How to Apply to Relativity Space

Key Takeaways

Tailor your resume to Relativity's exact job title terminology and department names — pull keywords like 'combustion devices,' 'engine systems & test,' 'factory automation,' and 'instrumentation & control systems' directly from their postings and embed them in your experience descriptions for Greenhouse keyword matching.
Prepare concrete examples of first-principles problem-solving and rapid iteration for your interviews — Relativity's interviewers consistently evaluate how you reason through novel problems, not whether you've memorized textbook solutions or industry standards.
Complete every field in the Greenhouse application, including optional links for portfolios, GitHub, or project documentation — Relativity's engineering hiring managers frequently review supplementary materials, and incomplete profiles reduce your discoverability in recruiter searches.
Research Relativity's Stargate printing technology, Terran R vehicle, and their specific approach to autonomous manufacturing before any interview — demonstrating understanding of their technology stack (not just 'rockets' or '3D printing' in general) signals genuine interest and separates you from candidates applying broadly across aerospace.
Address ITAR eligibility explicitly and early in your resume — the majority of Relativity's positions require U.S. person status, and recruiters commonly filter for this criterion in early screening stages within Greenhouse.
Apply to the correct experience level by studying their title conventions (I = early career, II = mid-level, Lead = technical leadership, Principal = deep domain authority) — misleveled applications are one of the most common reasons for quick rejection in structured ATS processes.

About Relativity Space

Relativity Space is redefining aerospace manufacturing by building the world's first 3D-printed rockets, combining additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and autonomous robotics to fundamentally reimagine how rockets are designed, built, and launched. Founded in 2015 by Tim Ellis and Jordan Noone — both former engineers at Blue Origin and SpaceX — the company has grown into one of the most ambitious private space ventures in existence, having raised billions in funding and secured launch contracts with commercial and government customers. Their Stargate system, the world's largest 3D metal printer, can produce rocket structures in days rather than months, dramatically compressing the traditional aerospace supply chain. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, with additional facilities including a launch site at Cape Canaveral, Relativity operates at the intersection of software, robotics, and rocket science. The culture is intensely mission-driven, attracting engineers and operators who want to push boundaries rather than maintain the status quo. Relativity describes its ethos through the concept of "Moonshot" thinking — a term so central to its identity that it appears in actual job titles like "Moonshot Engineer." Employees commonly describe the pace as fast and the problems as genuinely novel, since much of the technology being developed has no established playbook. With 267 active job openings spanning propulsion, factory automation, data systems, launch operations, and corporate functions like HRIS, Relativity is scaling aggressively. For engineers and technologists who want to work on first-of-their-kind hardware and software systems that could reshape interplanetary logistics, Relativity Space represents one of the most compelling opportunities in the modern aerospace landscape.

Application Process

Identify Your Role on the Relativity Careers Page
Visit relativityspace.com/careers and explore their 267+ open positions, which are organized by department and location. Pay close attention to the leveling conventions in their job titles — designations like "Engineer I," "Engineer II," "Lead," and "Principal" indicate distinct experience tiers, and applying to the correct level significantly impacts your candidacy. Filter by departments like Propulsion, Factory Automation, Launch, or Corporate to find roles aligned with your background.
Submit Your Application Through Greenhouse
Relativity uses Greenhouse as its applicant tracking system, so all applications route through a structured portal. You'll upload your resume (PDF recommended for formatting stability), fill in required fields, and typically have the opportunity to attach a cover letter and portfolio or project links. Complete every optional field — Greenhouse allows recruiters to filter and search by these supplementary data points, so leaving them blank may reduce your visibility.
Recruiter Phone Screen
If your profile advances, expect an initial 30-45 minute phone screen with a recruiter from Relativity's talent team. This conversation typically covers your career trajectory, your motivation for joining Relativity specifically (not just 'space' in general), your understanding of additive manufacturing's role in aerospace, and logistics like clearance eligibility and location flexibility. Demonstrating that you understand what makes Relativity's approach distinct from traditional aerospace — or even from other NewSpace companies — is critical at this stage.
Technical Phone Interview or Take-Home Assessment
For engineering roles, the next stage commonly involves a technical screen — either a live phone or video interview with a hiring engineer, or a take-home technical problem. Propulsion roles may involve thermodynamic cycle analysis or combustion modeling questions; software and data roles may involve coding challenges or systems design scenarios. For factory automation and robotics positions, expect questions about controls architecture, PLC programming, or sensor integration specific to manufacturing environments.
On-Site or Virtual Panel Interview
The core interview at Relativity typically involves a half-day panel format with 4-6 interviewers drawn from the hiring team, cross-functional partners, and at least one senior leader. Expect a mix of deep technical dives, systems-thinking questions, and behavioral scenarios. Relativity's culture heavily emphasizes first-principles thinking and comfort with ambiguity, so interviewers frequently present novel problems without clean solutions to see how you reason through unknowns rather than recite textbook answers.
Culture and Values Alignment Assessment
Embedded within the panel interviews — and sometimes as a dedicated session — Relativity evaluates alignment with its core operating principles, including radical iteration speed, ownership mentality, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Be prepared to discuss times you challenged conventional approaches, operated outside your job description, or made high-stakes decisions with incomplete information. This isn't a soft 'culture fit' check; it's a structured evaluation with real weight in the hiring decision.
Offer, Background Check, and Onboarding
Successful candidates typically receive an offer that includes competitive compensation, equity in the form of stock options (Relativity is privately held, so this equity carries meaningful upside potential), and benefits. Given that many roles involve ITAR-controlled technology, expect a thorough background check and verification of U.S. person status. Onboarding at the Long Beach headquarters commonly includes tours of the Stargate 3D printing systems and factory floor, immersing new hires in the manufacturing reality from day one.

Resume Tips for Relativity Space

Critical Lead With Hardware and Systems-Level Experience

Relativity's roles overwhelmingly involve physical hardware — rockets, engines, factory equipment, launch infrastructure. Your resume should foreground hands-on experience with design, build, test, and integration of real systems, not just analysis or simulation. If you've taken a component from CAD through manufacturing through qualification testing, narrate that full arc. Even for software roles, emphasize how your code interacted with physical systems, sensors, or manufacturing equipment.

Critical Mirror Relativity's Exact Role-Level Terminology

Greenhouse parses and indexes resumes against the specific language in each job posting. Relativity uses precise leveling — 'Engineer I' (early career), 'Engineer II' (mid-level), 'Lead' (technical leadership), 'Principal' (domain authority), and 'Manager' (people leadership). Use their exact technical terminology: 'combustion devices,' 'engine systems and test,' 'instrumentation and control systems,' 'factory automation.' Pull keywords directly from the job description and integrate them naturally into your experience bullets.

Critical Quantify Speed, Scale, and Iteration Cycles

Relativity's entire value proposition is building rockets faster, with fewer parts, using radical manufacturing innovation. Your resume metrics should reflect similar values: how quickly you iterated on designs, how many design-build-test cycles you completed, how much you reduced part counts or assembly time, or how you compressed a traditionally slow process. '"Reduced engine component count from 1,200 to 340 through design-for-additive optimization" speaks Relativity's language far more than generic efficiency claims.

Highlight Additive Manufacturing and Robotics Exposure

If you have any experience with metal additive manufacturing (DMLS, SLM, DED, wire-arc), industrial robotics, autonomous systems, or large-scale 3D printing, make it prominently visible. Even tangential exposure — designing parts for AM, post-processing AM components, programming robotic cells — differentiates you from candidates with purely traditional manufacturing backgrounds. This is the technological core of Relativity's identity and a strong signal of cultural alignment.

Demonstrate Cross-Disciplinary Range

Relativity's workforce is relatively lean for the scope of what they're building, which means engineers frequently operate across traditional boundaries. A propulsion engineer might collaborate deeply with the additive manufacturing team; a controls engineer might contribute to launch operations. Structure your resume to show breadth: if you're a mechanical engineer who also wrote Python scripts to automate test data analysis, include that. If you're a software engineer who spent time on a factory floor, feature it.

Include ITAR and Security Clearance Information Upfront

The vast majority of Relativity's roles require U.S. person status under ITAR regulations, and some may involve classified work. If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, state this clearly near the top of your resume — in a summary section or header line. If you hold an active security clearance, list the level. Recruiters screening in Greenhouse often filter for this early, and burying it (or omitting it) can delay or disqualify your application unnecessarily.

Use Clean, ATS-Parseable Formatting

Greenhouse handles standard resume formats well, but avoid multi-column layouts, text embedded in images, headers/footers (which some parsers skip), and unusual fonts. Use clear section headers like 'Experience,' 'Education,' 'Skills,' and 'Projects.' Submit as PDF to lock formatting. Keep it to 1-2 pages unless you're at the Principal level with 15+ years of directly relevant aerospace experience warranting a third page.

Feature Startup or High-Growth Company Experience

If you've worked at other NewSpace companies (SpaceX, Rocket Lab, Firefly, Astra), fast-moving hardware startups, or early-stage ventures of any kind, explicitly name them and describe the pace and ambiguity you navigated. Relativity's founders came from SpaceX and Blue Origin, and the company culturally values people who have thrived in resource-constrained, high-velocity environments where ownership and adaptability matter more than process compliance.

ATS System: Greenhouse

Greenhouse is a structured hiring platform widely used by high-growth technology and aerospace companies. It creates standardized scorecards for each role, meaning your application is evaluated against predefined criteria extracted from the job posting. Greenhouse also enables recruiters to search the full candidate database by keywords, so your resume becomes a searchable document that can resurface for future roles even if you're not selected initially.

Submit your resume as a PDF to preserve formatting, as Greenhouse's parser handles PDFs reliably and maintains your intended layout during recruiter review.
Complete every optional field in the application — Greenhouse's filtering and tagging capabilities mean that incomplete profiles are harder for recruiters to discover when searching the candidate pool.
Incorporate exact phrases from the Relativity job description into your resume (e.g., 'combustion devices,' 'propulsion test,' 'factory automation,' 'instrumentation and control systems') since Greenhouse indexes these for keyword matching.
Avoid using tables, multi-column layouts, or graphics-heavy designs — Greenhouse's text parser can misorder or skip content in non-linear layouts, which may garble your experience for reviewers.
If you're applying to multiple Relativity roles, tailor each submission separately — Greenhouse tracks applications per-role and hiring managers see your specific materials for their position, not a generic package.
Include a concise, keyword-rich professional summary at the top of your resume, as Greenhouse displays the first few lines of parsed text prominently in the candidate preview that recruiters scan during initial review.
Leverage Greenhouse's link fields to attach your LinkedIn profile, personal portfolio, GitHub, or any relevant project documentation — Relativity's engineering hiring managers commonly review supplementary materials for technical roles.

Complete Greenhouse Resume Guide

Interview Culture

Interviewing at Relativity Space reflects the company's engineering-first, first-principles culture. The process is rigorous but intentionally fast — Relativity typically moves from initial screen to offer in 3-5 weeks, consistent with the startup urgency embedded in its operating model. Expect the recruiter screen to be conversational but probing. Relativity's talent team is well-versed in the technical domains they hire for, so surface-level enthusiasm for 'space' won't suffice. They want to understand why Relativity's specific approach — 3D printing, autonomous manufacturing, vertical integration — resonates with your career goals and technical interests. Technical interviews at Relativity are known for emphasizing first-principles problem-solving over rote knowledge. For propulsion roles, you might be asked to walk through a turbopump design tradeoff or analyze a combustion instability scenario from fundamental physics. For factory automation roles, expect questions about sensor fusion, control loop design, or scaling manufacturing systems. Software candidates commonly face systems design challenges that reflect real infrastructure problems at Relativity's scale. The interviewers are typically senior engineers on the hiring team who are evaluating your reasoning process as much as your answers. The on-site panel (or virtual equivalent) typically consists of 4-6 sessions across a half day. You'll meet your prospective manager, direct teammates, cross-functional collaborators, and often a senior leader or director. Relativity values intellectual honesty — saying 'I don't know, but here's how I'd figure it out' lands far better than bluffing through unfamiliar territory. Culture-fit evaluation at Relativity is structured and consequential. They explicitly assess for comfort with ambiguity, willingness to operate outside defined role boundaries, and genuine excitement about building technologies that don't yet have established playbooks. Candidates who thrive are those who can articulate specific examples of challenging conventional approaches, iterating rapidly through failure, and driving outcomes with incomplete information. Relativity isn't looking for people who need perfect requirements before they start building — they want engineers and operators who see blank canvas as an invitation, not a barrier.

What Relativity Space Looks For

First-principles thinking: the ability to derive solutions from fundamental physics, engineering principles, or data rather than relying on inherited institutional knowledge or industry conventions
Comfort with radical ambiguity: willingness to tackle problems that have no existing playbook, precedent, or vendor solution, which is inherent to building an entirely new manufacturing paradigm
Full-stack ownership mentality: taking a problem from concept through design, build, test, and iteration without waiting for handoffs or formal process gates
Speed of iteration: a demonstrable track record of moving quickly through design-build-test cycles, favoring rapid learning over exhaustive upfront analysis
Cross-disciplinary versatility: ability to contribute meaningfully outside your core discipline, reflecting Relativity's lean team structure where propulsion engineers interface with additive manufacturing and software engineers touch hardware systems
Genuine mission alignment with making humanity multiplanetary: Relativity explicitly screens for candidates whose long-term personal vision aligns with expanding human presence beyond Earth, not just interest in aerospace as a career sector
Resilience through failure: experience with hardware or system failures, launch anomalies, or manufacturing setbacks — and evidence that you extracted learning and iterated rather than retreating to safer approaches
Strong written and verbal technical communication: the ability to clearly convey complex engineering tradeoffs to cross-functional teams, which is essential in a vertically integrated company where decisions cascade across disciplines

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does the full hiring process at Relativity Space typically take?

Based on candidate reports, Relativity's hiring process typically spans 3-5 weeks from initial application to offer, though this varies by role seniority and department. The recruiter screen usually happens within 1-2 weeks of application for strong-match candidates, followed by a technical screen and an on-site panel spaced roughly a week apart. Senior or principal-level roles may include additional conversations with department leadership, which can extend the timeline slightly. Relativity generally moves faster than traditional aerospace companies but follows a similar cadence to other high-growth NewSpace firms.

Do I need aerospace experience to get hired at Relativity Space?

Not necessarily, and this is one of Relativity's distinguishing cultural traits. Because their manufacturing approach — 3D-printed rockets built with autonomous robotics — is fundamentally different from traditional aerospace, they actively recruit from adjacent industries including automotive, industrial robotics, additive manufacturing, software, and advanced manufacturing. What matters more is demonstrating systems-level thinking, hardware intuition, and comfort operating in fast-paced, ambiguous environments. That said, for core propulsion and vehicle engineering roles, foundational knowledge of rocket propulsion, structures, or fluid dynamics is typically expected.

Should I submit a cover letter when applying to Relativity Space?

Greenhouse provides an optional field for cover letters in most Relativity job postings, and using it is recommended — especially if your resume doesn't immediately telegraph why you're drawn to Relativity's specific mission and technology. A strong cover letter for Relativity should articulate why their approach to aerospace manufacturing (additive manufacturing, autonomous factory systems, vertical integration) aligns with your engineering philosophy or career trajectory. Keep it concise — 250-350 words — and avoid restating your resume. Instead, connect dots that your resume can't: why you're transitioning from automotive to aerospace, or why a specific Relativity project excites you at a technical level.

What resume format works best with Relativity's Greenhouse ATS?

Submit a single-column PDF with standard section headers ('Experience,' 'Education,' 'Skills,' 'Projects'). Greenhouse's parser handles PDFs reliably and preserves your intended formatting for recruiter review. Avoid multi-column layouts, tables, text boxes, images, and graphics — these elements can be misread or skipped entirely by the parser. Use a professional sans-serif font (Arial, Calibri, Helvetica) at 10-11pt for body text. For engineering roles at Relativity, 1-2 pages is the standard; only Principal-level candidates with 15+ years of directly relevant experience should consider a third page.

Can I apply to multiple positions at Relativity Space simultaneously?

Yes, Greenhouse supports multiple concurrent applications, and Relativity's structure allows it. However, apply strategically — submitting to more than 3-4 roles can signal unfocused intent and may prompt recruiters to question your clarity of direction. Tailor each application to the specific role by adjusting your resume keywords and, if submitting cover letters, addressing each position's unique requirements. Greenhouse tracks each application independently, so the hiring manager for a propulsion role won't automatically see your factory automation application. Choose roles where your experience genuinely overlaps with the job requirements rather than casting a wide net.

Does Relativity Space offer remote work options?

Relativity Space is primarily an on-site company, which is inherent to their business: you can't 3D print a rocket or conduct a hot-fire test remotely. Their primary facilities are in Long Beach, California, with operations at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and other locations. Most engineering, manufacturing, and operations roles require consistent on-site presence. Some corporate and software roles may offer hybrid flexibility, but fully remote positions are uncommon. If location is a constraint, filter the Greenhouse job board by location and check individual postings for any stated remote or hybrid options.

What is the 'Moonshot Engineer' role at Relativity Space?

The Moonshot Engineer role is one of Relativity's most distinctive positions and reflects their culture of boundary-pushing innovation. Rather than fitting into a traditional engineering discipline, Moonshot Engineers typically work on exploratory, cross-functional problems that don't have established teams or processes yet — essentially R&D at the frontier of what Relativity is building. These roles require exceptional breadth, self-direction, and tolerance for ambiguity. If you're applying, your resume and interviews should emphasize projects where you defined the problem as much as you solved it, worked across disciplinary boundaries, and delivered results in uncharted technical territory.

How important is U.S. citizenship or ITAR eligibility for Relativity Space roles?

Extremely important. As a company designing and manufacturing launch vehicles, Relativity's work falls under International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which restricts access to U.S. persons — defined as U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or individuals with specific asylum/refugee status. The vast majority of Relativity's job postings include an explicit ITAR requirement. If you are a U.S. person, state this clearly in your resume header or summary. If you are not, you can still apply, but your candidacy will be limited to the small subset of roles that don't involve ITAR-controlled technology or data, which are rare at a launch vehicle company.

What should I research before interviewing at Relativity Space?

Go deep on Relativity's technology stack, not just their mission statement. Understand the Stargate 3D printing system and why it represents a departure from traditional rocket manufacturing (fewer parts, faster production, software-defined iteration). Study the Terran R vehicle program — its payload class, target markets, and design philosophy. Read any available interviews with CEO Tim Ellis or CTO Jordan Noone about the company's long-term vision for Mars manufacturing infrastructure. Review the specific department you're interviewing with: if it's propulsion, understand their engine development approach; if it's factory automation, study their autonomous manufacturing philosophy. Relativity's interviewers can immediately tell the difference between candidates who've browsed the homepage and those who've genuinely engaged with the technical substance of what they're building.

Sample Open Positions

Sources

Relativity Space Careers Page — Relativity Space
Relativity Space Company Overview and Mission — Relativity Space
Relativity Space Glassdoor Reviews and Interview Insights — Glassdoor
Greenhouse ATS Help Center — Candidate Application Best Practices — Greenhouse Software
Relativity Space Terran R Program Overview — Relativity Space