Materials and processes
Space Jobs for Materials Engineers
, SpaceJobs.Now lists 92 open roles for materials engineers and chemists on 14 space industry employers, including Inversion Space, Xona Space Systems and Apex; typical pay across them is $124k to $224k a year (median $130k), topped by $252k a year advertised at Stoke Space.
Chemical Engineer (opens the job details)
Voyager Technologies · Technicians · Pueblo, CO Penrose +2 more· 2w agoDetails
$75,000–$105,000/yr
Measured from 33 distinct posted rates, across 9 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 59 of the 92 listings open here post no pay at all.
Space companies hire materials engineers and chemists to choose, qualify and test the metals, composites and chemicals their vehicles are made of and run on. Each listing here is re-verified on the employer's own job board once an hour.
Live roles for materials engineers and chemists
Updated 29 Oct 2026, 21:01 UTCShowing the 1 roles that ask for a professional license, every country. See every role
Chemistry and propellants
1 openPropellants, cleanliness and contamination control, and the chemistry of materials that fly.
Chemical Engineer (opens the job details)
Voyager Technologies · Technicians · Pueblo, CO Penrose +2 more· 2w agoDetails
$75,000–$105,000/yr
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 39 out of 92 open roles for materials engineers and chemists, the same lines each role's pop-up quotes from its posting. Each role is counted once, at the lowest degree it will accept.
- Name years of experience33
- Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)4
- Set a residency or work-authorization condition3
- Ask for a professional license1
- Ask for a certification1
Where a posting states years of experience, the median ask is 3 years.
Who hires materials engineers and chemists in the space industry
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.
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Frequently asked questions
How much do materials engineers and chemists earn in the space industry?
Going by the 33 distinct salaries currently posted for roles for materials engineers and chemists (each put on a full-time year), the typical range is $124k–$224k/yr and the median is $130k/yr. The top posted figure is $252k/yr, at Stoke Space. 59 of the 92 open roles for materials engineers and chemists state no pay, so check each listing.
What degree do materials roles ask for?
Usually a degree in materials science, metallurgy, chemical engineering or chemistry, and for senior roles a master's or PhD. Each listing states the degree, the experience and the location it asks for. Of the 39 open roles for materials engineers and chemists whose requirements we read, 1 a master's, 35 at least a bachelor's and 3 name no degree.
What does a materials engineer or chemist do at a space company?
A materials engineer at a space company decides what a part is made of and how it is made, then proves it: testing alloys and composites, writing the process specifications for heat treating, bonding and coating, and finding the cause when a part fails.
How do space companies hire materials engineers and chemists?
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, Xona Space Systems, Apex and Stoke Space 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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