“Space experience required.” It’s the line that stops a lot of good engineers from applying for a job in space. But the space industry has a well-documented skills gap, and that gap is your way in. Only about 3% of the nearly 3 million engineers in the US work in industries that support space, according to RAND, and space companies are looking for a very specific profile.
The shortage is getting harder to ignore. Investors worldwide put $23 billion into space technology in the 12 months to mid-2026, more than double the year before, according to the Seraphim Space Index. Most of those funded companies want engineers with years of experience, and the US Office of Space Commerce found mid-career roles are the hardest to fill. Those engineers are usually settled in good jobs, often with other offers on the table.
Why The Space Talent Shortage Works in Your Favor
For some roles, flight heritage (experience taking hardware from design through to flight) is non-negotiable. Where it isn’t essential, and where a role is too niche to fill from inside space, companies are open to people from other industries.
Of the people we placed between January and September 2026, about six in ten came from outside the space industry, and more than a third came from industries with no link to aerospace at all. If you’re looking for a job in space, these are the roles companies told us they struggled to fill:
The Hardest Space Jobs to Fill, and Who Could Fill Them
RF/Microwave Engineer
What the Role Involves
RF (radio frequency) engineers design the hardware that lets a spacecraft send and receive signals, such as the receivers and transceivers that carry data between orbit and the ground. At a startup, you’d often lead RF design for the whole system rather than owning one small part of it.
How to Make Your Experience Count
This is one of the most niche skills in US space hiring, and hands-on hardware work usually means time on site. Engineers who’ve designed RF hardware, in defense, radar or similar systems, are the closest match.
Companies will look past the job title to the hardware you’ve actually designed and tested, so lead with that. On one search we worked in September, the client opened up to hybrid working and to people with about 80% of the experience on the spec, after holding out for a near-perfect match.
GNC and Avionics Engineer
What the Role Involves
GNC (guidance, navigation and control) engineers design the onboard systems that track a spacecraft’s position and keep it on course, whether that’s a rocket climbing to orbit or a satellite holding its place. Avionics engineers design the onboard electronics, from the system architecture to command and data handling and power.
How to Make Your Experience Count
Companies we spoke to in September want the process discipline of traditional aerospace combined with the pace of a newer space company. That means engineers from traditional aerospace and defense already bring part of what these companies are looking for.
Leadership roles here do ask for space-mission experience, so the way in is often a hands-on engineering role.
Thermal Engineer
What the Role Involves
Thermal engineers keep every part of a spacecraft within a safe temperature range, from launch through to orbit. You’d model how heat moves through the vehicle and run thermal tests to check the hardware can handle space.
How to Make Your Experience Count
Companies told us a “thermal engineer” title says very little about whether someone has worked at the level of a whole vehicle. If you’re coming from another industry with hands-on thermal test experience, spell out what you tested, at what scale and how far it went. The job title won’t do that work for you.
Test and Analysis Engineer
What the Role Involves
Dynamics and shock analysts work out whether hardware will survive the shock and vibration of launch. Some companies that used to outsource this work are now bringing it in-house, which is creating new roles.
How to Make Your Experience Count
The specialist pool is tiny. In one state, a keyword search for a role we worked on this year dropped to about seven people. If you’ve done vibration or structural testing outside space, this role is worth a look. With so few specialists around, companies have good reason to consider people who’ve done other kinds of testing. In your application, connect your test work to the hardware the company is building.
Satellite Network Engineer
What the Role Involves
Network engineers at satellite companies build and run the networks that move data between satellites and the customers on the ground.
How to Make Your Experience Count
Of all the roles here, this one is the most open to people from outside space. One role we worked on this year needed no space background at all. The most important part of the role was telecoms experience. Roles like this are often contract positions, which can be a lower-risk way to get space onto your résumé.
| Veterans are one of the biggest sources of space talent The US military was the single biggest source of the people we placed this year. The US Office of Space Commerce says veterans bring skills and security clearances space companies need, but there’s no clear system yet for matching military roles to space jobs. If you’re leaving the military, programs like VetsinTech’s Vets in Space can help with the matching. |
Where to Start if You Want a Space Role
The roles that are hardest to fill are the ones where a company has the most reason to look at someone like you. If your background lines up with one of the roles we’ve mentioned, lead with what you’ve built and tested, and let the work make the case that a job title can’t.
Once you’re in, the next step is building the experience that makes you hard to replace. If one of these roles sounds like your next job in space, take a look at the space roles we’re hiring for right now.