 "How did Indian Railways engineer make it to SpaceX? Story charms internet")
An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) alumnus' LinkedIn profile has gone viral on social media. The internet has been charmed by Sanjeev Sharma's journey from humble beginnings with Indian Railways to an important position at Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The mechanical engineer with a degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, is the most sought after profile on the Internet. Sanjeev Sharma's LinkedIn profile has garnered a lot of attention online, and for good reason. He went from securing an Indian government job to now working for Elon Musk's SpaceX, playing a crucial role.
On social media, people have been posting screenshots of his LinkedIn page, and comments on these posts are full of phrases like "inspiring," "wonderful," and "unbelievable."
Who is Sanjeev Sharma?
Sharma started his career with Indian Railways as a Divisional Mechanical Engineer, a position he maintained for four years after graduation from IIT Roorkee. He was elevated to the position of Deputy Chief Mechanical Engineer in 1994. After little over 11 years of employment, he quit.
Sharma continued his study in 2002 by enrolling in the University of Colorado Boulder's one-year MS program in Mechanical Engineering. He became a Staff Mechanical Engineer at Seagate Technologies in 2003 after earning his degree. He was promoted to Senior Mechanical Engineer in 2008 and worked for the American data storage company for five years before departing in 2013.
Sanjeev Sharma, from railways to SpaceX: Professional journey
While working at Seagate, he also received an MS in Management of Technology from the University of Minnesota in 2008. After that, he worked as a Dynamics Engineer at the American space company SpaceX, where he oversaw the structural dynamics initiatives while closely coordinating with teams in thermal, propulsion, aerodynamics, and GNC (Guidance, Navigation, and Control). Beginning with the Falcon 9 flight F9-005 to F9-0059, he also contributed to the first-stage booster recovery and reusability efforts.
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He started working at Matternet Inc., a leading developer of commercial drone delivery systems, in 2018. He led the technology section of Matternet for more than two years after first leading vehicle engineering. Sharma is now living in Hawthorne, California, and rejoined SpaceX in 2022 as a Principal Engineer for Starship Dynamics.
Sanjeev Sharma, from railways to SpaceX: About the LinkedIn post
The About section of the LinkedIn profile of Sharma reads – “Experienced Head Of Engineering with a demonstrated history of working in the aviation and aerospace industry. Strong engineering professional skilled in leading diverse hardware teams, expertise in electro-mechanical systems design in domains as wide as railroads, computer hard disc drives, reusable rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles. Hands-on leader with experience setting up a team from scratch.”
Netizens’ reaction Sharma journey to SpaceX
The impressive transformation in his career has left social media users emotional. A user with the screenshot of Sharma’s profile, stated, “Indian Railways for 11 years to now at SpaceX is some next-level stuff.”
Another user stated, “From Indian railways to SpaceX. Study this LinkedIn profile – how he did it.” Social media users have been commenting on these viral posts, praising his commitment to engineering.
Many online users have been motivated by Sanjeev Sharma's successful professional journey, working his way from Indian government service to assisting one of the most innovative space startups in the world.