Flight and ground software
Space Jobs for Software Engineers
, SpaceJobs.Now lists 901 open roles for software engineers on 43 space industry employers, including Muon Space, Hubble Network and Outpost; typical pay across them is $143k to $265k a year (median $161k), topped by $355k a year advertised at SpaceX.
Software Engineer (opens the job details)
Epsilon3 · Software & IT · Los Angeles· 1y+ agoDetails
$120,000–$180000/yr
Measured from 517 distinct posted rates, across 31 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 384 of the 901 listings open here post no pay at all.
Space companies hire software engineers for the code that flies the vehicle and the software on the ground that builds, tests and operates it. Each listing here is re-verified on the employer's own job board once an hour.
Live roles for software engineers
Updated 30 Oct 2026, 06:01 UTCListed here: Epsilon3 roles. See every employer
Software engineers
1 openSoftware engineering roles across space companies.
Software Engineer (opens the job details)
Epsilon3 · Software & IT · Los Angeles· 1y+ agoDetails
$120,000–$180000/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 366 out of 901 open roles for software 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 experience303
- Require programming (Python, C++, MATLAB and similar)159
- Name a security clearance71
- Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)40
- Set a residency or work-authorization condition37
- Ask for a certification2
- Ask for a professional license1
Where a posting states years of experience, the median ask is 5 years.
Who hires software 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 software 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
- California396
- Washington131
- Colorado103
- Texas65
- Virginia29
- Florida10
Space industry jobs by US state
The public record, in every industry: 1,717,800 software developers work in the US (2025), projected to grow 10% by 2035, at a median $136k/yr (BLS, May 2025). Each state's page gives its own.
What our research measures about software & it 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 hiring895 open roles (11.0% of the space roles we read) at 45 employers, 201 of them posted in the last 30 days.
- Where the jobs are7.3% of these roles are remote; the rest are on-site or hybrid.
- Who can apply83.4% of the postings are open only to US persons or US citizens, and 28.5% name a security clearance.
- Skills and toolsThe skills its postings name most: Python (64%), Docker or Kubernetes (39%) and Linux (34%).
- Degrees and experience4.3% of the postings take a high school diploma or an associate's degree, 12.4% name a master's or PhD, and they ask for a median of 4 years of experience at the least.
- Pay transparency60.2% of the postings state their pay, at a median $160,000 a year.
- Internships and entry level48 open roles are for someone starting out (5.4% of its open roles).
- Shifts, weekends and travel37.2% of the postings ask for weekend work, 35.5% for overtime or extended hours, and 0.3% name an evening, night or rotating shift.
What our research measures about flight software 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 hiring378 open roles (4.6% of the space roles we read) at 34 employers, 66 of them posted in the last 30 days.
- Where the jobs are5.8% of these roles are remote; the rest are on-site or hybrid.
- Who can apply82.9% of the postings are open only to US persons or US citizens, and 29.8% name a security clearance.
- Skills and toolsThe skills its postings name most: C or C++ (82%), Python (65%) and Linux (38%).
- Degrees and experience0.0% of the postings take a high school diploma or an associate's degree, 41.7% name a master's or PhD, and they ask for a median of 5 years of experience at the least.
- Pay transparency46.0% of the postings state their pay, at a median $160,000 a year.
- Internships and entry level37 open roles are for someone starting out (9.8% of its open roles).
- Shifts, weekends and travel16.8% of the postings ask for weekend work, 17.1% for overtime or extended hours.
Weekly roles email
Space openings, sent to your inbox
The newest roles at every employer we track, with the pay each states, in one weekly email. Free, and unsubscribe anytime.
Only job openings, never promotions. Stop it from any email.
Frequently asked questions
How much do software engineers earn in the space industry?
Going by the 517 distinct salaries currently posted for roles for software engineers (each put on a full-time year), the typical range is $143k–$265k/yr and the median is $161k/yr. The top posted figure is $355k/yr, at SpaceX. 384 of the 901 open roles for software engineers state no pay, so check each listing.
Do I need aerospace experience?
Not always: many roles ask for strong software experience in the language and domain they name (C++ and embedded systems for flight software, cloud and web stacks for ground software) rather than space experience. Every posting spells out its exact requirements and work site, so read each one. Of the 366 open roles for software engineers whose requirements we read, 7 a master's, 257 at least a bachelor's and 102 name no degree.
What does a software engineer do at a space company?
A software engineer at a space company writes either the software that runs on the vehicle (flight and embedded code that has to work the first time) or the software around it: mission control, telemetry and simulation, test automation, and the systems the factory and the business run on.
How do space companies hire software 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, Hubble Network, Outpost 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 cybersecurity experts
Security engineering, security operations and compliance.
Space jobs for physicists
Optics and photonics, space science, astronomy and plasma physics.
Space jobs for data scientists
Machine learning, data engineering and Earth observation data.
Space jobs for mission operations engineers
Launch operations, mission control and satellite operations.
Space jobs for technicians
Assembly, integration, electrical, composites and launch technicians.
Space jobs for quality engineers
Quality engineering, inspection, NDT and mission assurance.
Space jobs by profession
Every profession space companies hire, with live counts and pay.
Flight Software & GNC
Every open flight software role across space employers, with live pay.
Ground Software & IT
Every open software & it role across space employers, with live pay.