Vehicles and spacecraft
Space Jobs for Aerospace Engineers
, SpaceJobs.Now lists 34 open roles for aerospace engineers on 12 space industry employers, including Outpost, Inversion Space and Varda Space Industries; typical pay across them is $148k to $224k a year (median $164k), topped by $230k a year advertised at Ursa Major.
Measured from 13 distinct posted rates, across 7 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 21 of the 34 listings open here post no pay at all.
Space companies hire aerospace engineers to design and analyze launch vehicles, spacecraft and landers, and to work out how they fly, heat up and come home. Each listing here is re-verified on the employer's own job board once an hour.
Live roles for aerospace engineers
Updated 29 Oct 2026, 20:01 UTCAerodynamics, aerothermal and reentry
14 openHow a vehicle flies through the atmosphere and comes back through it: aerodynamics, heating, hypersonics and reentry, by analysis, simulation and test.
Senior Aerothermal Analysis Engineer (opens the job details)
Outpost · Mechanical · Los Angeles, California· 3w agoDetails
$170,000–$225,000/yr
Aerodynamics & Analysis Engineering Internship - Summer 2027 (opens the job details)
Varda Space Industries · Mechanical · El Segundo, California, United States· 4w agoDetails
Senior Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics Engineer (opens the job details)
Varda Space Industries · Mechanical · El Segundo, California, United States· 4w agoDetails
$140,333–$179,314/yrAerodynamics and Flight Mechanics Engineer II (opens the job details)
Varda Space Industries · Mechanical · El Segundo, California, United States· 4w agoDetails
$119,543–$152,749/yr
Senior Aerodynamics Analyst - Neutron (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Mechanical · Auckland, NZ· 1mo agoDetails
Aerodynamics Analyst - Neutron (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Mechanical · Auckland, NZ· 1mo agoDetails
Senior Aerothermal Engineer (opens the job details)
Inversion Space · Mechanical · Playa Vista, California, United States· 2mo agoDetails
$137,000–$193,000/yrSenior Aerodynamics Engineer (opens the job details)
Inversion Space · Mechanical · Playa Vista, California, United States· 2mo agoDetails
$137,000–$193,000/yrStaff Aerothermal CFD Methods Engineer (opens the job details)
Inversion Space · Mechanical · Playa Vista, California, United States· 2mo agoDetails
$161,000–$221,000/yr
Vehicle and spacecraft design
1 openDesign the launch vehicle, spacecraft or lander as a whole and in its parts, from concept to the hardware that flies.
Aerospace engineers
19 openAerospace engineering roles across launch, spacecraft and space services companies.
Before you apply
Space hardware is built, tested and flown in person, so many roles name a factory, a test site, a launch site or a control room, and each listing states its location. US roles that touch export-controlled technology (ITAR or EAR) can ask that you be a U.S. person, and some ask for a security clearance. A real employer never charges you to apply, never interviews you only by chat app and never asks you to buy equipment.
Pay by specialty
Every specialty gets its typical band from its own open roles, computed by the same method as the rest of the site (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). A specialty is listed once three or more distinct rates have been posted.
| Specialty | Open roles | Typical pay | Highest rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aerodynamics, aerothermal and reentry | 14 | $164k–$227k/yr | $230k/yr |
| Vehicle and spacecraft design | 1 | Too few rates | Not stated |
| Aerospace engineers | 19 | $103k–$194k/yr | $199k/yr |
What the roles ask for
Drawn from the requirement lines of 11 out of 34 open roles for aerospace engineers, the same lines each role's pop-up quotes from its posting. Each role is counted once, at the lowest degree it will accept.
- Name years of experience9
- Name a security clearance4
- Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)2
- Require programming (Python, C++, MATLAB and similar)2
Where a posting states years of experience, the median ask is 5 years.
Who hires aerospace engineers in the space industry
| Employer | Open roles | Pay stated |
|---|---|---|
| Outpost | 1 | $170k–$225k/yr |
| Inversion Space | 4 | $137k–$221k/yr |
| Varda Space Industries | 3 | $120k–$179k/yr |
| Firefly Aerospace | 1 | Not stated |
 Blue Origin | 11 | Not stated |
 Axiom Space | 1 | Not stated |
 SpaceX | 2 | Not stated |
 Vantor | 4 | $140k–$187k/yr |
 Voyager Technologies | 3 | $97k–$199k/yr |
 Ursa Major | 1 | $175k–$230k/yr |
 Vast | 1 | $72.8k/yr |
| Rocket Lab | 2 | Not stated |
Sorted by the expected value of an application (acceptance odds times posted pay). Employers with a referral agreement get a boost in this order, which has no effect on the salary they offer.
Where these roles are posted
Two groupings: roles posted for a single country, and roles with a language in the title. A place name leads to its own page, and a count lists the matching roles.
Experienced in Mechanical, Structures & Thermal?
Space employers come to us looking for a particular skill, location or credential. Leave your details one time, at no cost, and we put you forward when a role matches, never without your yes.
mechanical alerts
mechanical openings, sent to your inbox
Once a week, the mechanical openings that appeared across every space company we follow, each with its posted salary. No cost, and one click stops it.
Only job openings, never promotions. Stop it from any email.
Frequently asked questions
How much do aerospace engineers earn in the space industry?
Going by the 13 distinct salaries currently posted for roles for aerospace engineers (each put on a full-time year), the typical range is $148k–$224k/yr and the median is $164k/yr. The top posted figure is $230k/yr, at Ursa Major. 21 of the 34 open roles for aerospace engineers state no pay, so check each listing.
Do I need an aerospace engineering degree?
An aerospace degree is common, but many roles take mechanical engineering or physics too, and ask instead for the analysis tools or hardware experience the work needs. Every posting spells out its exact requirements and work site, so read each one. Of the 11 open roles for aerospace engineers whose requirements we read, 1 a master's, 9 at least a bachelor's and 1 name no degree.
What does an aerospace engineer do at a space company?
An aerospace engineer at a space company works on how a vehicle is shaped, how it flies and how it survives: aerodynamics and reentry heating, vehicle design and performance, and the analysis and tests that prove a design before it flies.
How do space companies hire aerospace engineers?
Each employer runs its own hiring, and each listing says what it asks for: the degree or the hands-on experience, the location, and for export-controlled work in the US, often U.S. person status.
Are these jobs real?
Every role here is read from a space employer's own careers page or job board (Outpost, Inversion Space, Varda Space Industries and Firefly Aerospace among them), and each employer's page here covers who they are and how they hire. A real employer never charges you to apply, never asks you to buy equipment and never interviews you only by chat app.
More work by profession
Space jobs for mechanical engineers
Structures, thermal, mechanisms and ground support equipment.
Space jobs for propulsion engineers
Rocket engines, turbomachinery, thrusters and fluid systems.
Space jobs for materials engineers
Materials and processes, metallurgy, composites and chemistry.
Space jobs for electrical engineers
Avionics, power systems, circuit boards, FPGAs and harnesses.
Space jobs for RF engineers
Antennas, phased arrays, communications systems and payloads.
Space jobs for GNC engineers
Guidance, navigation and control, flight dynamics and trajectory.
Space jobs for systems engineers
Vehicle and mission systems, requirements and verification.
Space jobs by profession
Every profession space companies hire, with live counts and pay.
Mechanical, Structures & Thermal
Every open mechanical role across space employers, with live pay.