Rocket Lab Salary

💰 $120K–$168K salary range

Median: $140K  ·  Based on 283 public Rocket Lab job postings  ·  Updated October 23, 2026

This Rocket Lab salary benchmark is built from public job postings — no private placement data. Figures reflect base salary only (equity is separate) and are refreshed as new postings are collected.

📊 Salary breakdown

Highest-paying open roles at Rocket Lab

• Director, Radar Payload — $198K–$330K · 4015 USA Space Systems
• Senior Director, Business Development - National Security (TS/SCI Clearance) — $214K–$321K · 1520 Space Systems BD
• Senior Director, Business Development - Civil & Commercial — $214K–$321K · 1520 Space Systems BD
• Vice President, Space Systems Software — $210K–$300K · 5151 Software Systems COS
• Principal Spacecraft GNC Engineer - Secret Clearance — $195K–$295K · 4751 Space Systems Software
• Senior Legal Counsel II — $214K–$285K · 1200 USA Legal
• Business Development Director, National Security - TS/SCI Clearance — $187K–$280K · 1520 Space Systems BD
• Principal Electric Propulsion Engineer — $162K–$270K · 4015 USA Space Systems
• Senior Combustion Devices Engineer II — $132K–$270K · 2244 Neutron - Propulsion
• Principal Propulsion Engineer — $162K–$270K · 2244 Neutron - Propulsion

Rocket Lab salary by department

• 106 os - design engineering: $198K median · $264K top base — Principal Algorithm Engineer (EO/IR Image Analysis) (view JD) (6 roles)
• 120 os - software engineering: $179K median · $239K top base — Sr. FPGA Engineer II (view JD) (7 roles)
• 4751 space systems software: $166K median · $295K top base — Principal Spacecraft GNC Engineer - Secret Clearance (view JD) (28 roles)
• 1520 space systems bd: $165K median · $321K top base — Senior Director, Business Development - Civil & Commercial (view JD) (22 roles)
• 5552 rmc - manufacturing: $165K median · $213K top base — Senior Electrical Engineer II (view JD) (5 roles)
• 4015 usa space systems: $147K median · $330K top base — Director, Radar Payload (view JD) (69 roles)
• 2244 neutron - propulsion: $144K median · $270K top base — Senior Combustion Devices Engineer II (view JD) (16 roles)
• 3555 usa launch ops: $140K median · $243K top base — Senior GNC Engineer II- Mission Formulation (view JD) (11 roles)

Rocket Lab engineering & product salary by seniority

• Junior: $98K median · $125K top base — Flight Analysis Engineer I/II (view JD) (6)
• Mid: $119K median · $158K top base — Payload Integration Engineer II (view JD) (52)
• Senior: $148K median · $243K top base — Senior Spacecraft GNC Engineer II - Secret Clearance (view JD) (132)
• Staff: $216K median · $295K top base — Principal Spacecraft GNC Engineer - Secret Clearance (view JD) (20)

Remote work at Rocket Lab

0% of Rocket Lab's disclosed-pay roles are remote-friendly.

What Rocket Lab looks for

Most-required skills across these postings: Python (38) · GCP (6) · Ruby (5) · AWS (5) · ATS (3) · Talent Acquisition (3) · Azure (3) · Terraform (3) · R (3) · Product Roadmap (3).

Benefits & perks at Rocket Lab

Commonly listed: dental (278) · vision (278) · 401k (278) · pto (278) · parental (278) · hsa-fsa (231) · life-ins (231) · childcare (231).

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab is Public stage · 1,001–5,000 employees · founded 2021 · HQ Surat, Gujarat. This context shapes pay: later-stage, well-funded companies tend to anchor base salary higher.

Experience & background at Rocket Lab

Roles typically ask for around 6 years of experience (up to 15+ for the most senior). Most postings don't state a degree requirement; of the 70 that do, Bachelor's and Master's and PhD are most common.

Posted pay vs. total compensation

The figures on this page are the midpoint of each posting's advertised salary range (which, for commission roles, includes on-target earnings). Equity is a separate — and often large — component of total compensation, especially at high-growth and AI-native companies; 78% of these postings reference equity (options, espp). Equity is not included in the medians above.

Rocket Lab total compensation signals

Beyond the posted-range midpoint, postings indicate: common structures: salaried. Bonus, commission, and equity vary by role and are not included in the base medians above.

Rocket Lab hiring activity

Rocket Lab has 283 open roles right now, and this benchmark draws on 283 public job postings with disclosed pay. 92 of these roles were first seen in the last 30 days (207 in the last 90). Mostly full-time, with 21 contract roles in the mix.

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Common questions

What does Rocket Lab pay?
The median pay is $140K, with a typical range of $120K–$168K, based on 283 public job postings (2025–2026). Base only — equity is separate.

What is the highest-paying job at Rocket Lab?
One of the highest-paying open roles is Director, Radar Payload, at $198K–$330K base.

Which team pays the most at Rocket Lab?
The 106 os - design engineering team, at a $198K median.

Where does this data come from?
Public job postings on company career pages and public job boards — no private placement or client data.

Methodology

Posted-range midpoints (USD) aggregated from 283 public Rocket Lab job postings (2025–2026). Range = 25th–75th percentile; median = 50th percentile. Roles, departments, skills, and experience are parsed from the postings. Base salary only — equity excluded. Last refreshed October 23, 2026.

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