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Pay from Rocket Lab's own postings

Rocket Lab Systems Engineer Salary

Rocket Lab's 34 open roles for systems engineers post a median $137k/yr, typically $98.9k–$198k/yr, from 20 distinct pay figures, read from its own job board every hour.

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

Against other pay

Every Rocket Lab role
median $120k/yr
Rocket Lab's systems engineers: 14% above it
Systems engineers at every space company
median $152k/yr
Rocket Lab: 10% below it
Highest posted top
$260k/yr
Principal Systems Engineer - Mission Architecture

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 systems engineer pay by level

Level the title namesOpen rolesMedianTypical pay
Intern or co-op5Too few figures
Entry, associate or level I4Too few figures
Level II6$107k/yr$99k–$150k/yr
Senior13$148k/yr$144k–$198k/yr
Lead1Too few figures
Principal or fellow2Too few figures
Title names no level3Too 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 systems engineers

  • Long Beach, CA11 roles, median $147k/yr
  • Stennis Space Center, MS6 roles
  • New Zealand5 roles
  • Tucson, AZ4 roles
  • Wallops Island, VA4 roles, median $105k/yr
  • Middle River, MD3 roles, median $107k/yr
  • Pasadena, CA1 role

Open Rocket Lab roles for systems engineers, highest pay first

Updated 31 Oct 2026, 00:03 UTC

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Questions about Rocket Lab pay for systems engineers

How much does Rocket Lab pay systems engineers?

Rocket Lab's open roles for systems engineers post a median $137k/yr, typically $98.9k–$198k/yr, from 20 distinct pay figures in 20 of its 34 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 Systems Engineer - Mission Architecture.

What does Rocket Lab pay systems engineers at each level?

By the level each title names: level II: a median $107k/yr (6 roles); senior: a median $148k/yr (13 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 systems engineers more than other space companies?

Rocket Lab's median, $137k/yr, is 10% below the $152k/yr median of the 1,199 open roles for systems engineers at every space company we read (Rocket Lab's among them).

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

Rocket Lab's roles for systems engineers post a median $137k/yr, 14% 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 systems engineers?

Its open roles for systems engineers are in Long Beach, CA (11), Stennis Space Center, MS (6), New Zealand (5), Tucson, AZ (4) and Wallops Island, VA (4). By place, they post a median of $147k/yr in Long Beach, CA, $105k/yr in Wallops Island, VA and $107k/yr in Middle River, MD.