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SpaceX is hiring a Farmer in Texas
- trhway 12y agothe position is subject to ITAR.
- th3iedkid 12y agocould it be related to item 14 on United States Munitions List: >>Toxicological Agents, Including Chemical Agents, Biological Agents, and Associated Equipment from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Munitions_List http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Munitions_List
- rdl 12y agoI think it's just boilerplate in that all SpaceX employees are tangentially exposed to stuff which is ITAR (Rockets = ICBMs) Only a tiny number of their positions are more sensitive than that (guidance and some of the comms positions, probably, and possibly facilities badging and interconnects for launch operations)
- desdiv 12y agoDishwashers[0], baristas[1], line cooks[2], and porters[3] are all subject to ITAR as well. Can't afford to let China learn our latest China scrubbing technology. [0] http://www.spacex.com/careers/position/5715 http://www.spacex.com/careers/position/5715 [1] http://www.spacex.com/careers/position/5839 http://www.spacex.com/careers/position/5839 [2] http://www.spacex.com/careers/position/5708 http://www.spacex.com/careers/position/5708 [3] http://www.spacex.com/careers/position/6151 http://www.spacex.com/careers/position/6151
- gus_massa 12y agoI don't want to jump on the conspiracy bandwagon, but the baristas heard a lot of interesting technical conversations. Also, in the University bar, we use to grab a paper napkin and write in it, but we don't work with classified information.
- BruceM 12y agoGood enough time to mention this again then: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/at-cia-starbucks-even-the-baristas-are-covert/2014/09/27/5a04cd28-43f5-11e4-9a15-137aa0153527_story.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/at-cia-starbucks-even...
- leoc 12y agoIsn't this technically a farm-manager position, as the occupant will neither own nor rent the land?
- aligajani 12y agoInterstellar...it's happening
- gpos 12y agoMy best guess is that SpaceX had to buy a lot of land in the buffer region surrounding their testing facilities in McGregor, and they're just looking to put it to good use. In addition to the direct income from farming, farming the land would maintain its eligibility for an "open-space appraisal" under Texas law, which would reduce its property taxes by changing the valuation methodology for the land. Although there are two types of agricultural property tax exemptions in Texas, only the open-space appraisal eligibility requirements allow the owner's principal source of income to be something other than farming. Sources: http://recenter.tamu.edu/pdf/1361.pdf http://recenter.tamu.edu/pdf/1361.pdf http://bigskyranchtexas.com/everything-you-want-to-know-about-texas-ag-exemptions-for-your-land/ http://bigskyranchtexas.com/everything-you-want-to-know-abou...
- wsh 12y agoI think your guess is correct. As the announcement says: This position will be required to work around test schedules as necessary to ensure the successful crop production does not interfere with testing progress.
- salimmadjd 12y agoProbably to get additional tax exemptions on property taxes of the land they own [0] [0] http://exiledonline.com/property-taxes-are-for-parasites-billionaires-use-the-fake-farm-loophole-to-not-pay-any/ http://exiledonline.com/property-taxes-are-for-parasites-bil...
- hardwaresofton 12y agoI don't know whether I'm more excited about the fact that this could be an interstellar-themed joke, or that SpaceX is trying to do something interesting/ambitious in the farming industry. I know companies are mostly in it to profit, but it's hard not to like/want to think the best of SpaceX
- Omniusaspirer 12y agoBased on some other comments in this thread, it looks much more mundane- a simple tax dodge.
- avz 12y agoClosed as Working as Intended Reason: Relevant tax regulations are in place to create incentives for productive land use.
- Omniusaspirer 12y agoAye, "dodge" was probably harsh language on my part. Saying they're taking advantage of tax credits would have been better.
- toomuchtodo 12y ago"Effective utilization of tax policy." Frankly, I'd rather the money go into Elon's pocket than the government's.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- thomasfoster96 12y agoDang, I have to be a US citizen. Surely SpaceX's agricultural activities aren't subject to space industry regulations?
- rurounijones 12y ago> SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by ... veteran status, disability status ... > Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities ... Seems a bit contradictory?
- frobozz 12y agoNot really, the plan might just say, "we plan to treat you the same as everyone else."
- rurounijones 12y agoBe hard to sell that as an "Affirmative Action Plan"
- rtpg 12y agoI think "influenced" here is meant in the negative sense (you will not be punished for your disabilities). It's like how the the 14th amendment is not meant to get rid of advantages for whites, but of the disadvantages for pretty much every minorities.
- gizmo686 12y ago"influenced in any manner" seems pretty non-ambiguous. Also, affirmative action did face significant 14th amendment challenges.
- snitch182 12y ago" typically, SpaceX employees work a minimum 50 hour week" yehaa.. just sleep in the office!
- butwhy 12y agoHah, I don't even think that would be legal where I live. I'm used to employers having to pay for every hour a person works. People can work overtime for free, but the business can't force them to. It sounds like spacex is quassi forcing them to work more hours than they are being compensated for.
- fleitz 12y agoFor highly skilled people you generally have lots of options, it's very difficult for a company to require 50 hour weeks without paying a salary higher than a company that requires 40 hour weeks.
- raverbashing 12y ago"Oh but you're working with cool stuff! And you have a foosball table and free lunch"
- fleitz 12y agoWell... then you're more interested in cool stuff, foosball tables and free lunch than cold hard cash, but again, for highly skilled people there are many companies willing to offer boatloads of cash for those that can figure out how to do their own laundry, and buy their own sodas.
- Mvandenbergh 12y agoThat's a light workload by farming standards.
- shmerl 12y agoSo is it to train people to create farms on space colonies?
- protester 12y ago> Must be able to climb ladders and work in tight spaces. This is the most interesting bit.
- hueving 12y agoFarming requires that.
- hkmurakami 12y agoDoes "working in tight spaces" refer to physical fitness or mental factors such as claustrophobia? (perhaps both)
- raverbashing 12y agoSo this is how a business writes a job position for a farmer. Interesting Now let's just hope HR and the interviewers don't require the applicant their Github profile or something.
- fleitz 12y agoI misread the title, I thought they hired some farmer who builds a rocket in his barn, similar to the movie The Astronaut Farmer. Turns out it's a regular farmer... growing rocket fuel? Actually... if the new rocket is using methane could they be growing crops that decompose into lots of methane? Are they experimenting with alcohol/LOX? Are they growing biofuel to refine to RP-1?
- kapad 12y agoThe resume's being sent in for this will be worth a read. I hope someone hacks SpaceX and leaks them. ;)
- ryanmcdonough 12y agoRequirements: *Understand the implications of the weather and make contingency plans
- josephwegner 12y agoI can't help but think about the plot of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six.
- socialist_coder 12y agoIf you have ever driven around Texas, you will see "farmland" like this all over the place. A random factory or warehouse with cows grazing around it is quite common, even in the greater Austin area. Like other's have said, it's for tax reasons. I figured they didn't even bother trying to make an actual profit from the farm, but maybe in this SpaceX case they will since the scale is so large.
- tempodox 12y agoThat page doesn't zoom well. Hit Cmd-Plus several times to magnify and see how it destroys the text. I would have expected better from what wants to be a professional presentation. No responsive web sites for astronaut farmers.
- viewer5 12y agoI'm on Chrome and Win7 and it was fine for me (aside from the text column scootching rightward, starting at 175% zoom, but just scrolling to the right fixes that).
- JoeAltmaier 12y agoHa! They say to work at SpaceX you have to be extremely flexible, and work 50 hours a week. They're saying that to a farmer, with a straight face.
- dba7dba 12y agoI first thought this was for testing farming in space/Mars. But yes, in reality it's for tax reason. And it doesn't make sense to let all that land go unused. Interestingly I know a family that 'farms' on Maui so they can live on a land that's zoned for farming. Supposedly the land is zoned for farming, so they bought the land, built nice houses and also farm to satisfy the requirement for zoning. But of course they are not farmers...