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Pay from Rocket Lab's own postings

Rocket Lab Mechanical Engineer Salary

Rocket Lab's 33 open roles for mechanical engineers post a median $134k/yr, typically $103k–$236k/yr, from 27 distinct pay figures, read from its own job board every hour.

See the roles and their payEvery Rocket Lab salary →Space jobs for mechanical engineers →How to apply to Rocket Lab →

Against other pay

Every Rocket Lab role
median $120k/yr
Rocket Lab's mechanical engineers: 12% above it
Mechanical engineers at every space company
median $145k/yr
Rocket Lab: 8% below it
All US mechanical engineers, May 2025
median $104k/yr
Rocket Lab's postings: 29% above it
Highest posted top
$253k/yr
Manager, Mechanical Engineering

Typical pay is the 25th percentile of what roles pay (the middle of each posted range, as a year's pay: an hourly rate counts at 2,080 hours, 40 a week for 52 weeks) to the 90th-percentile posted top. Pay is compared as a year's pay: an hourly rate counts at 2,080 hours (40 a week for 52 weeks), a weekly one at 52 weeks, a monthly one at 12 months. A posting that names only a ceiling ("up to $X") is left out of the figures.

Rocket Lab mechanical engineer pay by level

Level the title namesOpen rolesMedianTypical pay
Intern or co-op5$55.1k/yr$52k–$58.2k/yr
Entry, associate or level I2Too few figures
Level II5$113k/yr$98.8k–$151k/yr
Senior16$151k/yr$134k–$236k/yr
Lead2Too few figures
Manager1Too few figures
Title names no level2Too few figures

A level is read from the title, the first that applies from an internship to a director (the reading of our research on career levels and pay). A figure needs three distinct posted rates.

Where Rocket Lab hires mechanical engineers

  • Long Beach, CA13 roles, median $144k/yr
  • Pasadena, CA6 roles, median $142k/yr
  • Silver Spring, MD5 roles, median $98k/yr
  • New Zealand3 roles
  • Middle River, MD2 roles
  • Stennis Space Center, MS2 roles
  • Canada1 role
  • Wallops Island, VA1 role

Open Rocket Lab roles for mechanical engineers, highest pay first

Updated 31 Oct 2026, 20:02 UTC

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Questions about Rocket Lab pay for mechanical engineers

How much does Rocket Lab pay mechanical engineers?

Rocket Lab's open roles for mechanical engineers post a median $134k/yr, typically $103k–$236k/yr, from 27 distinct pay figures in 27 of its 33 postings. Typical pay here is the 25th percentile of what roles pay (the middle of each posted range, as a year's pay: an hourly rate counts at 2,080 hours, 40 a week for 52 weeks) to the 90th-percentile posted top. The highest posted top is $253k/yr, for Manager, Mechanical Engineering.

What does Rocket Lab pay mechanical engineers at each level?

By the level each title names: intern or co-op: a median $55.1k/yr (5 roles); level II: a median $113k/yr (5 roles); senior: a median $151k/yr (16 roles). A level is read from the title ("Engineer II", "Senior", "Lead"); titles that name none are left out of this answer.

Does Rocket Lab pay mechanical engineers more than other space companies?

Rocket Lab's median, $134k/yr, is 8% below the $145k/yr median of the 1,206 open roles for mechanical engineers at every space company we read (Rocket Lab's among them).

Do mechanical engineers earn more than other roles at Rocket Lab?

Rocket Lab's roles for mechanical engineers post a median $134k/yr, 12% above the $120k/yr median of all its open roles that state pay (Rocket Lab salaries compares every kind of work).

How does Rocket Lab's pay for mechanical engineers compare with the national wage?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median wage of mechanical engineers at $104k/yr (May 2025); Rocket Lab's posted median, $134k/yr, is 29% above it. A posting states what a new hire is offered, the national figure what everyone in the occupation earns, so the two measure different people. Source: BLS wage estimates by state (OEWS, May 2025), read through O*NET OnLine, CC BY 4.0.

Where does Rocket Lab hire mechanical engineers?

Its open roles for mechanical engineers are in Long Beach, CA (13), Pasadena, CA (6), Silver Spring, MD (5), New Zealand (3) and Middle River, MD (2). By place, they post a median of $144k/yr in Long Beach, CA, $142k/yr in Pasadena, CA and $98k/yr in Silver Spring, MD.