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Pay from SpaceX's own postings

SpaceX Propulsion Engineer Salary

SpaceX's 59 open roles for propulsion engineers post a median $130k/yr, typically $120k–$184k/yr, from 37 distinct pay figures, read from its own job board every hour.

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

Against other pay

Every SpaceX role
median $138k/yr
SpaceX's propulsion engineers: 6% below it
Propulsion engineers at every space company
median $145k/yr
SpaceX: 10% below it
Every US aerospace engineer, May 2025
median $135k/yr
SpaceX's postings: 4% below it
Highest posted top
$215k/yr
Sr. Propulsion Engineer (Raptor Flight)

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 propulsion engineer pay by level

Level the title namesOpen rolesMedianTypical pay
Entry, associate or level I2Too few figures
Senior11$175k/yr$163k–$215k/yr
Title names no level46$130k/yr$119k–$160k/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 propulsion engineers

Open SpaceX roles for propulsion engineers, highest pay first

Updated 31 Oct 2026, 00:03 UTC

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Questions about SpaceX pay for propulsion engineers

How much does SpaceX pay propulsion engineers?

SpaceX's open roles for propulsion engineers post a median $130k/yr, typically $120k–$184k/yr, from 37 distinct pay figures in 37 of its 59 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 $215k/yr, for Sr. Propulsion Engineer (Raptor Flight).

What does SpaceX pay propulsion engineers at each level?

By the level each title names: senior: a median $175k/yr (11 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 propulsion engineers more than other space companies?

SpaceX's median, $130k/yr, is 10% below the $145k/yr median of the 520 open roles for propulsion engineers at every space company we read (SpaceX's among them).

Do propulsion engineers earn more than other roles at SpaceX?

SpaceX's roles for propulsion engineers post a median $130k/yr, 6% below 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 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); SpaceX's posted median, $130k/yr, is 4% below 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 propulsion engineers?

Its open roles for propulsion engineers are in Hawthorne, CA (33), Starbase, TX (9), Cape Canaveral, FL (6), McGregor, TX (4) and Bastrop, TX (3). By place, they post a median of $130k/yr in Hawthorne, CA and $118k/yr in Redmond, WA.