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Pay from SpaceX's own postings

SpaceX Test Engineer Salary

SpaceX's 81 open roles for test engineers post a median $133k/yr, typically $118k–$221k/yr, from 47 distinct pay figures, read from its own job board every hour.

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

Against other pay

Every SpaceX role
median $138k/yr
SpaceX's test engineers: 4% below it
Test engineers at every space company
median $140k/yr
SpaceX: 5% below it
Highest posted top
$265k/yr
Lead Software Engineer, Components Test (Starshield)

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 test engineer pay by level

Level the title namesOpen rolesMedianTypical pay
Entry, associate or level I1Too few figures
Senior10$176k/yr$155k–$230k/yr
Lead6$198k/yr$194k–$255k/yr
Principal or fellow1Too few figures
Manager1Too few figures
Title names no level62$130k/yr$114k–$171k/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 test engineers

  • Hawthorne, CA27 roles, median $138k/yr
  • Bastrop, TX21 roles
  • Redmond, WA16 roles, median $120k/yr
  • McGregor, TX5 roles
  • Starbase, TX5 roles
  • Cape Canaveral, FL2 roles
  • Vandenberg, CA2 roles
  • Woodinville, WA2 roles
  • Canandaigua, NY1 role

Open SpaceX roles for test engineers, highest pay first

Updated 31 Oct 2026, 04:02 UTC

All 81 SpaceX roles for test engineers, with their pay

More SpaceX salaries by profession

Test Engineer salaries at other space companies

Every open SpaceX role

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Questions about SpaceX pay for test engineers

How much does SpaceX pay test engineers?

SpaceX's open roles for test engineers post a median $133k/yr, typically $118k–$221k/yr, from 47 distinct pay figures in 47 of its 81 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 $265k/yr, for Lead Software Engineer, Components Test (Starshield).

What does SpaceX pay test engineers at each level?

By the level each title names: senior: a median $176k/yr (10 roles); lead: a median $198k/yr (6 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 test engineers more than other space companies?

SpaceX's median, $133k/yr, is 5% below the $140k/yr median of the 943 open roles for test engineers at every space company we read (SpaceX's among them).

Do test engineers earn more than other roles at SpaceX?

SpaceX's roles for test engineers post a median $133k/yr, 4% below the $138k/yr median of all its open roles that state pay (SpaceX salaries compares every kind of work).

Where does SpaceX hire test engineers?

Its open roles for test engineers are in Hawthorne, CA (27), Bastrop, TX (21), Redmond, WA (16), McGregor, TX (5) and Starbase, TX (5). By place, they post a median of $138k/yr in Hawthorne, CA and $120k/yr in Redmond, WA.