CNC and machining
Space Jobs for Machinists
, SpaceJobs.Now lists 152 open roles for machinists on 20 space industry employers, including Inversion Space, Varda Space Industries and K2 Space; their typical pay runs $65.5k to $141k a year, with a median of $86.3k, and the highest advertised rate is $218k a year at Northwood Space.
CNC Machinist (opens the job details)
K2 Space · Technicians · Los Angeles, CA· 5mo agoDetails
Measured from 87 distinct posted rates, across 13 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 65 of the 152 open roles here state no pay.
Rocket and spacecraft makers hire machinists to cut the engine parts, structures and fittings that fly, on CNC mills, lathes and multi-axis machines. Every role is checked against its employer's job board every hour.
Live roles for machinists
Updated 29 Oct 2026, 15:01 UTCShowing the K2 Space roles. See every employer
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CNC machinists and operators
1 openSet up and run mills, lathes and multi-axis machines that make engine and structure parts.
CNC Machinist (opens the job details)
K2 Space · Technicians · Los Angeles, CA· 5mo agoDetails
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
Each specialty's typical pay is measured over its own open roles the way every band on this site 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), and shown only where at least three distinct rates are posted.
| Specialty | Open roles | Typical pay | Highest rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNC programmers | 31 | $92k–$125k/yr | $131k/yr |
| CNC machinists and operators | 69 | $60.8k–$104k/yr | $132k/yr |
| Machinists | 52 | $85k–$172k/yr | $218k/yr |
What the roles ask for
Read from the requirements of 24 of the 152 open roles for machinists: the lines each role's pop-up lists from its posting. A role counts once, at the lowest degree it accepts.
The roles that name experience ask for a median of 5 years.
Who hires machinists in the space industry
Ordered by what applying is worth, lifted by a referral boost for the employers that pay us a referral fee; it never changes what an employer pays you.
Where these roles are posted
Roles an employer posts for one country, and roles whose title names a language. Each place opens its own page; each count opens these roles.
Roles posted for one country
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Frequently asked questions
How much do machinists earn in the space industry?
Across the 87 distinct hourly rates posted for roles for machinists right now, typical pay runs from $65500 to $141000 an hour, with a median of $86300. The highest posted rate is $218000 an hour, at Northwood Space. 65 of the 152 open roles for machinists state no pay, so check each listing.
Do I need a degree?
Usually not: machinist roles ask for machining experience, the machines and controls they name and the ability to read drawings and tolerances. Each listing states what it requires, the shift and the location. Of the 24 open roles for machinists whose requirements we read, 4 a bachelor's or a degree and 20 name no degree.
What does a machinist do at a space company?
A machinist at a space company sets up and runs CNC machines that cut flight hardware from metal, reads drawings and tolerances, checks parts as they come off the machine, and for programmer roles writes the toolpaths the machines follow.
How do space companies hire machinists?
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 (Inversion Space, Varda Space Industries, K2 Space and Apex 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.
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