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Physics, optics and space science in the Los Angeles area

Space Jobs for Physicists in the Los Angeles Area

45 open roles for physicists, astronomers and optical engineers at 9 space companies name a site in the Los Angeles area, most of them in El Segundo and Hawthorne; typical pay runs $126k–$230k/yr. Listed straight from each employer's careers site, checked every hour.

Browse the rolesThe Los Angeles area in the research on where space jobs are →Physicists, astronomers and optical engineers in California →Every space job in the Los Angeles area →Physicists, astronomers and optical engineers in every state →

Space companies hiring physicists, astronomers and optical engineers in the Los Angeles area

EmployerOpen roles hereMedian posted pay
The Aerospace Corporation19not stated
SpaceX8$169k/yr
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)7$139k/yr
K2 Space4$170k/yr
Apex2too few figures
RTX2too few figures
Impulse Space1too few figures
Inversion Space1too few figures
Voyager Technologies1too few figures

Where the roles are

  • El Segundo21
  • Hawthorne8
  • Pasadena7
  • Los Angeles6
  • Long Beach1
  • Playa Vista1
  • Redondo Beach1

Kinds of work

Open space roles for physicists, astronomers and optical engineers in the Los Angeles area, newest first

Updated 31 Oct 2026, 05:02 UTC

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What people ask about physicists, astronomers and optical engineers' work in the Los Angeles area

Which space companies hire physicists, astronomers and optical engineers in the Los Angeles area?

Today, The Aerospace Corporation (19 roles), SpaceX (8 roles), NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) (7 roles), K2 Space (4 roles), Apex (2 roles), RTX (2 roles), and 3 more. The table above lists every employer with a role open in the Los Angeles area.

Where in the Los Angeles area are the roles for physicists, astronomers and optical engineers?

Most are in El Segundo (21), Hawthorne (8), Pasadena (7), Los Angeles (6), as the postings name their sites. A role that names several sites counts at each.

How much do space roles for physicists, astronomers and optical engineers in the Los Angeles area pay?

The roles here that state pay post a median $146k/yr, with typical pay from $126k–$230k/yr; 91.8% of California's postings state their pay at all, which our research on where space jobs are compares state by state. California's law has required employers with 15 or more employees to state a pay range in job postings since 1 Jan 2023 (each state's law beside its postings). For reference, the 550 physicists working in the Los Angeles area, in any industry, earn a median $160k/yr (BLS, May 2025). The space roles for physicists, astronomers and optical engineers here post a median $146k/yr today, 8.9% below that; our research on levels and pay sets every profession and area side by side, once a day.

Do roles for physicists, astronomers and optical engineers in the Los Angeles area require US citizenship?

Of the 4,832 space postings in California whose text we read, 76.3% are limited to US citizens or US persons and 35.5% name a security clearance, by our research on who can apply, which compares every state. Each posting states its own rule, often citing export control under ITAR or the EAR.

How is this list made?

We read each employer's own job board every hour. A role is listed here when it is a US role and its own location line names a place in the Los Angeles area (the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metropolitan statistical area as the Census Bureau draws it: Los Angeles and Orange counties), by the same reading as our research on where space jobs are, and its title names the profession by the same rule as the page for physicists, astronomers and optical engineers; remote roles that name no state are on the remote jobs page.