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Pay from SpaceX's own postings

SpaceX Data Scientist or Machine Learning Engineer Salary

SpaceX's 96 open roles for data scientists and machine learning engineers post a median $163k/yr, typically $160k–$270k/yr, from 35 distinct pay figures, read from its own job board every hour.

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Against other pay

Every SpaceX role
median $138k/yr
SpaceX's data scientists and machine learning engineers: 18% above it
Data scientists and machine learning engineers at every space company
median $163k/yr
SpaceX: level with it
All US data scientists, May 2025
median $120k/yr
SpaceX's postings: 36% above it
Highest posted top
$350k/yr
Sr. AI Engineer, Special Programs

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.

SpaceX data scientist or machine learning engineer pay by level

Level the title namesOpen rolesMedianTypical pay
Senior27$215k/yr$198k–$350k/yr
Lead3Too few figures
Principal or fellow4Too few figures
Manager1Too few figures
Title names no level61$163k/yr$160k–$229k/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 SpaceX hires data scientists and machine learning engineers

Open SpaceX roles for data scientists and machine learning engineers, highest pay first

Updated 1 Nov 2026, 01:02 UTC

All 96 SpaceX roles for data scientists and machine learning engineers, with their pay

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Data Scientist or Machine Learning Engineer salaries at other space companies

Every open SpaceX role

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Questions about SpaceX pay for data scientists and machine learning engineers

How much does SpaceX pay data scientists and machine learning engineers?

SpaceX's open roles for data scientists and machine learning engineers post a median $163k/yr, typically $160k–$270k/yr, from 35 distinct pay figures in 51 of its 96 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 $350k/yr, for Sr. AI Engineer, Special Programs.

What does SpaceX pay data scientists and machine learning engineers at each level?

By the level each title names: senior: a median $215k/yr (27 roles). A level is read from the title ("Engineer II", "Senior", "Lead"); titles that name none are left out of this answer.

Does SpaceX pay data scientists and machine learning engineers more than other space companies?

SpaceX's median, $163k/yr, is level with the $163k/yr median of the 377 open roles for data scientists and machine learning engineers at every space company we read (SpaceX's among them).

Do data scientists and machine learning engineers earn more than other roles at SpaceX?

SpaceX's roles for data scientists and machine learning engineers post a median $163k/yr, 18% above the $138k/yr median of all its open roles that state pay (SpaceX salaries compares every kind of work).

How does SpaceX's pay for data scientists and machine learning engineers compare with the national wage?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median wage of data scientists at $120k/yr (May 2025); SpaceX's posted median, $163k/yr, is 36% 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 SpaceX hire data scientists and machine learning engineers?

Its open roles for data scientists and machine learning engineers are in Bastrop, TX (31), Hawthorne, CA (13), Redmond, WA (13), Palo Alto, CA (12) and Washington, DC (11). By place, they post a median of $160k/yr in Hawthorne, CA, $163k/yr in Redmond, WA and $183k/yr in Palo Alto, CA.