Launch and mission operations
Space Jobs for Mission Operations Engineers
, SpaceJobs.Now lists 306 open roles for mission and launch operations engineers on 66 space industry employers, including Muon Space, Umbra and Cowboy Space; typical pay across them is $120k to $221k a year (median $140k), topped by $285k a year advertised at Viasat.
Propulsion Test Operations Engineer (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Launch & Ops · Mojave, California· todayDetails
$110,000–$140,000/yrAvionics Operations Engineer (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Launch & Ops · Redondo Beach, California· todayDetails
$140,000–$205,000/yrSenior Operations Engineer (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Launch & Ops · Redondo Beach, California· todayDetails
$140,000–$175,000/yr
Measured from 145 distinct posted rates, across 38 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 160 of the 306 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, 10:15 UTCListed here: Impulse Space roles. See every employer
Spacecraft and satellite operations
2 openFly satellites and spacecraft once they are up: commanding, monitoring and keeping a fleet healthy.
Senior Space Operations Engineer (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Launch & Ops · Redondo Beach, California· todayDetails
$140,000–$180,000/yrSpace Operations Engineering Intern (Summer 2027) (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Redondo Beach, California· todayDetails
$30/hr
Mission control and flight control
1 openPlan and run missions from the control room, on console.
Senior Mission Manager (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Launch & Ops · Redondo Beach, California· todayDetails
$165,000–$205,000/yr
Operations engineers
3 openOperations engineering roles across launch and mission teams.
Propulsion Test Operations Engineer (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Launch & Ops · Mojave, California· todayDetails
$110,000–$140,000/yrAvionics Operations Engineer (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Launch & Ops · Redondo Beach, California· todayDetails
$140,000–$205,000/yrSenior Operations Engineer (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Launch & Ops · Redondo Beach, California· todayDetails
$140,000–$175,000/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 153 out of 306 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.
- Name years of experience122
- Name a security clearance32
- Require programming (Python, C++, MATLAB and similar)28
- 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
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.
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.
In the US, by state
- California89
- Texas35
- Colorado25
- Florida24
- Washington23
- Virginia10
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.
- Who is hiring221 open roles (2.7% of the space roles we read) at 34 employers, 64 of them posted in the last 30 days.
- Where the jobs are10.4% of these roles are remote; the rest are on-site or hybrid.
- Who can apply78.1% of the postings are open only to US persons or US citizens, and 29.7% name a security clearance.
- Skills and toolsThe skills its postings name most: Python (43%), C or C++ (14%) and Linux (14%).
- Degrees and experience8.7% of the postings take a high school diploma or an associate's degree, 23.3% name a master's or PhD, and they ask for a median of 3 years of experience at the least.
- Pay transparency46.6% of the postings state their pay, at a median $130,000 a year.
- Internships and entry level10 open roles are for someone starting out (4.5% of its open roles).
- Shifts, weekends and travel22.8% of the postings ask for weekend work, 20.5% for overtime or extended hours, and 7.8% name an evening, night or rotating shift.
- What applications askThe application forms for this work ask your citizenship or U.S. person status (81.2% of them), about a security clearance (39.0% of them), your GPA (14.9% of them), SAT, ACT or GRE scores (14.9% of them), your salary expectations (43.5% of them) and whether you have worked or interviewed at the company before (37.7% of them).
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Frequently asked questions
How much do mission and launch operations engineers earn in the space industry?
Going by the 145 distinct salaries currently posted for roles for mission and launch operations engineers (each put on a full-time year), the typical range is $120k–$221k/yr and the median is $140k/yr. The top posted figure is $285k/yr, at Viasat. 160 of the 306 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 153 open roles for mission and launch operations engineers whose requirements we read, 3 a master's, 130 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.
Are these jobs real?
Every role here is read from a space employer's own careers page or job board (Muon Space, Umbra, Cowboy Space and Amazon Leo 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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