more fulfilled. I am extremely passionate about planes, jet propulsion, space travel, and cars. The issue is, I have nothing to show for it. I tried to learn Python when I was 12, and gave up. I tried to learn R for my lab internship, and failed. The science APs I have taken are Calc AB and BC (I got a 4 on both), Bio, and Environmental Science. My senior year, I am going to try to take AP CSA, Physics C Mechanics, Stats, Multivar Calc/Lin Alg, and Chem.

I am likely to be a National Merit Finalist, which could give me full rides at places like Uni of Alabama Tuscaloosa, UT Dallas, USF, etc.

What should I do? I just don't know if I will be fulfilled by a medical career. My grandpa had the same path essentially. He initially was in college for Bio, then switched to engineering which he likes much more.

Will I be able to make up the gap in knowledge? Will I be able to learn enough to be competitive? I don't need a crazy job, just enough to support myself and my family. I think I would enjoy the work of AE in of itself.

For those with experience, who are older, please let me know any advice or guidance. It would be much appreciated.

I'll preface by saying that I am not in aerospace, but in marketing, so I apologize if this isn't the right sub for it but I feel I can get better answers here than elsewhere.

I applied for an early career marketing role and have an interview with HR coming up. Reading a bit about the interview process makes it sound intimidating and more than I've ever had to do, but I also don't see a lot of people's experience outside of engineering roles. I assume its similar.

What should I expect in terms of prep and interviewing?

I am in jr year in high school and I am wondering what extracurriculars would be good for going into college for aerospace engineering. I have a few extracurriculars, but i want to look for some that are aerospace engineering related.

Hello everyone, new to this subreddit. Does anyone have information on the new Aerospace construction site that's coming to Lancaster, CA or Mojave Desert? The information I'm looking for is potential job openings that this site is eventually going to have. If anyone knows of potential links please let me know. I appreciate it.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/l3harris-names-insider-sam-mehta-ceo-christopher-kubasik-steps-down-2026-08-17/

I’m a senior in college studying IT. I live very close to the l3harris headquarters and have always wanted to work there or any big time contractor really. Can someone give me tips on what I should do to land an internship/job at one of these places. I have no relative work experience.

Why is the drag force direction on the tire of landing gear forward (Same as aircraft travel Direction)?

I searched on the internet but I am not convinced!! I am feeling It should be rearwards (Aft direction)? .

Please explain with clear logic and mechanics fundamentals!