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Production and process

Space Jobs for Manufacturing Engineers

, SpaceJobs.Now lists 545 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 $126k), topped by $263k a year advertised at Varda Space Industries.

See 134 roles for manufacturing engineers
$109k–$203k/yrtypical paylive median $126k/yrup to $263k/yr at Varda Space Industries

Measured from 230 distinct posted rates, across 21 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 315 of the 545 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 30 Oct 2026, 05:01 UTC

Listed here: SpaceX roles. See every employer

Additive manufacturing and composites

1 open

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

Welding, machining and fabrication

22 open

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

Show 12 more fabrication roles

Production and process

64 open

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

Show 54 more production roles

Manufacturing engineers

47 open

Manufacturing engineering roles across factories and test sites.

Show 37 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 composites34$93.5k–$177k/yr$194k/yr
Welding, machining and fabrication81$110k–$195k/yr$218k/yr
Production and process169$120k–$202k/yr$252k/yr
Manufacturing engineers261$109k–$203k/yr$263k/yr

What the roles ask for

Drawn from the requirement lines of 365 out of 545 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

6

Ask for a master's

335

Ask for at least a bachelor's

24

Name no degree

  • Name years of experience316
  • Set a residency or work-authorization condition51
  • Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)31
  • Require programming (Python, C++, MATLAB and similar)17
  • Name a security clearance12
  • Ask for a professional license6

Where a posting states years of experience, the median ask is 5 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
Apex logoApex7$100k–$205k/yr
K2 Space logoK2 Space25$90k–$220k/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 Origin145Not stated
ICEYE logoICEYE6Not stated
The Exploration Company logoThe Exploration Company6Not stated
Boeing logoBoeing5Not stated
Northrop Grumman logoNorthrop Grumman5Not stated
Isar Aerospace logoIsar Aerospace4Not stated
Astroscale logoAstroscale3Not stated
Axiom Space logoAxiom Space3Not stated
Dawn Aerospace logoDawn Aerospace2Not stated
SpaceX logoSpaceX134$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
Terran Orbital logoTerran Orbital2$85k–$115k/yr
Relativity Space logoRelativity Space52$90k–$185k/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). A referral agreement, if an employer has one, can raise it in this order but never changes the salary it offers.

Where these roles are posted

The US states with the most open roles for manufacturing 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.

What our research measures about technicians 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.

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Frequently asked questions

How much do manufacturing engineers earn in the space industry?

Going by the 230 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 $126k/yr. The top posted figure is $263k/yr, at Varda Space Industries. 315 of the 545 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 365 open roles for manufacturing engineers whose requirements we read, 6 a master's, 335 at least a bachelor's and 24 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.

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