What is the typical range?

The middle half of the postings offer $142K to $194K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.

Which companies advertise the highest Mission Operations and Flight Controller pay?

Muon Space ($204K), Shield AI ($200K), Anduril Industries ($193K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).

Is a mission operations and flight controller a high-paying job?

The median Mission Operations and Flight Controller posting advertises $168K a year, less than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 4% below the middle of the market.

What is the Mission Operations and Flight Controller salary per hour and per month?

The median of $168K a year is about $81 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $13,958 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $69 to $94 an hour.

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.

Mission Operations and Flight Controller Salary: $173K Average

Mission Operations and Flight Controller salary by level

Lead roles advertise a median of $212K, 20% more than senior roles ($178K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.

Level	Median salary	Middle half	Roles
Senior	$178K	$160K–$193K	37
Lead and above	$212K	$188K–$240K	40
No level in the title	$154K	$128K–$170K	96

Mission Operations and Flight Controller salary by location

Name	Median salary	Roles counted
🇺🇸California	$172K	114
🇺🇸United States	$166K	168
🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA	$158K	43

Skills that pay more for Mission Operations and Flight Controller roles

Skill	Median with it	Above the median	Postings
Sensor fusion	$193K	+$26K	53
Computer Vision	$193K	+$26K	53
RF engineering	$188K	+$21K	20
Security clearance	$183K	+$16K	86
MATLAB	$183K	+$15K	36

Top-paying companies

Name	Median salary	Roles counted
Muon Space	$204K	9
Shield AI	$200K	4
Anduril Industries	$193K	53
Vast	$183K	5
CHAOS Industries	$182K	4
K2 Space	$174K	6
Astranis	$172K	3
Apex Technology	$172K	10
Defense Unicorns	$165K	8
Rocket Lab	$156K	8
True Anomaly	$150K	4
Reflect Orbital	$148K	3
Quantum Space	$138K	4
Axon	$126K	8
SpaceX	$115K	13

Highest-paying open Mission Operations and Flight Controller roles

All mission operations and flight controller jobs

Staff Software Engineer, Mission ControlPolymarket · 🇺🇸New York$250K - $500KLead and aboveTypeScriptJavaScriptReact5w
Mission Systems LeadAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$298K - $395KLead and aboveComputer VisionSecurity clearanceNetwork engineering4mo
VP Production, Mission SystemsAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$252K - $382KLead and aboveComputer VisionSensor fusionLean manufacturing2mo
Intelligence Mission Operations LeadTwenty · 🇺🇸Chantilly, VA$187K - $341KLead and aboveSecurity clearance5w
Command Mission Operations LeadTwenty · 🇺🇸Fort Meade, MD$187K - $341KLead and aboveSecurity clearance5w
Principal Mission Systems Engineer, IPT LeadCHAOS Industries · 🇺🇸El Segundo, California, United States$198K - $300KLead and above5w
Space Operations Subject Matter Expert (SME)Raft Company Website · 🇺🇸Colorado Springs, CO$200K - $300K9d
Staff Engineer, Mission Systems (R5893)Shield AI · 🇺🇸Seattle, WA, US$156K - $282KLead and aboveSecurity clearanceHardware testingAviation2d
Staff Mission Systems Engineer - Ranger (R6405)Shield AI · 🇺🇸Seattle, WA, US$188K - $282KLead and aboveSecurity clearanceHardware testingAviation2d
Senior Ground Station Systems EngineerAstranis · 🇺🇸San Francisco$185K - $280KSeniorPythonMATLABSecurity clearance2mo
Director, Mission Engineering & ManagementVast · 🇺🇸Long Beach, California, United States$189K - $268KLead and aboveSecurity clearanceAviationSpreadsheets5mo
Mission Assurance EngineerVast · 🇺🇸Long Beach, California, United States$160K - $268KBlueprint readingRisk managementChange management3mo
Software Engineer - Mission PlanningZoox · 🇺🇸Foster City, CA$163K - $263KC++10mo
Principal Spacecraft Operations Engineer - Secret Clearance PreferredRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Long Beach, CA$173K - $260KLead and abovePythonC++Ruby2mo
Spacecraft Mission Systems EngineerQuantum Space · 🇺🇸Rockville, MD or Hawthorne, CA$175K - $260KPythonJiraMATLAB5d
Mission Operations & Assurance Chief EngineerApex Technology · 🇺🇸Los Angeles$200K - $250KLead and aboveCausal inferenceTechnical writingSalesforce administration3w
Senior Mission EngineerK2 Space · 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA$125K - $250KSeniorRF engineeringAviation9mo
Mission Operations EngineerDistributed Spectrum · 🇺🇸New York City$150K - $250KHybrid6mo
Staff Mission Lead Systems Engineer - EO / IR SystemsMuon Space · Northern VA$177K - $246KLead and abovePythonAgileSecurity clearance5w
Staff Mission Lead Systems Engineer - GeneralMuon Space · Northern VA$177K - $246KLead and abovePythonAgileSecurity clearance3mo

Questions about Mission Operations and Flight Controller pay

What is the average Mission Operations and Flight Controller salary?: $173K a year on average and $168K at the median, across 175 open Mission Operations and Flight Controller 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 $142K to $194K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
Which companies advertise the highest Mission Operations and Flight Controller pay?: Muon Space ($204K), Shield AI ($200K), Anduril Industries ($193K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
Is a mission operations and flight controller a high-paying job?: The median Mission Operations and Flight Controller posting advertises $168K a year, less than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 4% below the middle of the market.
How much can you earn as a mission operations and flight controller?: A tenth of the postings offer $225K a year or more; the highest open Mission Operations and Flight Controller role advertises up to $500K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
What is the Mission Operations and Flight Controller salary per hour and per month?: The median of $168K a year is about $81 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $13,958 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $69 to $94 an hour.
Which skills pay more for Mission Operations and Flight Controller roles?: Postings that ask for Sensor fusion (+$26K, 53 postings), Computer Vision (+$26K, 53 postings), RF engineering (+$21K, 20 postings) advertise more than the $168K median of all Mission Operations and Flight Controller 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.