Q & A with Andrew Hays ‘11

We recently had the chance to catch up with Andrew, reminisce on his favorite Westminster memories and learn about his career with SpaceX, one of the nation’s most innovative aerospace manufacturers and space transportation service companies.

What led you to a career at SpaceX?

After Westminster, I attended Baylor University and studied mechanical engineering. I earned my undergraduate degree in 2015 and a master’s degree in 2017. After my junior year, I worked as an engineering intern at FPL. I really enjoyed being back in Miami and loved the office there, but the job was more administrative. During grad school, I interned at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, which involved a lot of research and development, and testing and improving military-version hand-held, backpack-style drones. That type of R&D work was really cool and I really enjoyed it. It proved to be a big stepping stone to a full-time position with SpaceX.

SpaceX has a facility in McGregor, TX, which is near Waco, and they would come to Baylor to recruit. So, I decided to apply for a few different positions at SpaceX and was really hopeful that I would get something. I thought I might want to go to Cape Canaveral for launch operations, at some point, so a job at SpaceX in McGregor would be an awesome job to start with, and, it has been!

Tell us about your job now.

I’ve worked at SpaceX for four years now. I am currently a test operations engineer, which means I work as the Draco engine test director, and hypergol component test director. For the Draco engine, we basically test that engine – above and beyond – and develop and qualify the engine for flight. It is used in flight now for crew missions and operations at the International Space Station. In Texas, we basically get every engine that is coming through for flight and test it, making sure it works. We are also on standby for development testing for any needs that arise during flight. For components, it’s pretty similar. We test the components for flight and handle the development testing to make sure they work in all sorts of conditions.

What are some of your favorite memories from Baylor?

A big part of college for me was playing on the men’s volleyball club team. We traveled and played other schools in the area. I played club all four years, and also coached the men’s team when I was in grad school. I also worked as a manager/practice player with the women’s volleyball team during my last two years in undergrad and during grad school. I was involved at Baylor in a lot of the same ways I stayed involved at Westminster – through sports and the relationships I built from these activities.

Tell me about your experience at Westminster?

I attended Westminster for high school. It was only four short years, but it was an awesome four years playing sports, be it football, soccer or men’s volleyball. I was also involved with the Theater program and was around campus for everything.

My senior year, I received the Warrior Award for School Spirit. I think it was mainly because I loved sports and I had a bunch of friends on different sports teams, so I went to as many sporting events as possible. I was friends with many of the coaches, too. At the time, Bryan Wolfe was there and I knew him from Immanuel Presbyterian. I was close to him, the women’s volleyball coach, and Fernando, the men’s soccer coach, because I also helped manage the soccer team. Sports and theater were a big part of my Westminster experience. Working with Mr. Thomas on stagecraft and attending state competitions for drama with him and Mr. Adams was a lot of fun.

I remember being a good student, grade-wise, but not a great student, conduct-wise. Basically, my friends and I were all class clowns.

I really loved Dr. Martinez. She and I every now and then will still chat. Mrs. Maltby helped a lot with math, and as an engineer, I needed help with that.

What advice would you give to Westminster students?

Find what you enjoy and run with it. I discovered my love for engineering in Physics class with Dr. Martinez, and I learned to build with my hands in stagecraft.

Give us an update on your personal life.

Courtney and I live in Waco. We met at Baylor and were married on May 23, 2020. We were not able to have the wedding that we had planned because of the pandemic. No one from our family could attend inperson. It was just the two of us, our pastor, the photographer, and my roommate. Our families watched on Zoom. We are planning a full ceremony some time post-pandemic.