Engines and thrusters
Space Jobs for Propulsion Engineers
, SpaceJobs.Now lists 417 open roles for propulsion engineers on 50 space industry employers, including Cowboy Space, Amazon Leo and Portal Space Systems; typical pay across them is $127k to $226k a year (median $145k), topped by $328k a year advertised at Stoke Space.
Senior Manufacturing Engineer - Propulsion (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Technicians · Kent, Washington, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$175,000–$220,000/yrFluids Engineer - Vehicle Valves, Ducts, & Small Tubing (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Mechanical · Kent, Washington, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$130,000–$195,000/yrLead Propulsion Analyst (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Propulsion · Kent, Washington, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$150,000–$200,000/yr
Measured from 241 distinct posted rates, across 33 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 176 of the 417 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, 10:01 UTCListed here: Cowboy Space roles. See every employer
Engines, turbomachinery and combustion
2 openDesign and develop liquid rocket engines and their parts: turbopumps, combustion devices, injectors and nozzles, from analysis to hardware.
Senior Manufacturing Engineer - Propulsion (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Technicians · Kent, Washington, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$175,000–$220,000/yrFluids Engineer - Vehicle Valves, Ducts, & Small Tubing (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Mechanical · Kent, Washington, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$130,000–$195,000/yr
In-space and electric propulsion
2 openThrusters and propulsion systems for satellites and spacecraft, chemical and electric, that keep a vehicle on orbit and move it between orbits.
TCA & Thrusters Engineer (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Propulsion · Kent, Washington, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$130,000–$180,000/yrSenior In-Space Propulsion Engineer (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Propulsion · Kent, Washington, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$140,000–$205,000/yr
Propulsion engineers
1 openPropulsion roles across the vehicle, from system design to production support.
Lead Propulsion Analyst (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Propulsion · Kent, Washington, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$150,000–$200,000/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.
| Specialty | Open roles | Typical pay | Highest rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Propulsion and engine test | 56 | $122k–$218k/yr | $230k/yr |
| Engines, turbomachinery and combustion | 310 | $130k–$240k/yr | $328k/yr |
| In-space and electric propulsion | 40 | $145k–$226k/yr | $270k/yr |
| Fluid and feed systems | 5 | Too few rates | Not stated |
| Propulsion engineers | 6 | $78.3k–$199k/yr | $200k/yr |
What the roles ask for
Drawn from the requirement lines of 259 out of 417 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.
- Name years of experience217
- Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)41
- Name a security clearance34
- 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
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
- California199
- Texas40
- Washington36
- Colorado35
- Florida18
- Alabama12
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.
Roles posted for one country
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.
- Who is hiring230 open roles (2.8% of the space roles we read) at 22 employers, 58 of them posted in the last 30 days.
- Where the jobs are5.7% of these roles are remote; the rest are on-site or hybrid.
- Who can apply66.5% of the postings are open only to US persons or US citizens, and 21.6% name a security clearance.
- Skills and toolsThe skills its postings name most: Python (37%), GD&T (ASME Y14.5) (35%) and Siemens NX (32%).
- Degrees and experience0.0% of the postings take a high school diploma or an associate's degree, 45.4% name a master's or PhD, and they ask for a median of 4 years of experience at the least.
- Pay transparency57.0% of the postings state their pay, at a median $132,000 a year.
- Internships and entry level34 open roles are for someone starting out (14.8% of its open roles).
- Shifts, weekends and travel12.3% of the postings ask for weekend work, 8.8% for overtime or extended hours, and 0.4% name an evening, night or rotating shift.
- What applications askThe application forms for this work ask your citizenship or U.S. person status (83.8% of them), about a security clearance (35.8% of them), your GPA (18.4% of them), SAT, ACT or GRE scores (11.7% of them), your salary expectations (32.4% of them) and whether you have worked or interviewed at the company before (34.6% of them).
Experienced in Propulsion & Engines?
Space employers come to us looking for a particular skill, location or credential. Leave your details one time, at no cost, and we put you forward when a role matches, never without your yes.
propulsion alerts
propulsion openings, sent to your inbox
Once a week, the propulsion openings that appeared across every space company we follow, each with its posted salary. No cost, and one click stops it.
Only job openings, never promotions. Stop it from any email.
Frequently asked questions
How much do propulsion engineers earn in the space industry?
Going by the 241 distinct salaries currently posted for roles for propulsion engineers (each put on a full-time year), the typical range is $127k–$226k/yr and the median is $145k/yr. The top posted figure is $328k/yr, at Stoke Space. 176 of the 417 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 259 open roles for propulsion engineers whose requirements we read, 1 ask for a PhD, 14 a master's, 230 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.
More work by profession
Space jobs for aerospace engineers
Aerospace, aerodynamics and reentry roles at launch and spacecraft companies.
Space jobs for mechanical engineers
Structures, thermal, mechanisms and ground support equipment.
Space jobs for materials engineers
Materials and processes, metallurgy, composites and chemistry.
Space jobs for electrical engineers
Avionics, power systems, circuit boards, FPGAs and harnesses.
Space jobs for RF engineers
Antennas, phased arrays, communications systems and payloads.
Space jobs for GNC engineers
Guidance, navigation and control, flight dynamics and trajectory.
Space jobs for systems engineers
Vehicle and mission systems, requirements and verification.
Space jobs by profession
Every profession space companies hire, with live counts and pay.
Propulsion & Engines
Every open propulsion role across space employers, with live pay.