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Launch and mission operations

Space Jobs for Mission Operations Engineers

, SpaceJobs.Now lists 337 open roles for mission and launch operations engineers on , including Muon Space, Anduril and Umbra; typical pay across them is $120k to $216k a year (median $139k), topped by $285k a year advertised at Viasat.

See 254 roles for mission and launch operations engineers
$120k–$216k/yrtypical paylive median $139k/yrup to $285k/yr at Viasat

Measured from 184 distinct posted rates, across 48 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 151 of the 337 listings open here post no pay at all.

Launch and satellite companies hire operations engineers to get vehicles off the pad and keep spacecraft flying, from the launch control room to the satellite ops floor. Each listing here is re-verified on the employer's own job board once an hour.

Live roles for mission and launch operations engineers

Updated 30 Oct 2026, 16:03 UTC

Showing the 254 roles posted for United States. See every role

Launch and range operations

47 open

Prepare and launch vehicles: pad operations, launch control, range and recovery.

Show 37 more launch operations roles

Spacecraft and satellite operations

47 open

Fly satellites and spacecraft once they are up: commanding, monitoring and keeping a fleet healthy.

Show 37 more satellite operations roles

Ground stations

11 open

Run the antennas and ground segment that talk to spacecraft.

Show 1 more ground station roles

Mission control and flight control

76 open

Plan and run missions from the control room, on console.

Show 66 more mission control roles

Operations engineers

73 open

Operations engineering roles across launch and mission teams.

Show 63 more operations 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
Launch and range operations60$96.9k–$195k/yr$230k/yr
Spacecraft and satellite operations72$112k–$204k/yr$260k/yr
Ground stations26$131k–$258k/yr$285k/yr
Mission control and flight control89$130k–$224k/yr$266k/yr
Operations engineers90$120k–$210k/yr$275k/yr

What the roles ask for

Drawn from the requirement lines of 156 out of 337 open roles for mission and launch operations 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

3

Ask for a master's

133

Ask for at least a bachelor's

20

Name no degree

  • Name years of experience124
  • Name a security clearance33
  • Require programming (Python, C++, MATLAB and similar)29
  • Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)15
  • Set a residency or work-authorization condition10
  • Ask for a certification5
  • Ask for a professional license1

Where a posting states years of experience, the median ask is 5 years.

Who hires mission and launch operations engineers in the space industry

EmployerOpen rolesPay stated
Muon Space logoMuon Space3$74.9k–$195k/yr
Anduril logoAnduril3$127k–$196k/yr
Umbra logoUmbra2$90k–$200k/yr
Cowboy Space logoCowboy Space1$145k–$171k/yr
Johns Hopkins APL logoJohns Hopkins APL2$42.7k–$245k/yr
Astrolab logoAstrolab3$120k–$200k/yr
True Anomaly logoTrue Anomaly4$105k–$250k/yr
Amazon Leo logoAmazon Leo13$70.7k–$204k/yr
Parsons logoParsons2$88.4k–$155k/yr
Turion Space logoTurion Space2$150k–$225k/yr
Inversion Space logoInversion Space1$161k–$221k/yr
BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems logoBAE Systems Space & Mission Systems3$118k–$254k/yr
K2 Space logoK2 Space5$62.4k–$210k/yr
General Galactic logoGeneral Galactic1Not stated
Varda Space Industries logoVarda Space Industries2$140k–$179k/yr
Apex logoApex4$110k–$250k/yr
Loft Orbital logoLoft Orbital5$140k–$190k/yr
Trinzic logoTrinzic1$77.9k–$85k/yr
Viasat logoViasat4$82k–$285k/yr
Impulse Space logoImpulse Space6$62.4k–$205k/yr
KBR logoKBR3$77.9k–$217k/yr
Planet logoPlanet3$114k–$181k/yr
Quantum Space logoQuantum Space2$90k–$140k/yr
Blue Origin logoBlue Origin14$90.9k–$254k/yr
Vast logoVast5$84.5k–$215k/yr
CesiumAstro logoCesiumAstro1$90k–$115k/yr
Spire Global logoSpire Global1$130k–$171k/yr
Reflect Orbital logoReflect Orbital4$56.2k–$185k/yr
Relativity Space logoRelativity Space8$39.9k–$186k/yr
Northwood Space logoNorthwood Space2$100k–$175k/yr
Booz Allen Hamilton logoBooz Allen Hamilton5$77.6k–$198k/yr
Firefly Aerospace logoFirefly Aerospace4$145k–$175k/yr
Isar Aerospace logoIsar Aerospace10Not stated
The Aerospace Corporation logoThe Aerospace Corporation9Not stated
Airbus Defence and Space logoAirbus Defence and Space9Not stated
Thales Alenia Space logoThales Alenia Space7Not stated
OHB logoOHB6Not stated
Constellr logoConstellr4Not stated
Astroscale logoAstroscale3Not stated
Exotrail logoExotrail3Not stated
Open Cosmos logoOpen Cosmos3Not stated
Telesat logoTelesat3Not stated
Axiom Space logoAxiom Space2Not stated
Eutelsat logoEutelsat2Not stated
ICEYE logoICEYE2Not stated
The Exploration Company logoThe Exploration Company2Not stated
ClearSpace logoClearSpace1Not stated
Elveo Mobile logoElveo Mobile1Not stated
Exos Aerospace logoExos Aerospace1Not stated
Foundational logoFoundational1Not stated
Leaf Space logoLeaf Space1Not stated
Rocket Factory Augsburg logoRocket Factory Augsburg1Not stated
Satellogic logoSatellogic1Not stated
Sierra Space logoSierra Space6$94.1k–$198k/yr
SES logoSES3Not stated
Intuitive Machines logoIntuitive Machines4Not stated
Starfish Space logoStarfish Space1$100k–$180k/yr
SpaceX logoSpaceX59$47.8k–$275k/yr
ispace logoispace2Not stated
AST SpaceMobile logoAST SpaceMobile5Not stated
Vantor logoVantor1$74k–$98k/yr
SEAKR Engineering logoSEAKR Engineering1$80k–$95k/yr
Northrop Grumman logoNorthrop Grumman15$75.8k–$266k/yr
Boeing logoBoeing2$82k–$223k/yr
L3Harris logoL3Harris3$80.5k–$150k/yr
Leidos logoLeidos1$83.2k/yr
Rocket Lab logoRocket Lab21$87k–$260k/yr
Iridium logoIridium2$64.5k–$80k/yr
Amentum logoAmentum3$129k/yr
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory logoNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory2$99.4k–$162k/yr
Lockheed Martin logoLockheed Martin6$58.2k–$108k/yr
CACI logoCACI1$78k–$164k/yr
Lunar Outpost logoLunar Outpost1Not stated
Peraton logoPeraton3$51k–$128k/yr
Astranis logoAstranis4$91.5k–$240k/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.

How each employer checks you

For every employer currently hiring mission and launch operations engineers: its process as its own hiring guide describes it, each line with its source. The complete steps sit on that employer's page. 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.

Amazon Leo logoAmazon Leo13 open
Assessment
Amazon's interview loop. How to apply
Interview
Interview
Blue Origin logoBlue Origin14 open
Assessment
No general test published. How to apply
Interview
None published
Booz Allen Hamilton logoBooz Allen Hamilton5 open
Assessment
Booz Allen's technical assessment and interviews. How to apply
Interview
Interview
Airbus Defence and Space logoAirbus Defence and Space9 open
Assessment
Airbus interviews and role tests. How to apply
Interview
Interview
Thales Alenia Space logoThales Alenia Space7 open
Assessment
Thales interviews. How to apply
Interview
Interview
Northrop Grumman logoNorthrop Grumman15 open
Assessment
The recruiter screening and team interviews. How to apply
Interview
Interview
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory logoNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory2 open
Assessment
No general test published. How to apply
Interview
None published
Lockheed Martin logoLockheed Martin6 open
Assessment
Lockheed Martin's interviews. How to apply
Interview
Interview

Where these roles are posted

The US states with the most open roles for mission and launch operations 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 launch & ops 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.

Experienced in Launch & Mission Operations?

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launch & ops openings, sent to your inbox

Once a week, the launch & ops openings that appeared across every space company we follow, each with its posted salary. No cost, and one click stops it.

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Frequently asked questions

How much do mission and launch operations engineers earn in the space industry?

Going by the 184 distinct salaries currently posted for roles for mission and launch operations engineers (each put on a full-time year), the typical range is $120k–$216k/yr and the median is $139k/yr. The top posted figure is $285k/yr, at Viasat. 151 of the 337 open roles for mission and launch operations engineers state no pay, so check each listing.

What do operations roles ask for?

Usually an engineering or science degree, and for some roles operations experience from the military, aviation or another space program. Many work in shifts or on call. Every posting spells out its exact requirements and work site, so read each one. Of the 156 open roles for mission and launch operations engineers whose requirements we read, 3 a master's, 133 at least a bachelor's and 20 name no degree.

What does a mission or launch operations engineer do at a space company?

A mission or launch operations engineer runs the vehicle in real time: preparing it at the pad and on console for launch, or commanding and monitoring spacecraft once they fly, writing the procedures, training for anomalies and keeping watch on shift.

How do space companies hire mission and launch operations 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. Of the employers hiring mission and launch operations engineers now, none publishes a recorded interview or an ID check in the guides we hold. The section on how each employer checks you quotes each guide with its source.

Are these jobs real?

Every role here is read from a space employer's own careers page or job board (Muon Space, Anduril, Umbra and Cowboy 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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