Are JPL federal employees?
The California Institute of Technology operates JPL on behalf of NASA, and JPL staff are Caltech employees rather than federal civil servants. Most NASA employees have been furloughed since the 2026 fiscal year began Oct. Average NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Summer Intern hourly pay in the United States is approximately $23.PASADENA, CA – Today, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a NASA Center administered by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), announced the reduction of its workforce by 550 employees, or approximately 11% of its total staff. This is the third round of layoffs at JPL in the past two years. Rep.The average NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory salary ranges from approximately $62,512 per year for Postdoctoral Fellow to $129,479 per year for System Engineer. Average NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory hourly pay ranges from approximately $19. Intern to $23. Software Engineer.As of dec 19, 2025, the average annual pay for a nasa jpl engineer in california is $137,771 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $66. This is the equivalent of $2,649/week or $11,480/month.
Does JPL hire internationally?
Due to rules imposed by NASA, JPL will not accept applications from citizens of designated countries or those born in a designated country unless they are U. S. Citizens, Legal Permanent Residents of the U. S. U. S. C. To participate in the JPL postdoc program, applicants must adhere to all of the following: Must have obtained a Ph. D. U. S. Legal Permanent Residents (LPR), and Foreign Nationals* are welcome to apply.