Aerospace Engineer salary: $146K median
From 432 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.
$146Kmedian advertised salary
$125K – $180Kmiddle half of roles
$156Kaverage advertised salary
432roles counted
Aerospace Engineer salary by level
Lead roles advertise a median of $205K, 16% more than senior roles ($176K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.
| Level | Median salary | Middle half | Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | $176K | $162K–$195K | 127 |
| Lead and above | $205K | $188K–$232K | 56 |
| No level in title | $128K | $116K–$145K | 245 |
Aerospace Engineer salary by location
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸San Francisco Bay Area | $195K | 47 |
| 🇺🇸Denver | $195K | 33 |
| 🇺🇸California | $158K | 305 |
| 🇺🇸United States | $145K | 422 |
| 🇺🇸Los Angeles | $142K | 171 |
| 🇺🇸Seattle | $131K | 60 |
Top-paying companies
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| Muon Space | $202K | 26 |
| True Anomaly | $182K | 40 |
| Portal Space Systems | $176K | 6 |
| Skydio | $175K | 3 |
| IonQ | $168K | 3 |
| Apex Technology | $161K | 48 |
| Varda Space Industries | $160K | 27 |
| Hermeus | $158K | 15 |
| Astranis | $156K | 14 |
| Katalyst Space Technologies | $149K | 8 |
| Rocket Lab | $148K | 79 |
| Gravitics, Inc | $148K | 3 |
| SpaceX | $128K | 150 |
| Icarus | $125K | 5 |
Highest-paying open Aerospace Engineer roles
All aerospace engineer jobs- Staff + Sr. Software Engineer, Cloud Inference Launch EngineeringAnthropic · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA$320K - $485KLeadRustPythonGCP
- Principal Propulsion EngineerRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Long Beach, CA$162K - $351KLead
- Principal Software Engineer, Spacecraft SimulationTrue Anomaly · 🇺🇸Denver, CO; Long Beach, CA$210K - $325KLeadPythonC++Docker
- Principal GNC EngineerTrue Anomaly · 🇺🇸Denver, CO; Long Beach, CA$220K - $315KLeadPythonC++
- Senior GNC Engineer II- Mission FormulationRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Long Beach, CA$162K - $300KSeniorPythonC++MATLAB
- Director, AvionicsApex Technology · 🇺🇸Los Angeles$240K - $300KLead
- Principal Electrical Engineer, Satellites (Starlink)SpaceX · 🇺🇸Redmond, WA$190K - $290KLeadPythonC++
- Senior Software Engineer - Flight SoftwareAstranis · 🇺🇸San Francisco$185K - $280KSeniorPythonC++Linux
- Senior Electric Motor Propulsion EngineerSkydio · 🇺🇸San Mateo, California, United States$170K - $278KSenior
- Senior Staff Structural Analyst - Spacecraft EngineeringIonQ · 🇺🇸San Francisco, California, United States$193K - $277KLeadPythonMATLAB
- Sr. Antenna Engineer, Satellites (Starlink)SpaceX · 🇺🇸Redmond, WA$165K - $270KSeniorPythonC++C#
- Senior Software Engineering Manager, Flight SoftwareMuon Space · 🇺🇸San Jose, CA$240K - $265KSeniorRustPythonC++
- Principal Manufacturing Engineer (Avionics / Electromechanical / Harnessing)Varda Space Industries · 🇺🇸El Segundo, California, United States$182K - $263KLead
- Principal Manufacturing Engineer (Propulsion)Varda Space Industries · 🇺🇸El Segundo, California, United States$182K - $263KLead
- Director of Engineering, SpacecraftKatalyst Space Technologies · 🇺🇸Broomfield, Colorado, United States$195K - $260KLead
- Principal Spacecraft GNC EngineerApex Technology · 🇺🇸Los Angeles$200K - $260KLeadJira
- Senior Director of Spacecraft ComponentsMuon Space · 🇺🇸San Jose, CA$223K - $259KLead
- Chief Engineer - SpacecraftGravitics, Inc · 🇺🇸Greater Seattle Area$210K - $250KLead
- Chief Engineer - Airbreathing Propulsion TestHermeus · 🇺🇸Jacksonville, FL$139K - $247KLeadAirflow
- Senior Avionics EngineerAstranis · 🇺🇸San Francisco$145K - $235KSeniorPythonC++
Questions about Aerospace Engineer pay
- What is the average Aerospace Engineer salary?
- $156K a year on average and $146K at the median, across 432 open Aerospace Engineer postings at tech companies that state pay (November 2026). The median is the better guide: a few very high offers pull the average up.
- What is the typical range?
- The middle half of the postings offer $125K to $180K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
- Which companies advertise the highest Aerospace Engineer pay?
- Muon Space ($202K), True Anomaly ($182K), Portal Space Systems ($176K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
- Where do these figures come from?
- From the pay ranges employers print in their own job postings, read from their careers pages every hour. The midpoint of each range is counted. These are advertised ranges for open roles, mostly in the United States and in US dollars, not what people are actually paid.
Writing about this? A sentence you can quote
The median advertised salary for Aerospace Engineer roles at tech companies is $146K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $125K to $180K. Counted from 432 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Hiring Right Now, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/aerospace/
Free to use with the link.