Mission operations engineer salary
Space employers offer mission and launch operations engineers a median of $142k a year, and the middle half of their postings sits at $122k–$160k. That comes from 134 jobs at 37 employers whose own postings name a salary.
- 25th percentile$121,787.50/hr
- Median (50th)$141,844.25/hr
- 75th percentile$159,724.75/hr
- Distinct posted rates134
- Jobs stating an hourly rate134
- Employers37
The median is the middle of the 134 distinct rates they post, and the middle half, $121,787.50–$159,724.75 an hour, runs from their 25th percentile to their 75th: half of the rates fall between them. Each range counts at its midpoint, and a job posted many times at one rate counts once, so no employer's posting volume sets the figure.
- 25th percentile$121,787.50/hr
- Median (50th)$141,844.25/hr
- 75th percentile$159,724.75/hr
- Distinct posted rates134
- Jobs stating an hourly rate134
- Employers37
The median is the middle of the 134 distinct rates they post, and the middle half, $121,787.50–$159,724.75 an hour, runs from their 25th percentile to their 75th: half of the rates fall between them. Each range counts at its midpoint, and a job posted many times at one rate counts once, so no employer's posting volume sets the figure.
- Median posted pay, a year$141,800
- Hours in a full-time year2,080
- The same per hour, full time$68.19/hr
Every figure here is a year's pay: a job that posts pay counts at 2,080 hours (40 a week for 52 weeks). Rounded to the nearest $100.
- SpaceX16 jobs
- Northrop Grumman15 jobs
- Rocket Lab13 jobs
- Amazon Leo8 jobs
- K2 Space4 jobs
- Blue Origin4 jobs
- True Anomaly4 jobs
- BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems4 jobs
- Vast4 jobs
- Booz Allen Hamilton4 jobs
Jobs stating pay, the employers with the most first: 76 at the 10 shown and 58 at 27 other employers, 134 in all.
The jobs themselves: Mission operations engineer jobs
What mission and launch operations engineers are paid
How many postings fall in each salary step, a range counted at its midpoint; the darker bars are the middle half of what employers offer.
Median $142k a year. Middle half $122k to $160k. Point at a bar for its count. Tap a bar for its count.
Posted on open jobs
Middle half of 134 distinct posted rates (a job posted many times at one rate counted once), median $142k. 72% of the 187 open mission operations engineer jobs state pay.
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Mission operations engineer pay by employer
What each employer posts for mission and launch operations engineers, the employers with the most jobs stating pay first. An employer with at least 5 such jobs has a page of its own with every range it posts.
Median of each employer's own jobs (a range at its midpoint), and the lowest and highest rate it posts. Jobs stating pay link to the employer's open jobs.
Mission operations engineer pay by state
States where at least 8 open jobs from 3 employers state pay, highest median first. Each opens the state's own page, with its towns and employers.
| State | Median posted | Middle half | BLS median | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $152k | $133k–$172k | n/a | 66 |
| Washington | $132k | $128k–$152k | n/a | 9 |
| Colorado | $130k | $118k–$153k | n/a | 27 |
| Virginia | $127k | $109k–$142k | n/a | 16 |
Median and middle half of employers' rates in the state. BLS medians are for the occupation's main SOC code in the state (latest release).
Best-paid open mission operations engineer jobs
The current postings with the highest stated salaries, no more than two per employer.
$180,000–$275,000/yr
$177,000–$265,600/yr
$195,000–$240,000/yr
$173,300–$259,850/yr
$183,000–$243,000/yr- $169,000–$253,600/yr
$149,603–$254,317/yr
$150,000–$250,000/yr
$175,000–$225,000/yr
$177,300–$216,600/yr
$180,000–$210,000/yr
$161,000–$221,000/yr
Every open job: Mission operations engineer jobs
Questions about mission operations engineer pay in space
What do space companies pay mission and launch operations engineers?
Postings that state a salary put the median at $142k a year and the middle half at $122k–$160k, across 134 postings from 37 employers (one employer's repeated posting counted once). Full time, the median is about $68.19/hr an hour.
Where do mission and launch operations engineers earn the most?
Ranked by the median salary in each state's postings: California ($152k), Washington ($132k) and Colorado ($130k) come first, Virginia ($127k), Colorado ($130k) and Washington ($132k) last. A state's own salary page splits its figure by town and employer.
Which space companies pay mission and launch operations engineers the most?
Of the employers that state a salary on at least 5 postings: Amazon Leo ($151k), Rocket Lab ($134k) and SpaceX ($130k). The employer table covers the 37 with the most postings that state pay.
Where do these figures come from?
From the salaries in space companies' own postings, read every night: 134 of 187 current mission operations engineer postings (72%) state one. Nothing is estimated for a posting without pay, "up to" ceilings are set aside, and an hourly rate counts as 2,080 hours.
Salaries in launch & ops
Sources and method
- SpaceJobs.Now: salaries stated in space companies' own postings, read every night, published 7 Nov 2026
Cite this page
SpaceJobs.Now. (2026). Mission operations engineer salary. Data as of 7 Nov 2026. https://spacejobs.now/salaries/mission-operations-engineers