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Pay from Rocket Lab's own postings

Rocket Lab Test Engineer Salary

Rocket Lab's 40 open roles for test engineers post a median $113k/yr, typically $98.3k–$188k/yr, from 31 distinct pay figures, read from its own job board every hour.

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

Against other pay

Every Rocket Lab role
median $120k/yr
Rocket Lab's test engineers: 6% below it
Test engineers at every space company
median $141k/yr
Rocket Lab: 20% below it
Highest posted top
$236k/yr
Senior Mechanical Development & Test Engineer II

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 test 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 I4$98.5k/yr$89.6k–$122k/yr
Level II9$108k/yr$98.1k–$139k/yr
Senior16$144k/yr$119k–$220k/yr
Lead5$128k/yr$128k–$163k/yr
Principal or fellow1Too 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 test engineers

  • Long Beach, CA16 roles, median $132k/yr
  • Wallops Island, VA12 roles, median $111k/yr
  • Stennis Space Center, MS4 roles
  • New Zealand3 roles
  • Tucson, AZ3 roles
  • Littleton, CO1 role
  • Pasadena, CA1 role

Open Rocket Lab roles for test engineers, highest pay first

Updated 31 Oct 2026, 12:02 UTC

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Questions about Rocket Lab pay for test engineers

How much does Rocket Lab pay test engineers?

Rocket Lab's open roles for test engineers post a median $113k/yr, typically $98.3k–$188k/yr, from 31 distinct pay figures in 32 of its 40 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 $236k/yr, for Senior Mechanical Development & Test Engineer II.

What does Rocket Lab pay test engineers at each level?

By the level each title names: intern or co-op: a median $55.1k/yr (5 roles); entry, associate or level I: a median $98.5k/yr (4 roles); level II: a median $108k/yr (9 roles); senior: a median $144k/yr (16 roles); lead: a median $128k/yr (5 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 test engineers more than other space companies?

Rocket Lab's median, $113k/yr, is 20% below the $141k/yr median of the 949 open roles for test engineers at every space company we read (Rocket Lab's among them).

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

Rocket Lab's roles for test engineers post a median $113k/yr, 6% below 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 test engineers?

Its open roles for test engineers are in Long Beach, CA (16), Wallops Island, VA (12), Stennis Space Center, MS (4), New Zealand (3) and Tucson, AZ (3). By place, they post a median of $132k/yr in Long Beach, CA and $111k/yr in Wallops Island, VA.