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Structures, thermal and mechanisms

Space Jobs for Mechanical Engineers

, SpaceJobs.Now lists 612 open roles for mechanical engineers on , including Muon Space, Outpost and Momentus; their typical pay runs $111k to $194k a year, with a median of $132k, and the highest advertised rate is $328k a year at Stoke Space.

See 115 roles for mechanical engineers
$111k–$194k/yrtypical paylive median $132k/yrup to $328k/yr at Stoke Space

Measured from 287 distinct posted rates, across 21 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 325 of the 612 open roles here state no pay.

Space companies hire mechanical engineers to design the vehicle's structures, mechanisms and thermal systems, and the equipment that handles it on the ground. Every role is checked against its employer's job board every hour.

Live roles for mechanical engineers

Updated 29 Oct 2026, 14:01 UTC

Showing the SpaceX roles. See every employer

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Structures, stress and loads

14 open

Primary structures, tanks and the analysis that proves them: stress, loads, fatigue and fracture, by hand calculation, finite element models and test.

Show 4 more structures roles

Thermal engineering

17 open

Keep hardware at the right temperature in launch, vacuum and reentry: thermal design, analysis and test.

Show 7 more thermal roles

Mechanisms and deployables

3 open

The moving parts: separation systems, actuators, hinges, deployable arrays and antennas, and the robotics of a vehicle.

Ground support equipment and facilities

8 open

The equipment that fuels, lifts, moves and tests a vehicle on the ground and at the pad.

Mechanical design engineers

73 open

Design parts and assemblies in CAD, take them through drawings and production, and support them in test and flight.

Show 63 more mechanical 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

Each specialty's typical pay is measured over its own open roles the way every band on this site is (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), and shown only where at least three distinct rates are posted.

SpecialtyOpen rolesTypical payHighest rate
Structures, stress and loads141$108k–$195k/yr$328k/yr
Thermal engineering95$127k–$218k/yr$295k/yr
Mechanisms and deployables58$114k–$208k/yr$232k/yr
Ground support equipment and facilities28$123k–$185k/yr$194k/yr
Mechanical design engineers290$109k–$190k/yr$252k/yr

What the roles ask for

Read from the requirements of 66 of the 612 open roles for mechanical engineers: the lines each role's pop-up lists from its posting. A role counts once, at the lowest degree it accepts.

0

Ask for a PhD

2

Ask for a master's

63

Ask for a bachelor's or a degree

1

Name no degree

  • Name years of experience60
  • Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)6
  • Name a security clearance4
  • Ask for coding (Python, SQL and the like)2
  • Ask where you live or may work2
  • Ask for a professional license1
  • Name a PE license1

The roles that name experience ask for a median of 4 years.

Who hires mechanical engineers in the space industry

EmployerOpen rolesPay stated
Muon Space logoMuon Space11$83.2k–$216k/yr
Outpost logoOutpost1$170k–$225k/yr
Momentus logoMomentus1$190k–$215k/yr
Inversion Space logoInversion Space10$106k–$221k/yr
Xona Space Systems logoXona Space Systems2$62.4k–$178k/yr
Varda Space Industries logoVarda Space Industries18$105k–$263k/yr
K2 Space logoK2 Space30$83.2k–$295k/yr
Apex logoApex12$93.6k–$195k/yr
Stoke Space logoStoke Space7$110k–$328k/yr
Slingshot Aerospace logoSlingshot Aerospace1$130k–$190k/yr
Northwood Space logoNorthwood Space2$100k–$175k/yr
BlackSky logoBlackSky3$130k–$150k/yr
Firefly Aerospace logoFirefly Aerospace14Not stated
Blue Origin logoBlue Origin160Not stated
Axiom Space logoAxiom Space16Not stated
ICEYE logoICEYE14Not stated
Isar Aerospace logoIsar Aerospace8Not stated
The Exploration Company logoThe Exploration Company7Not stated
Dawn Aerospace logoDawn Aerospace1Not stated
True Anomaly logoTrue Anomaly10Not stated
Planet logoPlanet1$145k/yr
SpaceX logoSpaceX115$100k–$190k/yr
AST SpaceMobile logoAST SpaceMobile19Not stated
HawkEye 360 logoHawkEye 3601$70k/yr
Voyager Technologies logoVoyager Technologies15$48.9k–$199k/yr
Ursa Major logoUrsa Major11$80k–$190k/yr
Relativity Space logoRelativity Space52$90k–$185k/yr
Vast logoVast22$72.8k–$175k/yr
Rocket Lab logoRocket Lab33$52k–$152k/yr
Astranis logoAstranis15$60.3k–$145k/yr

Ordered by what applying is worth, lifted by a referral boost for the employers that pay us a referral fee; it never changes what an employer pays you.

Where these roles are posted

Roles an employer posts for one country, and roles whose title names a language. Each place opens its own page; each count opens these roles.

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Frequently asked questions

How much do mechanical engineers earn in the space industry?

Across the 287 distinct hourly rates posted for roles for mechanical engineers right now, typical pay runs from $111000 to $194000 an hour, with a median of $132000. The highest posted rate is $327810 an hour, at Stoke Space. 325 of the 612 open roles for mechanical engineers state no pay, so check each listing.

Do I need a PE license?

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 66 open roles for mechanical engineers whose requirements we read, 2 a master's, 63 a bachelor's or a degree and 1 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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Mechanical, Structures & Thermal

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