Propulsion Technician (Raptor)
Location
Hawthorne, CA
Wage
$23 – $38/hr
Employment Type
Full-time
Posted on October 7, 2026
Location
Hawthorne, CA
Wage
$23 – $38/hr
Employment Type
Full-time
Posted on October 7, 2026
SpaceX is developing technologies to enable human life on Mars. The Propulsion Technician (Raptor) is responsible for the assembly and testing of rocket hardware and sub-assemblies, requiring mechanical knowledge and hands-on experience.
At roughly $31/hr, this posting comes in about 22% below the $39/hr median for welding jobs in Hawthorne, CA, where the middle half runs $31–$60/hr across 43 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 5% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. That gap is worth raising directly — in a market this size there is normally room to negotiate toward the median, particularly if you already hold the certifications the posting asks for.
We're tracking 44 other active welding openings in Hawthorne, CA right now, from 7 different employers. 21 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 586 other active welding openings from 267 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Hawthorne, or widen the search to California.
SpaceX currently has 36 other openings live in California, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.
The most active employers in California at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (36), Relativity Space (22), and Welding Shop in Los Angeles, CA (18). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.
Within California, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Redondo Beach at $65/hr, Pasadena at $61/hr, and Santa Ana at $48/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.
This posting calls for TIG. TIG (GTAW) uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode with filler added by hand, giving the operator the most control of any process. It is slow, demanding, and the standard for stainless, aluminum, and anything where the bead has to look as good as it holds.
Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Propulsion Technician (Raptor) figures were last recalculated when this page was built.