you also have severe space and time restrictions, more than in a car or surgical robot.
no agile for sure. there's not much room for agility or changing requirements in space.
I wouldn't do that now, but at the time it was like getting paid to attend a university that was waaaay more interesting than my actual university. The company was still very bohemian and you had access to the people that wrote the book on digital and practical effects.
There can be huge value, especially for junior engineers in having certain companies on your resume. ILM opened up every single door of every VFX or animation house. I'm sure spaceX would have similar benefits.
You just need to make sure the benefit is worth your time.
because people are ok with being underpaid in return for being able to say they work on space shuttles
we will all be fucked until we all learn to negotiate
Plus you can expand the thiefdom management cake.. And that is real growth..