Flight and ground software
Space Jobs for Software Engineers
, SpaceJobs.Now lists 1,383 open roles for software engineers on 102 space industry employers, including Muon Space, Array Labs and Hubble Network; typical pay across them is $149k to $265k a year (median $169k), topped by $355k a year advertised at SpaceX.
Ground Station Software Engineer (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Software & IT · San Carlos, CA or Kent +2 more· 2w agoDetails
$145,000–$171,000/yrControls Software Engineer, Pointing & Tracking (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Flight Software · San Carlos, California· 2w agoDetails
$170,000–$192,000/yrEmbedded Software Engineer (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Flight Software · San Carlos, CA or Kent +2 more· 1mo agoDetails
$130,000–$185,000/yr
Measured from 828 distinct posted rates, across 68 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 555 of the 1,383 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, 09:18 UTCListed here: Cowboy Space roles. See every employer
Flight and embedded software
3 openSoftware that runs on the vehicle: flight software, embedded and real-time code, firmware.
Embedded Software Engineer (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Flight Software · San Carlos, CA or Kent +2 more· 1mo agoDetails
$130,000–$185,000/yrFlight Software Engineer (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Flight Software · Kent, Washington, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$200,000–$250,000/yrSenior Platform Firmware Engineer (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Flight Software · San Carlos, California· 1mo agoDetails
$170,000–$235,000/yr
Ground, mission and test software
2 openSoftware on the ground: mission control and operations tools, telemetry, simulation and test software.
Ground Station Software Engineer (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Software & IT · San Carlos, CA or Kent +2 more· 2w agoDetails
$145,000–$171,000/yrSoftware Engineer, Test & Automation (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Software & IT · San Carlos, CA or Kent +2 more· 1mo agoDetails
$100,000–$200,000/yr
Software engineers
4 openSoftware engineering roles across space companies.
Controls Software Engineer, Pointing & Tracking (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Flight Software · San Carlos, California· 2w agoDetails
$170,000–$192,000/yrIntern, Software Engineering, 2027 (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Software & IT · San Carlos, California· 1mo agoDetails
$1,800/wkSoftware Engineer (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Software & IT · San Carlos, CA or Kent +2 more· 1mo agoDetails
$100,000–$200,000/yrSenior Software Engineer (opens the job details)
Cowboy Space · Software & IT · San Carlos, CA or Kent +2 more· 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.
What the roles ask for
Drawn from the requirement lines of 279 out of 1,383 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 experience235
- Require programming (Python, C++, MATLAB and similar)125
- Name a security clearance46
- Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)34
- Set a residency or work-authorization condition25
- Ask for a professional license3
- Ask for a certification1
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
- California518
- Washington240
- Colorado173
- Texas85
- Virginia46
- Florida26
- Maryland21
- Arizona20
- Alabama10
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 applications askThe application forms for this work ask your citizenship or U.S. person status (88.0% of them), about a security clearance (57.2% of them), your GPA (42.8% of them), SAT, ACT or GRE scores (42.4% of them), your salary expectations (24.9% of them) and whether you have worked or interviewed at the company before (54.0% of them).
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.
- What applications askThe application forms for this work ask your citizenship or U.S. person status (87.4% of them), about a security clearance (44.5% of them), your GPA (24.4% of them), SAT, ACT or GRE scores (23.6% of them), your salary expectations (30.7% of them) and whether you have worked or interviewed at the company before (36.2% of them).
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Frequently asked questions
How much do software engineers earn in the space industry?
Going by the 828 distinct salaries currently posted for roles for software engineers (each put on a full-time year), the typical range is $149k–$265k/yr and the median is $169k/yr. The top posted figure is $355k/yr, at SpaceX. 555 of the 1,383 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 279 open roles for software engineers whose requirements we read, 6 a master's, 196 at least a bachelor's and 77 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, Array Labs, Hubble Network and Outpost 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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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.