CFO pitches SpaceX jobs to students


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SpaceX Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen joined other SpaceX executives Wednesday to give a presentation to students about the commercial space travel company. SpaceX became the first private company in May 2012 to send a spacecraft to the international space station.

Aspirations · Bret Johnsen, chief financial officer of SpaceX, explains what it takes to pursue a career in the aerospace industry to a student audience at an event held Wednesday. – Priyanka Patel | Daily Trojan

Johnsen spoke at a recruiting event in Mudd Hall hosted by the Trojan Scholars Society and PlushMoney, an organization focused on empowering women in the workplace. After the presentation, students had the opportunity to network with Johnsen, who majored in accounting as an undergraduate at USC, and other executives.

“This type of event is very unique to USC because I haven’t done any at any other campus,” Johnsen said. “I’m a firm believer in the Trojan Family, so for me, it’s one of the ways I can give back to the university that was such an unbelievable supporter of me and my education as well as my career.”

Given the nature of SpaceX’s work, Johnsen said it isn’t hard to sell the company to students.

“It’s not hard to find exciting things about SpaceX,” Johnsen said. “I would say the most exciting [thing] by far, though, is standing there with 1,000 of your fellow employees and watching a successful launch. There’s nothing really like that that I have experienced in my whole business career before. The thrill of it is awesome.”

In addition to presenting facts and figures about SpaceX, Johnsen and his colleagues explained the different career opportunities that are available at the company, which can be found on its website.

“We have an unbelievable hiring ramp going right now,” Johnsen said. “We’re local, we’re probably one of the most exciting — if not the most exciting -— companies going on in Southern California and we’re hiring in all areas, so I would say my advice is to get the resume over right away.”

Johnsen said after having the support of the Trojan Family throughout his career, it is nice to be in a position to give back through hiring.

“I’ve been able to hire more Trojans than anybody else in both of my previous jobs and at SpaceX as well, so it’s fun to give back in that regard,” Johnsen said.