Space industry work
Launch & Mission Operations
Measured from 181 distinct posted rates, across 45 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 152 of the 333 listings open here post no pay at all.
Live launch & ops roles
Updated 30 Oct 2026, 11:02 UTC
Sr Spacecraft Operations Systems Engineer (opens the job details)
Sierra Space · Louisville, CO, United States· todayDetails
Space Vehicle and Operations Engineer (opens the job details)
The Aerospace Corporation · Westfield, VA, United States· todayDetails
Launch Structures Project Leader (opens the job details)
The Aerospace Corporation · El Segundo, CA· todayDetails
Launch Vehicle Systems Engineer (opens the job details)
The Aerospace Corporation · Los Angeles AFB, CA· todayDetails
Enterprise Operations Engineer (opens the job details)
The Aerospace Corporation · Springfield, VA, United States· todayDetails
Launch Systems Engineer (opens the job details)
The Aerospace Corporation · El Segundo, CA· todayDetails
Launch Vehicle Mechanisms Engineer (opens the job details)
The Aerospace Corporation · El Segundo, CA· todayDetails
Mission Integration Engineer (opens the job details)
The Aerospace Corporation · Los Angeles AFB, CA· todayDetails
Get vehicles off the ground and keep them flying: launch site and pad operations, launch control and range, recovery of reusable stages, mission operations and flight control, satellite and constellation operations, and ground station operations around the clock.
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In short
Launch & Mission Operations. Get vehicles off the ground and keep them flying: launch site and pad operations, launch control and range, recovery of reusable stages, mission operations and flight control, satellite and constellation operations, and ground station operations around the clock. The usual range is $115k–$223k/yr and the median $140k/yr, both taken from rates printed on postings that are live today. 57 employers hire for it, including Muon Space, Anduril, Amazon Leo.
Who hires for launch & ops work
Sorted by the expected value of an application (acceptance odds times posted pay). A referral agreement, if an employer has one, can raise it in this order but never changes the salary it offers.
Our grading rules for pay figures
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What our research measures about launch & ops work
Read from the open postings on 2026-10-29 by our space industry research, rebuilt every day. Every figure opens the row of the report it comes from.
- Who is hiring221 open roles (2.7% of the space roles we read) at 34 employers, 64 of them posted in the last 30 days.
- Where the jobs are10.4% of these roles are remote; the rest are on-site or hybrid.
- Who can apply78.1% of the postings are open only to US persons or US citizens, and 29.7% name a security clearance.
- Skills and toolsThe skills its postings name most: Python (43%), C or C++ (14%) and Linux (14%).
- Degrees and experience8.7% of the postings take a high school diploma or an associate's degree, 23.3% name a master's or PhD, and they ask for a median of 3 years of experience at the least.
- Pay transparency46.6% of the postings state their pay, at a median $130,000 a year.
- Internships and entry level10 open roles are for someone starting out (4.5% of its open roles).
- Shifts, weekends and travel22.8% of the postings ask for weekend work, 20.5% for overtime or extended hours, and 7.8% name an evening, night or rotating shift.
- What applications askThe application forms for this work ask your citizenship or U.S. person status (81.2% of them), about a security clearance (39.0% of them), your GPA (14.9% of them), SAT, ACT or GRE scores (14.9% of them), your salary expectations (43.5% of them) and whether you have worked or interviewed at the company before (37.7% of them).
From the forum
Ask the people doing Launch & Ops work what only they can tell you.