Engines and thrusters
Space Jobs for Propulsion Engineers
, SpaceJobs.Now lists 305 open roles for propulsion engineers on 19 space industry employers, including Inversion Space, Varda Space Industries and K2 Space; their typical pay runs $110k to $201k a year, with a median of $130k, and the highest advertised rate is $328k a year at Stoke Space.
Principal Turbomachinery Engineer (opens the job details)
K2 Space · Propulsion · Los Angeles, CA· 1mo agoDetails
$175,000–$200,000/yrMechanical Design Engineer (Propulsion) (opens the job details)
K2 Space · Mechanical · Los Angeles, CA· 2mo agoDetails
$100,000–$140,000/yrSenior Mechanical Engineer (Propulsion) (opens the job details)
K2 Space · Mechanical · Los Angeles, CA· 2mo agoDetails
$140,000–$175,000/yr
Measured from 158 distinct posted rates, across 13 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 147 of the 305 open roles here state no pay.
Launch companies and spacecraft makers hire propulsion engineers to design, build and test rocket engines, thrusters and the fluid systems that feed them. Every role is checked against its employer's job board every hour.
Live roles for propulsion engineers
Updated 29 Oct 2026, 14:01 UTCShowing the K2 Space roles. See every employer
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Propulsion and engine test
1 openRun engines and components on the test stand: plan the test, operate the stand, read the data and find what the hardware is telling you.
Propulsion Electrical Test Engineer (opens the job details)
K2 Space · Systems & Test · Los Angeles, CA· 2mo agoDetails
$100,000–$150,000/yr
Engines, turbomachinery and combustion
5 openDesign and develop liquid rocket engines and their parts: turbopumps, combustion devices, injectors and nozzles, from analysis to hardware.
Principal Turbomachinery Engineer (opens the job details)
K2 Space · Propulsion · Los Angeles, CA· 1mo agoDetails
$175,000–$200,000/yrMechanical Design Engineer (Propulsion) (opens the job details)
K2 Space · Mechanical · Los Angeles, CA· 2mo agoDetails
$100,000–$140,000/yrSenior Mechanical Engineer (Propulsion) (opens the job details)
K2 Space · Mechanical · Los Angeles, CA· 2mo agoDetails
$140,000–$175,000/yrSenior Propulsion Mechanical Design Engineer (opens the job details)
K2 Space · Propulsion · Los Angeles, CA· 2mo agoDetails
$140,000–$175,000/yrPropulsion Mechanical Design Engineer (opens the job details)
K2 Space · Propulsion · Los Angeles, CA· 10mo agoDetails
$100,000–$140,000/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
Each specialty's typical pay is measured over its own open roles the way every band on this site is (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), and shown only where at least three distinct rates are posted.
| Specialty | Open roles | Typical pay | Highest rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Propulsion and engine test | 41 | $109k–$160k/yr | $215k/yr |
| Engines, turbomachinery and combustion | 230 | $112k–$196k/yr | $328k/yr |
| In-space and electric propulsion | 24 | $110k–$222k/yr | $226k/yr |
| Fluid and feed systems | 5 | Too few rates | Not stated |
| Propulsion engineers | 5 | $58.2k–$130k/yr | $132k/yr |
What the roles ask for
Read from the requirements of 46 of the 305 open roles for propulsion engineers: the lines each role's pop-up lists from its posting. A role counts once, at the lowest degree it accepts.
- Name years of experience34
- Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)8
- Name a security clearance6
- Ask where you live or may work4
- Ask for coding (Python, SQL and the like)1
The roles that name experience ask for a median of 3 years.
Who hires propulsion engineers in the space industry
Ordered by what applying is worth, lifted by a referral boost for the employers that pay us a referral fee; it never changes what an employer pays you.
Where these roles are posted
Roles an employer posts for one country, and roles whose title names a language. Each place opens its own page; each count opens these roles.
Roles posted for one country
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Frequently asked questions
How much do propulsion engineers earn in the space industry?
Across the 158 distinct hourly rates posted for roles for propulsion engineers right now, typical pay runs from $110000 to $201000 an hour, with a median of $130000. The highest posted rate is $327810 an hour, at Stoke Space. 147 of the 305 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 46 open roles for propulsion engineers whose requirements we read, 3 a master's, 40 a bachelor's or a degree and 3 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 (Inversion Space, Varda Space Industries, K2 Space and Apex 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.