Aerospace Engineering federal employee pay and staffing
This page shows how large the Aerospace Engineering series is across government, what the average pay looks like, and which agencies employ the biggest share of people in this occupation.
What this page helps you check
Use this page when you want to see where a federal occupation is concentrated, which agencies employ the most people in it, and what the average pay looks like across government.
Occupation family
Aerospace Engineering is reported under the Engineering and Architecture Group family in the latest OPM summary.
Agencies that employ the most Aerospace Engineering staff
These are the agencies with the biggest reported headcount in this occupation series.
| Agency | Department | Employees | Total salary expense | Average pay | Share of occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naval Air Systems Command | Department of Defense | 1,684 | $210,314,498 | $124,890 | 17.0% |
| Air Force Materiel Command | Department of Defense | 1,358 | $171,296,605 | $126,139 | 13.7% |
| Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center | Independent or mixed | 1,002 | $162,831,056 | $162,506 | 10.1% |
| George C. Marshall Space Flight Center | Independent or mixed | 886 | $127,243,327 | $143,615 | 8.9% |
| Federal Aviation Administration | Department of Transportation | 868 | $136,853,909 | $157,666 | 8.7% |
| Goddard Space Flight Center | Independent or mixed | 658 | $111,014,702 | $168,715 | 6.6% |
| United States Army Futures Command | Department of Defense | 577 | $85,854,629 | $148,795 | 5.8% |
| Langley Research Center | Independent or mixed | 568 | $82,725,034 | $145,643 | 5.7% |
| John F. Kennedy Space Center | Independent or mixed | 427 | $61,675,578 | $144,439 | 4.3% |
| John Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field | Independent or mixed | 305 | $44,863,045 | $147,092 | 3.1% |
| Naval Sea Systems Command | Department of Defense | 263 | $32,618,616 | $124,025 | 2.6% |
| Ames Research Center | Independent or mixed | 247 | $42,907,196 | $173,713 | 2.5% |
| Neil a. Armstrong Flight Research Center | Independent or mixed | 129 | $20,564,824 | $159,417 | 1.3% |
| Space Systems Command | Department of Defense | 100 | $14,470,247 | $144,702 | 1.0% |
| Air Force Civilian Career Training | Department of Defense | 85 | $6,392,314 | $75,204 | 0.9% |
| National Air and Space Intelligence Center | Department of Defense | 81 | $11,895,716 | $146,861 | 0.8% |
| Office of Naval Research | Department of Defense | 76 | $12,442,548 | $163,718 | 0.8% |
| Strategic Systems Programs (Ssp) | Department of Defense | 65 | $9,248,674 | $142,287 | 0.7% |
| Defense Contract Management Agency | Department of Defense | 62 | $7,381,086 | $119,050 | 0.6% |
| National Space Intelligence Center | Department of Defense | 32 | $4,448,096 | $139,003 | 0.3% |
| "Headquarters, NASA" | Independent or mixed | 25 | $4,722,775 | $188,911 | 0.3% |
| U.s. Army Test and Evaluation Command | Department of Defense | 24 | $2,609,160 | $108,715 | 0.2% |
| National Transportation Safety Board | Independent or mixed | 14 | $2,378,222 | $169,873 | 0.1% |
| U.s. Army Aviation and Missile Command | Department of Defense | 11 | $1,413,225 | $128,475 | 0.1% |
Common pay plans for Aerospace Engineering
This shows the pay plans most commonly attached to this occupation series in the latest OPM summary.
| Pay plan | Employees | Average pay | Share of occupation |
|---|---|---|---|
| GS | 5,228 | $146,392 | 52.7% |
| NH | 1,105 | $124,051 | 11.1% |
| DP | 888 | $130,056 | 8.9% |
| FV | 854 | $157,633 | 8.6% |
| DB | 577 | $148,795 | 5.8% |
| DR | 362 | $148,438 | 3.6% |
| ND | 263 | $124,025 | 2.6% |
| GG | 113 | $144,636 | 1.1% |
| NP | 76 | $163,718 | 0.8% |
| NM | 51 | $177,736 | 0.5% |
| ST | 16 | $209,413 | 0.2% |
| FG | 14 | $159,693 | 0.1% |
Occupation totals come from the latest OPM FedScope Employment Summary Data (March 2025).