What do aerospace and defense job postings pay?

The median advertised base pay is $135,500 a year, and the middle 50 percent of postings that list pay run from $103,000 to $170,052. 42,614 of its 103,579 US postings list pay.

Which fields do aerospace and defense employers hire for?

The fields with the most aerospace and defense postings are engineering and architecture (29.3%), tech (28.3%), and business operations (12.7%), each as a share of its US postings.

Industries

Aerospace and defense hiring: job postings, pay, and roles

How many US job postings employers in aerospace and defense have, what they advertise in pay, and the fields and occupations they hire for.

US job postings: 103,579; 3.1% of US postings placed in an industry
Median advertised pay: $135,500; Middle 50 percent $103,000 to $170,052
Share that list pay: 41.1%; 42,614 of 103,579 postings
Fully remote: 4.6%; 4,796 remote postings open to US workers

Figures as of November 5, 2026.

Employers in aerospace and defense have 103,579 live US job postings as of November 5, 2026, 3.1% of the US postings whose employer we could place in an industry. That ranks 8th of 27 industries.

Its postings that list pay advertise a median of $135,500 a year, with the middle 50 percent from $103,000 to $170,052.

Its largest field is engineering and architecture, with 29.3% of its postings.

Fields in aerospace and defense

The fields with at least 50 US postings in aerospace and defense, each as a share of its US postings, as of November 5, 2026.

Field	Postings	Share of industry	Median pay
Engineering and architecture	30,384	29.3%	$140,000
Tech	29,299	28.3%	$146,000
Business operations	13,123	12.7%	$140,000
Manufacturing and production	6,736	6.5%	$75,920
Skilled trades and construction	5,297	5.1%	$78,000
Finance and accounting	2,405	2.3%	$121,500
Legal and compliance	2,275	2.2%	$135,500
People and HR	1,753	1.7%	$124,088
Administrative and office support	1,208	1.2%	$80,945
Sales	1,205	1.2%	$167,500
Facilities, cleaning and grounds	1,132	1.1%	$97,620
Arts, design and media	1,069	1.0%	$109,700
Warehouse and logistics	1,047	1.0%	$58,320
Security and public safety	887	0.9%	$86,000
Healthcare	874	0.8%	$97,000
Science and research	792	0.8%	$123,048
Customer service and support	632	0.6%	$112,000
Marketing and communications	535	0.5%	$126,800
Driving and transportation	523	0.5%	$103,688
Education and childcare	466	0.4%	$92,819
Food service and hospitality	253	0.2%	$85,236
Personal care, fitness and recreation	111	0.1%	Fewer than 50 postings with pay
Retail	97	0.1%	Fewer than 50 postings with pay
Community and social services	82	0.1%	Fewer than 50 postings with pay

Top occupations in aerospace and defense

The 15 occupations with the most US postings in aerospace and defense, each as a share of its US postings, as of November 5, 2026.

Occupation	Field	Postings	Share of industry	Median pay
Software engineer	Tech	8,741	8.4%	$157,975
Systems engineer (hardware and defense)	Engineering and architecture	7,887	7.6%	$156,000
Project and program manager	Business operations	5,842	5.6%	$154,300
Electrical and electronics engineer	Engineering and architecture	5,555	5.4%	$137,500
Mechanical engineer	Engineering and architecture	3,668	3.5%	$136,146
Engineering technician and drafter	Engineering and architecture	3,034	2.9%	$95,971
Security analyst	Tech	2,983	2.9%	$132,500
Manufacturing, process and industrial engineer	Engineering and architecture	2,842	2.7%	$130,000
Aerospace engineer	Engineering and architecture	2,474	2.4%	$151,475
Systems administrator	Tech	2,310	2.2%	$129,250
Security engineer	Tech	2,057	2.0%	$156,000
Quality inspector and technician	Manufacturing and production	1,725	1.7%	$72,520
Production supervisor and plant manager	Manufacturing and production	1,724	1.7%	$137,500
DevOps and site reliability engineer	Tech	1,717	1.7%	$152,500
Network engineer	Tech	1,643	1.6%	$135,000

Advertised pay by role family in aerospace and defense

The role families with the most US postings in aerospace and defense, as of November 5, 2026. Each links to its advertised pay page.

Role family	Postings	Median	Middle 50 percent	Postings with pay	Employers	Share that list pay
Engineering	34,641	$144,967	$112,500 to $174,200	14,406	614	41.6%
Operations	9,217	$130,500	$103,113 to $165,000	4,046	457	43.9%
Manufacturing and production	7,571	$79,747	$62,049 to $114,000	2,447	248	32.3%
IT support	5,873	$125,000	$99,840 to $152,500	2,833	322	48.2%
Backend	5,341	$159,429	$130,981 to $192,000	3,635	354	68.1%
Skilled trades	5,283	$77,000	$63,986 to $89,440	1,091	182	20.7%
Project management	4,542	$150,000	$124,800 to $182,500	1,806	332	39.8%
Security	4,462	$144,500	$120,000 to $172,500	2,537	284	56.9%
Finance	3,074	$120,900	$95,000 to $150,000	1,124	299	36.6%
Data	2,992	$137,375	$116,650 to $163,338	1,370	224	45.8%

Largest employers in aerospace and defense

Employers in aerospace and defense among the 25 employers with the most live postings, as of November 5, 2026. This ranking counts postings in every country, and an employer's industry is the one most of its postings are in.

Employer	Postings
Northrop Grumman	9,891

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Questions

How many US job postings are in aerospace and defense?: 103,579 live US job postings as of November 5, 2026, 3.1% of the US postings whose employer we could place in an industry.
What do aerospace and defense job postings pay?: The median advertised base pay is $135,500 a year, and the middle 50 percent of postings that list pay run from $103,000 to $170,052. 42,614 of its 103,579 US postings list pay.
Which fields do aerospace and defense employers hire for?: The fields with the most aerospace and defense postings are engineering and architecture (29.3%), tech (28.3%), and business operations (12.7%), each as a share of its US postings.