Structures, thermal and mechanisms
Space Jobs for Mechanical Engineers
, SpaceJobs.Now lists 620 open roles for mechanical engineers on 33 space industry employers, including Muon Space, Outpost and Momentus; typical pay across them is $110k to $194k a year (median $132k), topped by $328k a year advertised at Stoke Space.
Senior Structural Analyst (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Mechanical · Auckland, NZ· 1w agoDetails
R&D Mechanical Engineer (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Mechanical · Auckland, NZ· 3w agoDetails
Structural Analyst (Space Launch New Zealand) (opens the job details)
Dawn Aerospace · Mechanical · Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand· 1mo agoDetails
Measured from 293 distinct posted rates, across 23 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 327 of the 620 listings open here post no pay at all.
Space companies hire mechanical engineers to design the vehicle's structures, mechanisms and thermal systems, and the equipment that handles it on the ground. Each listing here is re-verified on the employer's own job board once an hour.
Live roles for mechanical engineers
Updated 29 Oct 2026, 16:01 UTCShowing the 4 roles posted for New Zealand. See every role
A few of our links carry a referral code. When one leads to a hire, the employer may pay us a fee; you pay nothing, and the salary on offer stays the same.
Structures, stress and loads
2 openPrimary structures, tanks and the analysis that proves them: stress, loads, fatigue and fracture, by hand calculation, finite element models and test.
Senior Structural Analyst (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Mechanical · Auckland, NZ· 1w agoDetails
Structural Analyst (Space Launch New Zealand) (opens the job details)
Dawn Aerospace · Mechanical · Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand· 1mo agoDetails
Mechanical design engineers
2 openDesign parts and assemblies in CAD, take them through drawings and production, and support them in test and flight.
R&D Mechanical Engineer (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Mechanical · Auckland, NZ· 3w agoDetails
Systems Engineer - Mechanical (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Systems & Test · Auckland, NZ· 1mo 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
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 104 out of 620 open roles for mechanical 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.
- Name years of experience93
- Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)9
- Name a security clearance6
- Require programming (Python, C++, MATLAB and similar)5
- Set a residency or work-authorization condition3
- Ask for a professional license1
- Name a PE license1
Where a posting states years of experience, the median ask is 5 years.
Who hires mechanical engineers 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.
Roles posted for one country
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Frequently asked questions
How much do mechanical engineers earn in the space industry?
Across the 293 distinct hourly rates posted for roles for mechanical engineers right now, typical pay runs from $110000 to $194000 an hour, with a median of $132000. The highest posted rate is $327810 an hour, at Stoke Space. 327 of the 620 open roles for mechanical engineers state no pay, so check each listing.
Is a PE license required for space mechanical roles?
Rarely: most roles ask for a mechanical or aerospace degree and experience with the CAD and analysis tools they name. A PE license comes up mostly for facilities and pressure systems work. Each listing states what it requires and where it is based. Of the 104 open roles for mechanical engineers whose requirements we read, 4 a master's, 94 at least a bachelor's and 6 name no degree.
What does a mechanical engineer do at a space company?
A mechanical engineer at a space company designs hardware in CAD and proves it works: sizing structures and tanks for launch loads, keeping parts at temperature in vacuum, building the mechanisms that separate and deploy, and supporting each part through manufacturing and test.
How do space companies hire mechanical 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, Outpost, Momentus and Inversion 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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Space jobs by profession
Every profession space companies hire, with live counts and pay.
Mechanical, Structures & Thermal
Every open mechanical role across space employers, with live pay.