Skip to content

Data, imagery and machine learning

Space Jobs for Data Scientists

, SpaceJobs.Now lists 263 open roles for data scientists and machine learning engineers on , including Muon Space, Array Labs and Anduril; typical pay across them is $144k to $270k a year (median $164k), topped by $350k a year advertised at SpaceX.

$144k–$270k/yrtypical paylive median $164k/yrup to $350k/yr at SpaceX

Measured from 140 distinct posted rates, across 31 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 122 of the 263 listings open here post no pay at all.

Space companies hire data scientists and machine learning engineers to turn imagery, telemetry and production data into products and decisions. Each listing here is re-verified on the employer's own job board once an hour.

Live roles for data scientists and machine learning engineers

Updated 30 Oct 2026, 16:03 UTC

Listed here: Vantor roles. See every employer

Geospatial and Earth observation data

3 open

Turn satellite imagery and radar data into products: remote sensing, geospatial analysis and image science.

Machine learning and AI

11 open

Models for imagery, autonomy, operations and manufacturing.

Show 1 more machine learning roles

Data science and analytics

8 open

Analysis of test, production, operations and business data.

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.

What the roles ask for

Drawn from the requirement lines of 175 out of 263 open roles for data scientists and machine learning 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.

4

Ask for a PhD

8

Ask for a master's

128

Ask for at least a bachelor's

35

Name no degree

  • Name years of experience137
  • Name a security clearance52
  • Require programming (Python, C++, MATLAB and similar)42
  • Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)16
  • Set a residency or work-authorization condition8
  • Ask for a certification2
  • Ask for a professional license1

Where a posting states years of experience, the median ask is 5 years.

Who hires data scientists and machine learning engineers in the space industry

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.

How each employer checks you

For every employer currently hiring data scientists and machine learning engineers: its process as its own hiring guide describes it, each line with its source. The complete steps sit on that employer's page. 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.

Assessment
Amazon's interview loop. How to apply
Interview
Interview
Assessment
No general test published. How to apply
Interview
None published
Assessment
Booz Allen's technical assessment and interviews. How to apply
Interview
Interview
Assessment
ESA's pre-screening and panel interview. How to apply
Interview
Interview
Credentials
You complete a basic medical screening for the ESA Medical Officer and a basic background screening run by an external party; in a second stage ESA contacts your referees and verifies your diploma. Source
Assessment
Thales interviews. How to apply
Interview
Interview
Assessment
Airbus interviews and role tests. How to apply
Interview
Interview
Assessment
The recruiter screening and team interviews. How to apply
Interview
Interview
Assessment
No general test published. How to apply
Interview
None published

Where these roles are posted

The US states with the most open roles for data scientists and machine learning engineers, and the roles posted for a single country. A place name leads to its own page, and a country's count lists the matching roles.

In the US, by state

Space industry jobs by US state

The public record, in every industry: 275,600 data scientists work in the US (2025), projected to grow 35% by 2035, at a median $120k/yr (BLS, May 2025). Open space roles for data scientists and machine learning engineers post a median $160k/yr, 33.1% above it (pay research). Each state's page gives its own.

What our research measures about science & data 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.

Experienced in Science, Imaging & Earth Data?

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.

Create my profile

science & data alerts

science & data openings, sent to your inbox

Once a week, the science & data 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 data scientists and machine learning engineers earn in the space industry?

Going by the 140 distinct salaries currently posted for roles for data scientists and machine learning engineers (each put on a full-time year), the typical range is $144k–$270k/yr and the median is $164k/yr. The top posted figure is $350k/yr, at SpaceX. 122 of the 263 open roles for data scientists and machine learning engineers state no pay, so check each listing.

What do data roles ask for?

Usually a degree in a quantitative field and experience with the tools the role names; imagery and remote sensing roles often ask for a graduate degree in the field. Every posting spells out its exact requirements and work site, so read each one. Of the 175 open roles for data scientists and machine learning engineers whose requirements we read, 4 ask for a PhD, 8 a master's, 128 at least a bachelor's and 35 name no degree.

What does a data scientist or machine learning engineer do at a space company?

A data scientist at a space company works on the data a space business produces: Earth observation imagery and radar, spacecraft telemetry, test and production data, building the models, pipelines and analysis that turn it into products and decisions.

How do space companies hire data scientists and machine learning 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. Of the employers hiring data scientists and machine learning engineers now, European Space Agency (ESA) says it checks credentials such as degrees. The section on how each employer checks you quotes each guide with its source.

Are these jobs real?

Every role here is read from a space employer's own careers page or job board (Muon Space, Array Labs, Anduril and Hubble Network 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.