By Anita Hamilton

As job seekers face one of the toughest hiring markets in years, SpaceX is dangling a tantalizing prospect: It's hiring.

A day after the rocket and satellite firm disclosed its finances in a filing for an initial public offering that could happen as soon as next month, CEO Elon Musk announced on X early Thursday that not only is the company accepting applications for "world-class engineers/physicists," but that " zero prior experience in AI" is needed.

"Smart humans figure it out fast," he added.

Given recent dire warnings of late about artificial intelligence rendering many jobs obsolete, the offer looks particularly enticing. Last year, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicted that AI could eliminate half of all entry-level, white-collar jobs within five years. And as a widely-circulated but controversial blog post by AI investor Matt Shumer put it, "If AI is smarter than most PhDs, do you really think it can't do most office jobs?"

The news also comes as tech firms have increasingly blamed AI for workforce cuts. This week, Meta Platforms slashed nearly 10% of its workforce -- or 8,000 workers -- citing "other investments," which include some $135 billion in capital expenditures to build out its AI data centers.

Other companies citing AI when announcing recent cuts include the workplace software firm Atlassian, the social media company Snap, and the chemicals supplier Dow Inc.

While still lower than the overall jobless rate of 4.3% nationwide in April, unemployment in the information technology sector rose from 3.6% in March to 3.8% last month, according to a recent analysis of Labor Department data by consulting firm Janco Associates.

Despite the lack of specific job requirements, SpaceX isn't just hiring anyone. Musk says candidates should send an email with three points "demonstrating evidence of exceptional ability." He added that he will personally review applications.

Those worried about job security given recent tech layoffs might take comfort in the fact that SpaceX, which has a valuation north of $1 trillion, is expected to raise some $80 billion from its blockbuster IPO.

By early afternoon Thursday, the post had received thousands of replies, some from people sharing their bullet-pointed credentials posted for all to see. "Challenge accepted" read one message -- a sentiment likely shared by many others.

Write to Anita Hamilton at anita.hamilton@barrons.com

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May 21, 2026 16:23 ET (20:23 GMT)

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