Skip to content

Production and process

Space Jobs for Manufacturing Engineers

, SpaceJobs.Now lists 538 open roles for manufacturing engineers on , including Muon Space, Inversion Space and Xona Space Systems; typical pay across them is $109k to $203k a year (median $128k), topped by $263k a year advertised at Varda Space Industries.

See 538 roles for manufacturing engineers
$109k–$203k/yrtypical paylive median $128k/yrup to $263k/yr at Varda Space Industries

Measured from 231 distinct posted rates, across 21 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 307 of the 538 listings open here post no pay at all.

Space companies hire manufacturing engineers to turn designs into flight hardware at rate: the processes, tooling and lines that build engines, tanks and spacecraft. Each listing here is re-verified on the employer's own job board once an hour.

Live roles for manufacturing engineers

Updated 29 Oct 2026, 19:01 UTC

Additive manufacturing and composites

33 open

Metal 3D printing and composite layup, the processes behind printed engines and composite structures.

Show 23 more additive and composites roles

Welding, machining and fabrication

81 open

Engineer the welding, machining and fabrication processes that turn designs into flight hardware.

Show 71 more fabrication roles

Production and process

170 open

Run and improve the production line: process design, tooling, work instructions and rate.

Show 160 more production roles

Manufacturing engineers

254 open

Manufacturing engineering roles across factories and test sites.

Show 244 more manufacturing roles

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.

SpecialtyOpen rolesTypical payHighest rate
Additive manufacturing and composites33$93.5k–$177k/yr$194k/yr
Welding, machining and fabrication81$110k–$195k/yr$218k/yr
Production and process170$120k–$201k/yr$252k/yr
Manufacturing engineers254$109k–$203k/yr$263k/yr

What the roles ask for

Drawn from the requirement lines of 151 out of 538 open roles for manufacturing 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.

0

Ask for a PhD

3

Ask for a master's

138

Ask for at least a bachelor's

10

Name no degree

  • Name years of experience130
  • Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)23
  • Require programming (Python, C++, MATLAB and similar)15
  • Set a residency or work-authorization condition8
  • Ask for a professional license4
  • Name a security clearance3

Where a posting states years of experience, the median ask is 3 years.

Who hires manufacturing engineers in the space industry

EmployerOpen rolesPay stated
Muon Space logoMuon Space4$83.2k–$201k/yr
Inversion Space logoInversion Space8$77k–$193k/yr
Xona Space Systems logoXona Space Systems1$146k–$205k/yr
Albedo logoAlbedo1$193k/yr
Varda Space Industries logoVarda Space Industries23$120k–$263k/yr
K2 Space logoK2 Space25$90k–$220k/yr
Apex logoApex7$100k–$205k/yr
Loft Orbital logoLoft Orbital1$125k–$190k/yr
Stoke Space logoStoke Space3$110k–$252k/yr
BlackSky logoBlackSky2$110k–$155k/yr
Northwood Space logoNorthwood Space3$80k–$218k/yr
True Anomaly logoTrue Anomaly6Not stated
Firefly Aerospace logoFirefly Aerospace12Not stated
Blue Origin logoBlue Origin143Not stated
ICEYE logoICEYE6Not stated
The Exploration Company logoThe Exploration Company6Not stated
Isar Aerospace logoIsar Aerospace4Not stated
Astroscale logoAstroscale3Not stated
Axiom Space logoAxiom Space3Not stated
Boeing logoBoeing3Not stated
Dawn Aerospace logoDawn Aerospace2Not stated
Northrop Grumman logoNorthrop Grumman1Not stated
SpaceX logoSpaceX135$100k–$230k/yr
Planet logoPlanet1$114k/yr
AST SpaceMobile logoAST SpaceMobile24Not stated
Loft Federal logoLoft Federal1$110k/yr
Voyager Technologies logoVoyager Technologies8$85k–$180k/yr
Ursa Major logoUrsa Major7$62.4k–$155k/yr
Relativity Space logoRelativity Space52$90k–$185k/yr
Terran Orbital logoTerran Orbital2$85k–$115k/yr
Vast logoVast8$86k–$135k/yr
Rocket Lab logoRocket Lab26$52k–$132k/yr
Astranis logoAstranis7$60.3k–$145k/yr

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 Manufacturing & Technicians?

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

technicians alerts

technicians openings, sent to your inbox

Once a week, the technicians 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 manufacturing engineers earn in the space industry?

Going by the 231 distinct salaries currently posted for roles for manufacturing engineers (each put on a full-time year), the typical range is $109k–$203k/yr and the median is $128k/yr. The top posted figure is $263k/yr, at Varda Space Industries. 307 of the 538 open roles for manufacturing engineers state no pay, so check each listing.

What do manufacturing roles ask for?

Usually a mechanical, industrial or manufacturing engineering degree and experience with the processes the role names. Every posting spells out its exact requirements and work site, so read each one. Of the 151 open roles for manufacturing engineers whose requirements we read, 3 a master's, 138 at least a bachelor's and 10 name no degree.

What does a manufacturing engineer do at a space company?

A manufacturing engineer at a space company designs how hardware is built: the process, the tooling and fixtures, the work instructions for technicians, and the fixes when a part does not come out right, then raises the rate as production grows.

How do space companies hire manufacturing 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 (Muon Space, Inversion Space, Xona Space Systems and Albedo 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 quality engineers

Quality engineering, inspection, NDT and mission assurance.

Space jobs for test engineers

Integration and test, environmental testing and hot-fire test.

Space jobs for mission operations engineers

Launch operations, mission control and satellite operations.

Space jobs for systems engineers

Vehicle and mission systems, requirements and verification.

Space jobs for physicists

Optics and photonics, space science, astronomy and plasma physics.

Space jobs for GNC engineers

Guidance, navigation and control, flight dynamics and trajectory.

Space jobs for RF engineers

Antennas, phased arrays, communications systems and payloads.

Space jobs by profession

Every profession space companies hire, with live counts and pay.

Manufacturing & Technicians

Every open technicians role across space employers, with live pay.