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Engines and thrusters

Space Jobs for Propulsion Engineers

, SpaceJobs.Now lists 416 open roles for propulsion engineers on , including Cowboy Space, Amazon Leo and Portal Space Systems; typical pay across them is $128k to $226k a year (median $145k), topped by $328k a year advertised at Stoke Space.

See 214 roles for propulsion engineers
$128k–$226k/yrtypical paylive median $145k/yrup to $328k/yr at Stoke Space

Measured from 233 distinct posted rates, across 32 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 183 of the 416 listings open here post no pay at all.

Launch companies and spacecraft makers hire propulsion engineers to design, build and test rocket engines, thrusters and the fluid systems that feed them. Each listing here is re-verified on the employer's own job board once an hour.

Live roles for propulsion engineers

Updated 30 Oct 2026, 09:18 UTC

Showing the 214 roles that name years of experience, every country. See every role

Propulsion and engine test

30 open

Run engines and components on the test stand: plan the test, operate the stand, read the data and find what the hardware is telling you.

Show 20 more propulsion test roles

Engines, turbomachinery and combustion

155 open

Design and develop liquid rocket engines and their parts: turbopumps, combustion devices, injectors and nozzles, from analysis to hardware.

Show 145 more engine development roles

In-space and electric propulsion

21 open

Thrusters and propulsion systems for satellites and spacecraft, chemical and electric, that keep a vehicle on orbit and move it between orbits.

Show 11 more in-space propulsion roles

Propulsion engineers

3 open

Propulsion roles across the vehicle, from system design to production support.

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
Propulsion and engine test56$122k–$218k/yr$230k/yr
Engines, turbomachinery and combustion309$130k–$240k/yr$328k/yr
In-space and electric propulsion40$144k–$226k/yr$270k/yr
Fluid and feed systems5Too few ratesNot stated
Propulsion engineers6$78.3k–$199k/yr$200k/yr

What the roles ask for

Drawn from the requirement lines of 254 out of 416 open roles for propulsion 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

11

Ask for a master's

229

Ask for at least a bachelor's

14

Name no degree

  • Name years of experience214
  • Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)41
  • Name a security clearance29
  • Set a residency or work-authorization condition27
  • Ask for a professional license6
  • Require programming (Python, C++, MATLAB and similar)6

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

Who hires propulsion engineers in the space industry

EmployerOpen rolesPay stated
Cowboy Space logoCowboy Space5$130k–$220k/yr
Amazon Leo logoAmazon Leo6$82.1k–$215k/yr
Portal Space Systems logoPortal Space Systems1$100k–$170k/yr
Turion Space logoTurion Space1$150k–$200k/yr
Inversion Space logoInversion Space3$106k–$193k/yr
K2 Space logoK2 Space6$100k–$200k/yr
General Galactic logoGeneral Galactic4$85k–$240k/yr
Varda Space Industries logoVarda Space Industries13$109k–$263k/yr
Apex logoApex12$115k–$226k/yr
Astra logoAstra3$160k–$220k/yr
Stoke Space logoStoke Space3$129k–$328k/yr
Impulse Space logoImpulse Space24$62.4k–$220k/yr
Quantum Space logoQuantum Space1$110k–$160k/yr
Gravitics logoGravitics1$135k–$160k/yr
Vast logoVast10$86k–$265k/yr
CesiumAstro logoCesiumAstro5$108k–$181k/yr
Voyager Technologies logoVoyager Technologies6$90k–$240k/yr
Relativity Space logoRelativity Space32$90k–$277k/yr
Blue Origin logoBlue Origin68$81.3k–$256k/yr
True Anomaly logoTrue Anomaly13$85k–$195k/yr
GITAI logoGITAI1$150k–$200k/yr
Firefly Aerospace logoFirefly Aerospace11Not stated
The Exploration Company logoThe Exploration Company18Not stated
Isar Aerospace logoIsar Aerospace9Not stated
The Aerospace Corporation logoThe Aerospace Corporation7Not stated
Rocket Factory Augsburg logoRocket Factory Augsburg6Not stated
Venus Aerospace logoVenus Aerospace5Not stated
Axiom Space logoAxiom Space2Not stated
NewOrbit Space logoNewOrbit Space2Not stated
OHB logoOHB2Not stated
ClearSpace logoClearSpace1Not stated
Elveo Mobile logoElveo Mobile1Not stated
HyImpulse logoHyImpulse1Not stated
Synspective logoSynspective1Not stated
Intuitive Machines logoIntuitive Machines5Not stated
Northrop Grumman logoNorthrop Grumman4Not stated
L3Harris logoL3Harris2$76.5k–$143k/yr
ispace logoispace4Not stated
Boeing logoBoeing2$91k–$185k/yr
SpaceX logoSpaceX53$100k–$215k/yr
AST SpaceMobile logoAST SpaceMobile1Not stated
Virgin Galactic logoVirgin Galactic2$118k–$218k/yr
Blue Canyon Technologies logoBlue Canyon Technologies1Not stated
United Launch Alliance logoUnited Launch Alliance4$77.5k–$173k/yr
Rocket Lab logoRocket Lab28$58.2k–$270k/yr
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory logoNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory2$119k–$143k/yr
Lockheed Martin logoLockheed Martin3$121k–$300k/yr
Ursa Major logoUrsa Major15$80k–$179k/yr
Astranis logoAstranis4$60.3k–$185k/yr
Benchmark Space Systems logoBenchmark Space Systems2$49.9k–$175k/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.

Where these roles are posted

The US states with the most open roles for propulsion 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

Space industry jobs by US state

The public record, in every industry: 68,700 aerospace engineers work in the US (2025), projected to grow 8% by 2035, at a median $135k/yr (BLS, May 2025). Each state's page gives its own.

What our research measures about propulsion 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.

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Frequently asked questions

How much do propulsion engineers earn in the space industry?

Going by the 233 distinct salaries currently posted for roles for propulsion engineers (each put on a full-time year), the typical range is $128k–$226k/yr and the median is $145k/yr. The top posted figure is $328k/yr, at Stoke Space. 183 of the 416 open roles for propulsion engineers state no pay, so check each listing.

What do propulsion roles ask for?

Usually an engineering degree (mechanical and aerospace are the most common) and hands-on hardware experience in the role's area, from test operations to fluid systems. A license is rarely asked. Each listing states the degree, the years of experience and the location it asks for. Of the 254 open roles for propulsion engineers whose requirements we read, 11 a master's, 229 at least a bachelor's and 14 name no degree.

What does a propulsion engineer do at a space company?

A propulsion engineer designs, analyzes and tests the systems that make thrust: engines and their turbomachinery, combustion devices, thrusters, and the valves, lines and tanks that carry propellants. Much of the work is on hardware: building test articles, firing them on a stand and changing the design from what the data shows.

How do space companies hire propulsion 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 (Cowboy Space, Amazon Leo, Portal Space Systems and Turion 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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Propulsion & Engines

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