What it is, where the jobs are, what it hires for and pays, and the open jobs today.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 09/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., doing business as SpaceX, is an American conglomerate which is a aerospace manufacturer and provider of space transportation, telecommunications, and artificial intelligence (AI) services, headquartered at the Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. The company operates three primary segments: Space, which develops and flies the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Starship launch vehicles, as well as the Dragon spacecraft, and conducts more orbital launches annually than any other launch provider ; Connectivity, which operates the Starlink satellite constellation and satellite-based high-speed broadband internet service; and AI, conducted through its wholly owned subsidiary SpaceX Super Intelligence, which develops the Grok family of large language models (LLMs) and related products, operates the social network X, and builds and runs large-scale data centers.
| Fact ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Hawthorne, Brownsville |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Employees (Wikidata) | 22,000 (2026) |
| Industry | space industry |
| Website | spacex.com |
SpaceX is hiring in 11 states and 27 cities. These are the places with the most openings, which tell you where its work really happens.
| City ⇅ | State ⇅ | Open jobs ⇅ | Share ⇅ | Note ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawthorne | California | 759 | 24% | headquarters area |
| Bastrop | Texas | 571 | 18% | |
| Starbase | Texas | 455 | 14% | |
| Redmond | Washington | 385 | 12% | |
| Cape Canaveral | Florida | 133 | 4% | |
| Palo Alto | California | 124 | 4% | |
| Memphis | Tennessee | 117 | 4% | |
| El Segundo | California | 99 | 3% | |
| Washington | District of Columbia | 89 | 3% | |
| Austin | Texas | 77 | 2% | |
| Woodinville | Washington | 67 | 2% | |
| McGregor | Texas | 66 | 2% |
The mix of roles shows what SpaceX needs right now. Pay is the median of the ranges the employer itself published in its ads (only roles with at least two published ranges).
| Role family ⇅ | Open jobs ⇅ | Typical posted range (median low – median high, yearly) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Operations / Supply chain / Logistics | 409 | not published |
| Mechanical / Manufacturing engineer | 405 | not published |
| Software engineer / Developer | 327 | not published |
| DevOps / Cloud / SRE | 232 | not published |
| Technician / Trades / Driver | 205 | not published |
| Engineer (other) | 187 | not published |
| Data scientist / Machine learning | 161 | not published |
| Electrical / Hardware engineer | 150 | not published |
| Security engineer / Analyst | 138 | not published |
| Civil / Construction / Energy | 133 | not published |
| Other roles | 106 | not published |
| Sales / Business development | 93 | not published |
| Title ⇅ | Open jobs ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Software Engineer | 117 |
| Manager | 61 |
| Sourcing Manager | 61 |
| Sr. Software Engineer | 56 |
| Supervisor | 52 |
| Mechanical Engineer | 47 |
| New Graduate Engineer | 40 |
| Global Supply Manager | 40 |
| Sr. Manager | 34 |
| Sourcing Specialist | 34 |
| Supplier Development Engineer | 32 |
| Manufacturing Engineer | 31 |
| Operations Engineer | 28 |
| Full Stack Software Engineer | 26 |
| Sr. Site Reliability Engineer | 24 |
None of the 3,148 open listings publishes a pay range, so we do not state one.
SpaceX states a seniority level in 300 of 3,148 listings: Senior Level 205, Mid Level 86, Internship 7, Entry Level 2.
27 of 3,148 listings (1%) mention a remote or flexible location.
We counted how often SpaceX's own 3,148 ads (those with a full description) state each requirement. This shows the filters the ads apply before anyone reads a resume. We have no data on why candidates are rejected after applying, and we do not guess.
Years of experience. 3,048 of 3,148 ads (97%) state a number of years. The median is 3 years; 35% ask for 5 or more and 3% for 10 or more.
| Requirement ⇅ | Ads that state it ⇅ | Share of ads ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree | 2,545 | 81% |
| High school diploma or GED | 743 | 24% |
| Master's degree | 648 | 21% |
| 'or equivalent experience' accepted | 299 | 9% |
| PhD or doctorate | 148 | 5% |
| Associate degree | 114 | 4% |
| Requirement ⇅ | Ads that state it ⇅ | Share of ads ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. citizenship mentioned | 3,148 | 100% |
| U.S. person / export-control (ITAR, EAR) rules | 3,148 | 100% |
| Background check or drug test | 567 | 18% |
| Security clearance mentioned | 336 | 11% |
| Requirement ⇅ | Ads that state it ⇅ | Share of ads ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Nights, weekends, holidays or on-call | 3,016 | 96% |
| Travel mentioned | 1,861 | 59% |
| On-site or in-person work | 923 | 29% |
| Heavy lifting | 726 | 23% |
| Relocation mentioned | 169 | 5% |
| Requirement ⇅ | Ads that state it ⇅ | Share of ads ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| python | 958 | 30% |
| sql | 541 | 17% |
| excel | 525 | 17% |
| c++ | 447 | 14% |
| linux | 345 | 11% |
| cad | 316 | 10% |
| kubernetes | 274 | 9% |
| docker | 177 | 6% |
| matlab | 158 | 5% |
| java | 155 | 5% |
| react | 136 | 4% |
| autocad | 135 | 4% |
| javascript | 135 | 4% |
| power bi | 112 | 4% |
| aws | 92 | 3% |
What the hiring process, culture, schedules and benefits are like is not in our sources, so we do not describe it. Read the job ads and the employer's own site.
Compare SpaceX side by side with another employer:
vs JPMorgan Chase vs Apple vs TikTok vs Bank of America vs Deloitte vs Leidos vs OpenAI vs Anthropic
3,148 open jobs today, 522 posted in the last 7 days (updated several times a day).
Mostly in Hawthorne, CA (759), Bastrop, TX (571), Starbase, TX (455).