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Integration and test

Space Jobs for Test Engineers

, SpaceJobs.Now lists 434 open roles for test engineers on , including Muon Space, Hubble Network and Inversion Space; typical pay across them is $109k to $200k a year (median $130k), topped by $265k a year advertised at SpaceX.

See 244 roles for test engineers
$109k–$200k/yrtypical paylive median $130k/yrup to $265k/yr at SpaceX

Measured from 213 distinct posted rates, across 23 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 221 of the 434 listings open here post no pay at all.

Space companies hire test engineers to prove hardware before it flies: on engine test stands, in thermal vacuum chambers and on the integration floor. Each listing here is re-verified on the employer's own job board once an hour.

Live roles for test engineers

Updated 30 Oct 2026, 07:01 UTC

Showing the 244 roles that name years of experience, every country. See every role

Propulsion and hot-fire test

242 open

Engine and component testing on the stand: test plans, stand operations and data review.

Show 232 more propulsion test roles

Integration and test

1 open

Bring a satellite or vehicle together and test it as a whole before it ships.

Test engineers

1 open

Test engineering roles across components, subsystems and whole vehicles.

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 hot-fire test431$109k–$200k/yr$265k/yr
Integration and test1Too few ratesNot stated
Test engineers2Too few rates$218k/yr

What the roles ask for

Drawn from the requirement lines of 302 out of 434 open roles for test 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

7

Ask for a master's

268

Ask for at least a bachelor's

27

Name no degree

  • Name years of experience244
  • Require programming (Python, C++, MATLAB and similar)37
  • Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)32
  • Set a residency or work-authorization condition32
  • Name a security clearance15
  • Ask for a professional license4

Where a posting states years of experience, the median ask is 4 years.

Who hires test engineers in the space industry

EmployerOpen rolesPay stated
Muon Space logoMuon Space13$83.2k–$265k/yr
Hubble Network logoHubble Network1$105k–$175k/yr
Inversion Space logoInversion Space7$77k–$193k/yr
Xona Space Systems logoXona Space Systems4$130k–$178k/yr
Varda Space Industries logoVarda Space Industries8$109k–$203k/yr
Apex logoApex8$93.6k–$215k/yr
K2 Space logoK2 Space15$62.4k–$220k/yr
Loft Orbital logoLoft Orbital3$62.4k–$155k/yr
Stoke Space logoStoke Space6$95.6k–$252k/yr
BlackSky logoBlackSky4$110k–$230k/yr
Northwood Space logoNorthwood Space3$84k–$170k/yr
True Anomaly logoTrue Anomaly12$70k–$110k/yr
Firefly Aerospace logoFirefly Aerospace5Not stated
Blue Origin logoBlue Origin94Not stated
The Exploration Company logoThe Exploration Company16Not stated
ICEYE logoICEYE14Not stated
Boeing logoBoeing7Not stated
Isar Aerospace logoIsar Aerospace4Not stated
Northrop Grumman logoNorthrop Grumman4Not stated
Astroscale logoAstroscale3Not stated
Axiom Space logoAxiom Space3Not stated
Kepler Communications logoKepler Communications1Not stated
RTX logoRTX1Not stated
SpaceX logoSpaceX79$85k–$265k/yr
Vantor logoVantor2$120k–$167k/yr
AST SpaceMobile logoAST SpaceMobile15Not stated
HawkEye 360 logoHawkEye 3601$70k/yr
Loft Federal logoLoft Federal1$110k/yr
Voyager Technologies logoVoyager Technologies6$97.9k–$183k/yr
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory logoNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory1$107k–$128k/yr
Ursa Major logoUrsa Major3$109k–$136k/yr
Relativity Space logoRelativity Space25$90k–$164k/yr
Vast logoVast18$86k–$160k/yr
Rocket Lab logoRocket Lab39$52k–$142k/yr
Astranis logoAstranis8$60.3k–$150k/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 test 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.

What our research measures about systems & test 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 test engineers earn in the space industry?

Going by the 213 distinct salaries currently posted for roles for test engineers (each put on a full-time year), the typical range is $109k–$200k/yr and the median is $130k/yr. The top posted figure is $265k/yr, at SpaceX. 221 of the 434 open roles for test engineers state no pay, so check each listing.

What do test roles ask for?

Usually an engineering degree and hands-on test experience, with the data and automation tools the role names. Every posting spells out its exact requirements and work site, so read each one. Of the 302 open roles for test engineers whose requirements we read, 7 a master's, 268 at least a bachelor's and 27 name no degree.

What does a test engineer do at a space company?

A test engineer at a space company plans and runs the tests that prove hardware works: writing procedures, building test setups, running the test and reading the data, from a single valve to an engine on the stand or a whole satellite in a vacuum chamber.

How do space companies hire test 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, Inversion Space and Xona Space Systems 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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