14-year-old Kairan Quazi, a student at Santa Clara University in the US, recently became the youngest employee at Elon Musk’s SpaceX after successfully passing a technically challenging interview.
Quazi, who has Bangladeshi-American roots, shared the news on LinkedIn. He expressed his excitement about joining “the coolest company on the planet" and mentioned that he will be working with the Starlink engineering team.
“I guess this will be my LinkedIn ‘I’m excited to announce…; post! I am graduating from Santa Clara University’s School of Engineering where I learned that ‘engineering with a mission’ is not a gimmicky tagline. Where a culture of rigor, collaboration, accountability, and impact deeply resonated with the needs of a radically accelerated learner.
Next stop: SpaceX! I will be joining the coolest company on the planet as a Software Engineer on the Starlink engineering team. One of the rare companies that did not use my age as an arbitrary and outdated proxy for maturity and ability," Quazi wrote on his LinkedIn profile.
The university also confirmed on LinkedIn that has joined SpaceX. “At just 14, Kairan Quazi will be the youngest graduate in Santa Clara’s 172-year history. What’s next for him? Heading to Washington state with his mom, Julia, to become SpaceX’s youngest software engineer," Santa Clara University wrote.
During his time at SCU, Kairan actively participated in the Association for Computer Machinery and was a senior senator in the Associated Student Government. The talented 14-year-old also found himself in high demand as a tutor, quickly becoming one of the most sought-after members of the tutoring staff.
Quazi also said: “My early access to transformational leadership began as a 9-year-old. First, when the administrators of a local community college Las Positas College enrolled a third-grade graduate with no prior acceleration into a full-time mathematics A.S. degree program. And again, a few months later, when I walked into a meeting with Lama Nachman at Intel Labs and walked out with a generative AI opportunity that would change my career trajectory."
He also thanked his mentors and friends. “Lama Nachman (Intel Labs), Naushad UzZaman (BLACKBIRD.AI), and Nam Ling and Ahmed Amer (Santa Clara University) – I am forever grateful that you recognized my value, trusted my abilities, and invested in my growth. I am excited to carry these cultural lessons into my career," said Quazi.
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