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Materials and processes in California

Space Jobs for Materials Engineers in California

39 open roles for materials engineers and chemists at 14 space companies name a site in California, most of them in Hawthorne and Long Beach; typical pay runs $130k–$225k/yr. Listed straight from each employer's careers site, checked every hour.

Browse the rolesCalifornia in the research on where space jobs are →Every space job in California →Materials engineers and chemists in every state →

Space companies hiring materials engineers and chemists in California

EmployerOpen roles hereMedian posted pay
SpaceX11$130k/yr
Relativity Space8$155k/yr
Apex4$182k/yr
L3Harris4$109k/yr
Inversion Space2too few figures
Vast2too few figures
The Aerospace Corporation1not stated
Anduril1too few figures
E-Space1too few figures
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory1too few figures
Turion Space1too few figures
Viasat1too few figures
Virgin Galactic1too few figures
Xona Space Systems1too few figures

Where the roles are

  • Hawthorne11
  • Long Beach10
  • Canoga Park4
  • Los Angeles4
  • Playa Vista2
  • Burlingame1
  • Carlsbad1
  • Costa Mesa1
  • El Segundo1
  • Irvine1

Kinds of work

Open space roles for materials engineers and chemists in California, newest first

Updated 30 Oct 2026, 19:03 UTC

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What people ask about materials engineers and chemists' work in California

Which space companies hire materials engineers and chemists in California?

Today, SpaceX (11 roles), Relativity Space (8 roles), Apex (4 roles), L3Harris (4 roles), Inversion Space (2 roles), Vast (2 roles), and 8 more. The table above lists every employer with a role open in California.

Where in California are the roles for materials engineers and chemists?

Most are in Hawthorne (11), Long Beach (10), Canoga Park (4), Los Angeles (4), as the postings name their sites. A role that names several sites counts at each.

How much do space roles for materials engineers and chemists in California pay?

The roles here that state pay post a median $155k/yr, with typical pay from $130k–$225k/yr; 88.2% of California's postings state their pay at all, which our research on where space jobs are compares state by state. California's law has required employers with 15 or more employees to state a pay range in job postings since 1 Jan 2023 (each state's law beside its postings). For reference, the 3,000 materials engineers working in California, in any industry, earn a median $128k/yr (BLS, May 2025, the public record).

Do roles for materials engineers and chemists in California require US citizenship?

Of the 3,014 space postings in California whose text we read, 79.6% are limited to US citizens or US persons and 23.5% name a security clearance, by our research on who can apply, which compares every state. Each posting states its own rule, often citing export control under ITAR or the EAR.

How is this list made?

We read each employer's own job board every hour. A role is listed here when it is a US role and its own location line names a place in California, by the same reading as our research on where space jobs are, and its title names the profession by the same rule as the page for materials engineers and chemists; remote roles that name no state are on the remote jobs page.