What is the average Launch and Test Operations salary?

$150K a year on average and $140K at the median, across 81 open Launch and Test Operations postings at 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 $115K to $165K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.

Which companies advertise the highest Launch and Test Operations pay?

True Anomaly ($180K), Anduril Industries ($172K), Anysignal ($165K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).

Is a launch and test operations a high-paying job?

The median Launch and Test Operations posting advertises $140K a year, less than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 19% below the middle of the market.

How much can you earn as a launch and test operations?

A tenth of the postings offer $200K a year or more; the highest open Launch and Test Operations role advertises up to $485K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.

What is the Launch and Test Operations salary per hour and per month?

The median of $140K a year is about $68 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $11,708 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $55 to $79 an hour.

Which skills pay more for Launch and Test Operations roles?

Postings that ask for Sensor fusion (+$31K, 9 postings), Computer Vision (+$31K, 9 postings), Security clearance (+$27K, 19 postings) advertise more than the $140K median of all Launch and Test Operations postings with pay.

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.

Launch and Test Operations Salary: $150K Average, $140K Median

Launch and Test Operations salary by level

Lead roles advertise a median of $190K, 22% more than senior roles ($156K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.

Level	Median salary	Middle half	Roles
Senior	$156K	$132K–$193K	18
Lead and above	$190K	$156K–$256K	15
No level in the title	$124K	$110K–$154K	47

Launch and Test Operations salary by location

Name	Median salary	Roles counted
🇺🇸California	$165K	37
🇺🇸United States	$140K	81

Skills that pay more for Launch and Test Operations roles

Skill	Median with it	Above the median	Postings
Sensor fusion	$172K	+$31K	9
Computer Vision	$172K	+$31K	9
Security clearance	$168K	+$27K	19
Python	$165K	+$24K	18
RF engineering	$164K	+$23K	10

Top-paying companies

Name	Median salary	Roles counted
True Anomaly	$180K	4
Anduril Industries	$172K	9
Anysignal	$165K	3
Skydio	$148K	3
Rocket Lab	$132K	18
Relativity Space	$130K	6
Stoke Space	$129K	5
SpaceX	$115K	11
BETA Technologies	$95K	3

Highest-paying open Launch and Test Operations roles

All launch and test operations jobs

Staff + Sr. Software Engineer, Cloud Inference Launch EngineeringAnthropic · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA$320K - $485KLead and aboveRustPythonGCP6w
Chief Software Engineer, Space Ground SystemsAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States; Costa Mesa, Ca…$220K - $292KLead and aboveRustGoPython2w
Flight Test DirectorAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States; Washington, Distri…$220K - $292KLead and aboveGoComputer VisionSecurity clearance3mo
Principal Launch Operations EngineerRelativity Space · 🇺🇸Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States$185K - $277KLead and above4d
Senior Director, Launch SystemsVoyager Technologies, Inc. · 🇺🇸Mojave, CA$245K - $270KLead and above6w
Launch and Recovery Engineering ManagerVarda Space Industries · 🇺🇸El Segundo, California, United States$170K - $246KPythonC++CAD2mo
Chief Engineer - Launch SystemsVoyager Technologies, Inc. · 🇺🇸Mojave, CA; Long Beach, CA$180K - $240KLead and above2mo
Lead Systems Engineer, Ground SystemsTrue Anomaly · 🇺🇸Denver, CO; Long Beach, CA$160K - $235KLead and aboveSAPSecurity clearanceNIST5w
Senior Propulsion Development Engineer, Test StandTrue Anomaly · 🇺🇸Denver, CO$165K - $235KSeniorSecurity clearancePRDsCAD5w
Senior Manager, Solutions Engineering - Launch Team Readiness, WestSkydio · 🇺🇸US Remote$187K - $220KRemoteSeniorDatabricksCustomer onboardingRF engineering8w
Backup and Recovery EngineerAvalore, LLC · 🇺🇸Arlington, Virginia, United States$107K - $220KSecurity clearanceCISSPGIAC2mo
Sr. Mission Integration Engineer, Mission and Ground Systems - Top Secret ClearanceSpaceX · 🇺🇸Hawthorne, CA$135K - $215KSeniorSecurity clearanceNetwork engineeringControl systems3w
Launch Operations Lead USNeko Health · 🇺🇸New York$171K - $209KHybridLead and aboveProject management3d
Senior Manager, Test OperationsMuon Space · 🇺🇸San Jose, CA$185K - $205KSeniorPRDsWorkforce planningExport controls5w
Technical Project Manager - Ground SystemsRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Long Beach, CA$135K - $200KDockerJiraAgile11d
Embedded Software Engineer, Ground SystemsAnysignal · 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA$130K - $200KPythonC++Linux5w
Software Engineer, Ground SystemsAnysignal · 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA$130K - $200KGoPythonLinux5w
Vice President, Deputy GSE Compliance OfficerWalker & Dunlop · 🇺🇸Bethesda, MD, USA; Needham, MA$180K - $200KLead and aboveAuditInternal controlsRegulatory compliance2w
Lead Engineer, GSE and Production ToolingRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Middle River, MD$117K - $196KLead and abovePerformance managementCNC machiningFEA4mo
Marine Recovery EngineerStoke Space · 🇺🇸Cape Canaveral, Florida$129K - $194K2w

Questions about Launch and Test Operations pay

What is the average Launch and Test Operations salary?: $150K a year on average and $140K at the median, across 81 open Launch and Test Operations postings at 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 $115K to $165K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
Which companies advertise the highest Launch and Test Operations pay?: True Anomaly ($180K), Anduril Industries ($172K), Anysignal ($165K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
Is a launch and test operations a high-paying job?: The median Launch and Test Operations posting advertises $140K a year, less than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 19% below the middle of the market.
How much can you earn as a launch and test operations?: A tenth of the postings offer $200K a year or more; the highest open Launch and Test Operations role advertises up to $485K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
What is the Launch and Test Operations salary per hour and per month?: The median of $140K a year is about $68 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $11,708 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $55 to $79 an hour.
Which skills pay more for Launch and Test Operations roles?: Postings that ask for Sensor fusion (+$31K, 9 postings), Computer Vision (+$31K, 9 postings), Security clearance (+$27K, 19 postings) advertise more than the $140K median of all Launch and Test Operations postings with pay.
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.

Launch and Test Operations salary: $140K median