California child prodigy on his SpaceX job: "The work I'm going to be doing is so cool"
One of the newest employees at SpaceX has been described as a child prodigy who skipped elementary school and will graduate from college this week at the tender age of 14.
The spacecraft manufacturer offered a software engineering position to Kairan Quazi a month ago, according to an excerpt from an email from the company the teenager posted on Instagram. The Bay Area teenager, who is set to graduate this week from Santa Clara University, will be moving with his mother to Redmond, Washington, next month, so he can take up the SpaceX job, according to a post on LinkedIn.
At SpaceX, Kairan will be assigned to the engineering team at Starlink, the company's satellite broadband internet service. The Starlink system is designed to deliver high-speed internet to customers anywhere on Earth using thousands of broadband relay stations in multiple low-altitude orbits.
Kairan said he's eager to start because Starlink is working on "problems that matter" — like using satellite technology to provide internet access to people in parts of the globe that didn't have it before, or using satellites to make advancements in precision farming, including measuring water levels from above ground.
"The work I'm going to be doing is so cool," he told CBS MoneyWatch. "I'm really excited to be having an impact."
Kairan, who declined to discuss salary details, said he will be in Washington for one year then transfer to Starlink's office in Mountain View, California.
SpaceX will not be violating child labor laws by employing Kairan, as he meets the minimum legal age to work under federal and Washington state law.
SpaceX, which is owned by Elon Musk, did not respond immediately to requests for comment from CBS MoneyWatch.
Kairan was born in Pleasanton, California, to Bangladeshi immigrants who are self-proclaimed introverts. His mother Jullia Quazi told CBS MoneyWatch that she and her husband put aside their "personal discomfort and anxiety" with moving to Washington because they want Kairan to work at a place where he'll grow intellectually.
"If this had been presented by any company other than SpaceX, we would not have been amenable to moving our family anywhere outside of the Bay area," she said. "I cannot think of a second company that will give him an opportunity to challenge his learning at this level and contribute."
Kairan left elementary school after finishing the third grade and enrolled in community college at age 9. Kairan transferred to Santa Clara University at age 11. In college, he had a multiyear internship at Intel as an artificial intelligence research fellow, which ended this week.
Kairan will receive his bachelor's degree in computer science and engineering from SCU on Saturday — the youngest graduate in the school's 172-year history.
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Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering business, consumer and financial stories that range from economic inequality and housing issues to bankruptcies and the business of sports.
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