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Pay from Rocket Lab's own postings

Rocket Lab Mission or Launch Operations Engineer Salary

Rocket Lab's 22 open roles for mission and launch operations engineers post a median $128k/yr, typically $121k–$213k/yr, from 13 distinct pay figures, read from its own job board every hour.

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

Against other pay

Every Rocket Lab role
median $120k/yr
Rocket Lab's mission and launch operations engineers: 7% above it
Mission and launch operations engineers at every space company
median $140k/yr
Rocket Lab: 9% below it
Highest posted top
$260k/yr
Principal Spacecraft Operations Engineer - Secret Clearance Preferred

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 mission or launch operations engineer pay by level

Level the title namesOpen rolesMedianTypical pay
Level II3$112k/yr$105k–$133k/yr
Senior6$177k/yr$157k–$213k/yr
Lead4$128k/yr$128k–$145k/yr
Principal or fellow1Too few figures
Manager4$139k/yr$130k–$161k/yr
Title names no level4Too 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 mission and launch operations engineers

  • New Zealand8 roles
  • Long Beach, CA7 roles, median $139k/yr
  • Wallops Island, VA5 roles, median $128k/yr
  • Littleton, CO1 role
  • Stennis Space Center, MS1 role

Open Rocket Lab roles for mission and launch operations engineers, highest pay first

Updated 31 Oct 2026, 07:01 UTC

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Questions about Rocket Lab pay for mission and launch operations engineers

How much does Rocket Lab pay mission and launch operations engineers?

Rocket Lab's open roles for mission and launch operations engineers post a median $128k/yr, typically $121k–$213k/yr, from 13 distinct pay figures in 13 of its 22 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 $260k/yr, for Principal Spacecraft Operations Engineer - Secret Clearance Preferred.

What does Rocket Lab pay mission and launch operations engineers at each level?

By the level each title names: level II: a median $112k/yr (3 roles); senior: a median $177k/yr (6 roles); lead: a median $128k/yr (4 roles); manager: a median $139k/yr (4 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 mission and launch operations engineers more than other space companies?

Rocket Lab's median, $128k/yr, is 9% below the $140k/yr median of the 391 open roles for mission and launch operations engineers at every space company we read (Rocket Lab's among them).

Do mission and launch operations engineers earn more than other roles at Rocket Lab?

Rocket Lab's roles for mission and launch operations engineers post a median $128k/yr, 7% above the $120k/yr median of all its open roles that state pay (Rocket Lab salaries compares every kind of work).

Where does Rocket Lab hire mission and launch operations engineers?

Its open roles for mission and launch operations engineers are in New Zealand (8), Long Beach, CA (7), Wallops Island, VA (5), Littleton, CO (1) and Stennis Space Center, MS (1). By place, they post a median of $139k/yr in Long Beach, CA and $128k/yr in Wallops Island, VA.