Why This Indian-Origin Engineer At Space X Has His LinkedIn Profile Viral

The LinkedIn profile of Sanjeev Sharma, a principal engineer of Indian descent at SpaceX, has captured the imagination of one and all following his company's recent landmark accomplishment.

SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, made headlines when it successfully captured the super heavy booster of its Starship rocket with the launch tower a few days ago, marking a significant milestone in aerospace engineering. Mr Sharma has played a major role in SpaceX's mission to develop a fully reusable rocket system.

His LinkedIn profile, highlighting his impressive professional journey and contributions to the aerospace industry, gained traction over the last few days.

From Indian Railways to SpaceX

Sanjeev Sharma holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee.

He began his professional career with Indian Railways, where he worked for over 11 years. He served as a divisional mechanical engineer from 1990 to 1994, followed by his role as deputy chief mechanical engineer from 1994 to 2001.

After his stint with the Indian Railways, Mr Sharma studied in the United States, earning a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2003. Next, he completed a Master's degree in the Management of Technology at the University of Minnesota in 2008.

He joined Seagate Technology in September 2003, where he worked for nearly nine-and-a-half years.

Mr Sharma joined SpaceX in January 2013, where he served as a dynamics engineer in the Structures Group. He worked there till November 2018.

Between November 2018 and July 2022, he held multiple positions at Matternet Inc.

Following this role, he returned to SpaceX in July 2022, where he now works as a principal engineer, focusing on Starship Dynamics.

An X user also recently highlighted Mr Sharma's LinkedIn profile, saying, “Indian Railways for 11 years to now at SpaceX is some next-level stuff.” The post quickly went viral, amassing 496k views and eliciting numerous positive responses.

One user wrote, “Working in Indian Railways for 11 yrs and then making a jump to a private entity, itself is commendable. Not many can resist the comfort and predictability of govt. Jobs.”

Another user said, “It's a perfect career transition, went from Railways to study mechanical engineering abroad which led to switching career in mechanical path, spent time on doing structural stuff which eventually led to SpaceX. Long journey but goal accomplished.”

This person felt Mr Sharma's was a classic case of “proper career planning.” The user wrote, “He worked for 11 years in Indian Railways, used the money to go to the US for an MS, got placed in Seagate US, worked for 9.5 years, and then got into SpaceX, took a break, and got back in. Not really a case of wizardry but more like the result of proper career planning.”

A couple of users also acknowledged that Sanjeev Sharma was highly skilled.

One user wrote, “He was already a genius. Starting as a Divisional mechanical engineer in Indian railways probably means he was among the Top 100 masters students. But yeah it's really impressive.”

Another commented, “He is from Special Class Railway Apprentice (SCRA) which is very tough exam (only 25 seats) . Once selected railway take care of your education and you get Be degree in Mechanical Engg. They join Indian Railway Group A service cadre directly. They have to be very bright folks.”

At SpaceX, Mr Sharma has been instrumental in enhancing the recovery and reuse capabilities of the first-stage booster. His expertise has been essential to the development of the Starship rocket, which plays a crucial role in NASA's ambitious plans to return astronauts to the moon.