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Pay from Rocket Lab's own postings

Rocket Lab Propulsion Engineer Salary

Rocket Lab's 32 open roles for propulsion engineers post a median $144k/yr, typically $126k–$270k/yr, from 28 distinct pay figures, read from its own job board every hour.

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

Against other pay

Every Rocket Lab role
median $120k/yr
Rocket Lab's propulsion engineers: 20% above it
Propulsion engineers at every space company
median $145k/yr
Rocket Lab: 1% below it
Every US aerospace engineer, May 2025
median $135k/yr
Rocket Lab's postings: 7% above it
Highest posted top
$270k/yr
Principal Electric Propulsion Engineer

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 propulsion engineer pay by level

Level the title namesOpen rolesMedianTypical pay
Intern or co-op2Too few figures
Entry, associate or level I2Too few figures
Level II5$126k/yr$126k–$151k/yr
Senior18$151k/yr$144k–$220k/yr
Lead1Too few figures
Principal or fellow4$216k/yr$216k–$270k/yr

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 propulsion engineers

  • Long Beach, CA27 roles, median $144k/yr
  • New Zealand3 roles
  • Stennis Space Center, MS1 role
  • Wallops Island, VA1 role

Open Rocket Lab roles for propulsion engineers, highest pay first

Updated 31 Oct 2026, 00:03 UTC

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Questions about Rocket Lab pay for propulsion engineers

How much does Rocket Lab pay propulsion engineers?

Rocket Lab's open roles for propulsion engineers post a median $144k/yr, typically $126k–$270k/yr, from 28 distinct pay figures in 28 of its 32 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 $270k/yr, for Principal Electric Propulsion Engineer.

What does Rocket Lab pay propulsion engineers at each level?

By the level each title names: level II: a median $126k/yr (5 roles); senior: a median $151k/yr (18 roles); principal or fellow: a median $216k/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 propulsion engineers more than other space companies?

Rocket Lab's median, $144k/yr, is 1% below the $145k/yr median of the 520 open roles for propulsion engineers at every space company we read (Rocket Lab's among them).

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

Rocket Lab's roles for propulsion engineers post a median $144k/yr, 20% 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 propulsion engineers compare with the national wage?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median wage of aerospace engineers at $135k/yr (May 2025); Rocket Lab's posted median, $144k/yr, is 7% 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 propulsion engineers?

Its open roles for propulsion engineers are in Long Beach, CA (27), New Zealand (3), Stennis Space Center, MS (1) and Wallops Island, VA (1).