Entry-level space work
Space Jobs With No Experience
Measured from 300 distinct posted rates, across 19 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 217 of the 517 listings open here post no pay at all.
These space industry roles say in their title that they are for someone starting out: internships and co-ops, apprenticeships and trainee roles, new graduate and entry-level roles, and the first level of a technician's or an engineer's ladder. 517 are open right now on 31 employers, including Muon Space, Inversion Space and Xona Space Systems. We pull them straight from the employers' careers sites every hour.
The work you can start without experience
Each discipline below has at least one starter vacancy open, ordered by how many. Click a count to list those vacancies, or a pay figure to see the postings behind it.
Build the hardware with your hands and run the lines that make it: assembly, integration and test technicians, machinists and CNC programmers, welders, composites and additive manufacturing, electrical and harness technicians, and the manufacturing engineers who design the process.
Design and analyze the physical vehicle: primary structures and tanks, mechanisms and deployables, thermal control, materials and processes, loads and stress analysis, aerodynamics and reentry, and the ground support equipment that fuels and handles a vehicle on the pad.
Tie the vehicle together and prove it works: systems engineering and architecture, requirements and verification, assembly, integration and test (AI&T), environmental testing in thermal vacuum and vibration, and test engineering for whole vehicles and their subsystems.
Build the software on the ground: mission and ground-segment software, data platforms, web and backend engineering, cloud and DevOps, IT and cybersecurity, and the factory and business systems a space company runs on.
Build the electrical heart of a rocket or satellite: flight computers and avionics boxes, power systems and batteries, harnesses, circuit boards, FPGAs and ASICs, and the electronics that must survive launch loads, vacuum and radiation.
Run the company and its missions: program and project management, scheduling and program control, business development and sales of launches, satellites and data, finance and accounting, contracts, legal and export control, people and recruiting, and communications.
Write the software that flies the vehicle and steer it: flight and embedded software, firmware, guidance, navigation and control, flight dynamics and orbit determination, and the autonomy that lets a spacecraft rendezvous, land or reenter on its own.
Design, build and test the engines that move rockets and spacecraft: liquid rocket engines and their turbomachinery, combustion devices and injectors, solid rocket motors, in-space thrusters and electric propulsion, and the fluids and cryogenic systems that feed them.
Keep the factory and the launch site supplied and running: procurement and buying, supplier management, planning and inventory, logistics, shipping and receiving, warehouses, and the facilities, maintenance and site security of plants, test sites and launch pads.
Make sure the hardware is right before it flies: quality engineering and inspection, mission and product assurance, reliability, nondestructive testing, supplier quality, and environment, health and safety on sites that handle propellants and high-energy systems.
Make spacecraft talk and sense: RF and antenna design, phased arrays, signal processing and modems, optical and laser communication terminals, and the payloads a satellite carries, from broadband and direct-to-phone links to radar and imaging instruments.
Get vehicles off the ground and keep them flying: launch site and pad operations, launch control and range, recovery of reusable stages, mission operations and flight control, satellite and constellation operations, and ground station operations around the clock.
Turn what spacecraft see into knowledge: remote sensing and Earth observation, synthetic aperture radar and optical imaging, geospatial and intelligence analysis, data science and machine learning on satellite data, and the scientists who design missions and instruments.
A typical pay band (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) appears only once 3 or more distinct rates are published.
Employers hiring people starting out
The employers with open entry-level roles, with the pay those roles state. Sorted by the expected value of an application (acceptance odds times posted pay). Employers with a referral agreement get a boost in this order, which has no effect on the salary they offer.
Manufacturing & Technicians vacancies open to beginners
Updated 29 Oct 2026, 16:01 UTCA few of our links carry a referral code. When one leads to a hire, the employer may pay us a fee; you pay nothing, and the salary on offer stays the same.
86 roles, page 2 of 2

Manufacturing Engineering Internship - Summer 2027 (opens the job details)
Varda Space Industries · Technicians · El Segundo, California, United States· 4w agoDetails

Apprentice Technician (opens the job details)
True Anomaly · Technicians · Long Beach, CA, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$24–$33/hr
Apprentice Propulsion Test Technician (opens the job details)
Relativity Space · Technicians · Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$23.27/hr
Harness Manufacturing Intern (Summer 2027) (opens the job details)
Astranis · Technicians · San Francisco· 1mo agoDetails
$29.00/hr
Propulsion Manufacturing Intern (Summer 2027) (opens the job details)
Astranis · Technicians · San Francisco· 1mo agoDetails
$29.00/hr
Propulsion Manufacturing Intern (Winter 2027) (opens the job details)
Astranis · Technicians · San Francisco· 1mo agoDetails
$29.00/hr
Electrician Trainee (Starship) - Temporary (opens the job details)
SpaceX · Technicians · Starbase, TX, United States· 1mo agoDetails

Manufacturing Engineering Intern Summer 2027 (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Technicians · Middle River, MD, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$25.00/hr
Manufacturing Engineering Intern Summer 2027 (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Technicians · Long Beach, CA, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$28.00/hr
Manufacturing Engineering Intern Spring 2027 (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Technicians · Middle River, MD, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$25.00/hr
Manufacturing Engineering Intern Spring 2027 (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Technicians · Long Beach, CA, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$28.00/hr
TPS Technician I (opens the job details)
Inversion Space · Technicians · Playa Vista, California, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$28–$37/hr
Additive Manufacturing Intern Summer 2027 (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Technicians · Long Beach, CA, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$28.00/hr
Additive Manufacturing Intern Spring 2027 (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Technicians · Long Beach, CA, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$28.00/hr
TPS Technician I, First Shift (opens the job details)
Relativity Space · Technicians · Long Beach, California, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$22.80/hr
Launch Technician I - Mechanical (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Technicians · Mahia, NZ· 1mo agoDetails

Vehicle Operations Engineering Intern – Summer 2027 (opens the job details)
K2 Space · Technicians · Los Angeles, CA· 1mo agoDetails
$30–$40/hr
Energetics Technician I - 3rd shift (opens the job details)
Voyager Technologies · Technicians · Pueblo, CO, United States· 1mo agoDetails
$27.00/hr
New Graduate Engineer, Manufacturing (Starshield) (opens the job details)
SpaceX · Technicians · Hawthorne, CA, United States· 2mo agoDetails
$100,000–$160,000/yr
Apprentice Controls Technician (opens the job details)
SpaceX · Technicians · McGregor, TX, United States· 2mo agoDetails

New Graduate Engineer, Manufacturing (Starship) (opens the job details)
SpaceX · Technicians · Starbase, TX, United States· 2mo agoDetails

Machining Technician (Starlink) - Entry Level (opens the job details)
SpaceX · Technicians · Woodinville, WA, United States· 2mo agoDetails
$22–$37/hr
Harness Technician I - A Shift (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Technicians · Long Beach, CA, United States· 2mo agoDetails
$25/hr
Manufacturing Engineering Internship - Spring 2027 (opens the job details)
Varda Space Industries · Technicians · El Segundo, California, United States· 2mo agoDetails

Apprentice Fabrication Technician - 2nd Shift (opens the job details)
SpaceX · Technicians · McGregor, TX, United States· 2mo agoDetails

Manufacturing Engineer I, Paint and TPS (opens the job details)
Relativity Space · Technicians · Long Beach, California· 2mo agoDetails
$90,000/yr
(Entry Level) Production Technician - PCBA (opens the job details)
SpaceX · Technicians · Redmond, WA, United States· 3mo agoDetails
$22–$37/hr
Factory Test Technical Specialist I - 2nd Shift (opens the job details)
Relativity Space · Technicians · Long Beach, California· 3mo agoDetails
$33.80/hr
Starlink Production Technician - Entry Level (opens the job details)
SpaceX · Technicians · Redmond, WA, United States· 3mo agoDetails
$22–$37/hr
Tooling Engineer I (opens the job details)
Vast · Technicians · Long Beach, California, United States· 3mo agoDetails
$86,000/yr
Weld Engineer I (opens the job details)
Relativity Space · Technicians · Long Beach, California· 3mo agoDetails
$90,000/yr
Environmental Test Technician I, 1st shift, Site 2 (opens the job details)
AST SpaceMobile · Technicians · Midland, Texas, United States· 5mo agoDetails

Apprentice Weld Support Technician (opens the job details)
SpaceX · Technicians · McGregor, TX, United States· 6mo agoDetails

Propulsion Test Technician I (opens the job details)
Relativity Space · Technicians · Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, United States· 6mo agoDetails
$28.27/hr
Operator I/II, Production (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Technicians · Albuquerque, NM, United States· 9mo agoDetails

Manufacturing Engineer I (opens the job details)
Rocket Lab · Technicians · Middle River, MD, United States· 11mo agoDetails
$77,600/yr
Before you apply
- No fees, ever. A real employer never charges you to apply, to interview or to start work. Anyone asking for money for training, equipment or a placement is not hiring you.
- Entry level is not no requirements. Internships and co-ops usually ask that you are enrolled in a degree, and entry-level engineering roles usually ask for the degree itself; technician and trade roles often ask for hands-on training or a certificate. Each posting says what it asks.
- Check who may apply. Many US space roles, internships included, are open only to a U.S. person under export-control rules (ITAR and EAR). Read each posting for the country, the citizenship and the site it asks for.
- Experienced roles pay more. Starter vacancies currently pay a median of $60.3k/yr against $132k/yr for every open role that states its pay.
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Frequently asked questions
Can you get a job in the space industry with no experience?
Yes. 517 open space industry roles say in their title that they are for someone starting out right now (that is 6% of all 8,039 vacancies we list), at 31 employers: internships, co-ops, apprenticeships, new graduate, entry-level and first-level roles. A title is a signal, not a promise: an internship usually asks that you are enrolled in a degree and an entry-level engineering role usually asks for the degree itself, so read each posting before you apply.
What is the pay for an entry-level job in the space industry?
Across 19 employers and 300 distinct published rates, starter roles sit at $58.2k–$116k/yr (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 the current median is $60.3k/yr. Experienced roles pay more: every open role on the board that states its pay has a live median of $132k/yr.
What kinds of space jobs can you start without experience?
The most entry-level roles are in Manufacturing & Technicians (86), Mechanical, Structures & Thermal (72), Systems, Integration & Test (60), Ground Software & IT (47). Every kind of work lists its open roles and what they pay.
Which space companies hire people starting out?
Rocket Lab (97), Blue Origin (78), SpaceX (53), Astranis (52), Relativity Space (44) list the most entry-level roles today, of 31 employers with at least one.
Do I need to be a U.S. citizen for an entry-level space job?
For many US roles, yes or close to it: work on rockets, spacecraft and their technical data falls under US export-control rules (ITAR and EAR), so many US space postings, internships included, state that they are open only to a U.S. person (a citizen, a permanent resident or a protected individual). Each posting says what it requires, and the country pages list the roles open in each country.
Do you have to pay to apply for a space job?
No. A real employer never charges you to apply, to interview or to start work. Anyone asking for money for training, equipment or a placement is not hiring you.
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Every profession the space industry hires, with its open roles and pay.
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Space jobs by discipline
Each discipline the industry hires for, with live vacancies and pay.
Space industry pay
Live pay by kind of work and employer, from the open roles.
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The roles open in each country, and who hires there.