Though you’d likely be met with stiff competition, now might be an appropriate time to apply for a job if you’re interested in an engineering career with NASA.
On the federal job board USAJobs.gov, the agency currently lists 20 jobs pertaining to engineering.
One of those openings is for an experienced aerospace engineer capable of completing systems engineering tasks relating to flight system elements. The worker, who would be placed in NASA’s Applied Engineering Technology branch, would conduct “flight segment design, testing, and architecture development work,” according to the posting. Located at the Maryland-based Goddard Space Flight Center, the job pays between $126,245 and $158,700 per year.
NASA is offering a less lucrative aerospace engineering position at its Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, CA. The job, which pays between $65,231 and $120,863 per year, is a position with NASA’s operations engineering aeromechanical design team. The team member would work on a number of projects, ranging from high performance manned aircrafts to UAVs. NASA has also publicized two openings for a senior aerospace engineer job at its John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Paying between $83,468 and $108,507 per year, the job is housed under NASA’s Fluid Propulsion Mission Support branch. The hired candidates would be tasked with “defining design, manufacturing and operational requirements; researching, developing, performing analysis, integrating, and evaluating aerospace flight systems, ground systems, and launch vehicles,” according to the job description. The candidate would also conduct detailed studies pertaining to the improvement of launch systems, data generation, and the monitoring of various NASA contractors.
Though it likely doesn’t take into account the specific details NASA is seeking in a candidate for the positions, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistic’s analysis would suggest that NASA’s offering for the positions are, at the very least, fair. According to bureau, aerospace engineers earned a median pay of $103,720 per year on average in 2012 with more than 80,000 aerospace engineers employed in 2012. The job outlook for the field is expected to grow, though it will increase at a rate lower than the national average.
Another opening at the Goddard Space Flight Center calls for a senior level materials process assurance engineer for its Quality Engineering branch. The job involves validating materials applications and process requirements for aerospace systems and missions that impact America The job pays between $107,325 and $139,523.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, materials engineers had a median pay of $85,150 a year, or $40.94 per hour in 2012. More than 23,000 materials engineers were employed in the U.S. that year and the job outlook isn’t expected to change much between now and 2022.
The occupational outlook for other careers within the engineering sector can be searched for here.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense
