Intuitive Machines careers in 2026: working at the company that landed on the Moon

Intuitive Machines is the company that put the first American spacecraft on the Moon in over 50 years. They did it in February 2024 with the Odysseus lander — which promptly tipped over on landing, broke a leg, and still managed to complete its mission. A year later, they landed again at the lunar south pole. Now they're building a lunar communications network, a Moon rover, and assembling a workforce that has more than tripled in size through acquisitions.

Here's what Intuitive Machines careers look like in 2026 — the roles, the pay, the mission pipeline, and whether the stock makes the lower salaries worth it.

What Intuitive Machines does

The company started as a lunar lander builder for NASA's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) program and has since expanded into three business lines:

Lunar landers — The Nova-C class lander that completed the IM-1 and IM-2 missions. A larger Nova-D class is in development for heavier payloads, including NASA's Lunar Terrain Vehicle for Artemis astronauts. Four CLPS contracts awarded so far.

Lunar communications — The Near Space Network Services (NSNS) contract, awarded by NASA as a sole-source deal worth up to $4.82 billion over 10 years. Intuitive Machines is building a constellation of relay satellites to provide 4K video, navigation, and communications from geostationary orbit to cislunar space. This is the company's long-term revenue engine.

Space infrastructure — Through the January 2026 acquisition of Lanteris (formerly Maxar Space Systems), Intuitive Machines now has full spacecraft manufacturing capabilities. The Lanteris acquisition brought ~$630M in annual revenue and significant manufacturing capacity in Palo Alto, CA.

Mission results: the honest version

Both lunar landings achieved the primary mission objectives but neither went perfectly:

IM-1 (Odysseus, February 2024) — The laser altimeter instruments failed during descent, causing the lander to come in too fast on a 12-degree slope. Odysseus skidded, broke a leg, and tipped on its side. Despite this, all instrument payloads remained functional and the mission was deemed successful. It was still the first American soft landing on the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.

IM-2 (Athena, March 2025) — Landed at the lunar south pole with a similar altimeter failure. The lander struck a plateau, tipped, and rolled before settling inside a crater. Some NASA data was received before power ran out. Judged a partial success/partial failure depending on who you ask.

These results matter for job seekers because they tell you what kind of company this is: one that ships hardware, accepts risk, learns from failures, and iterates quickly. If you want perfect first-time execution, this isn't the place. If you want to build lunar spacecraft that actually fly, it is.

Salary and compensation

This is where Intuitive Machines gets honest feedback from employees. The Glassdoor compensation rating is 3.6/5 — the lowest sub-category — and reviews consistently mention salaries below aerospace industry averages.

Role	Salary Range
Software Engineer	$82K–$143K
Mechanical Engineer	$130K–$135K
General Engineer (average)	~$98K
Company-wide average	~$80K

For comparison, equivalent roles at Northrop Grumman or Lockheed Martin pay 20-40% more. The trade-off is equity: LUNR stock has ranged from $6 to $25 over the past year, and a well-timed grant could be worth significantly more than the salary gap. But stock-based compensation is inherently uncertain — especially for a company that's still unprofitable.

What it's like to work there

The Glassdoor rating of 4.2/5 across 21 reviews is notably high for the space industry. For context, SpaceX is 3.6, Blue Origin is 3.2, and Northrop Grumman is around 3.8. Here's what employees highlight:

Positives: Friendly and highly competent coworkers, founders who encourage innovation and learning, supportive management, weekly social events, and the tangible excitement of building spacecraft that land on the Moon. 82% would recommend working at IM to a friend.

Negatives: Salary not reflecting responsibility level, employees given new titles without corresponding pay increases, and some concerns about senior leadership's approach to diversity in technical roles.

The company culture reflects its origins: founded by the former Deputy Director of NASA Johnson Space Center (Steve Altemus), a co-founder of Axiom Space (Kam Ghaffarian), and a Project Morpheus veteran (Tim Crain). The leadership has deep NASA heritage, and the work culture splits the difference between startup pace and aerospace rigor.

Open positions and locations

Intuitive Machines has 159 open positions, primarily in:

Location	Focus
Houston, TX (HQ)	Lunar lander engineering, manufacturing, mission ops
Palo Alto, CA	Spacecraft manufacturing (Lanteris)
Tempe, AZ	Deep space navigation (KinetX acquisition)
Maryland	Flight dynamics, navigation

The Houston headquarters sits at the Houston Spaceport — a $40 million, 12.5-acre campus with advanced manufacturing and 3D printing facilities. This is where the Nova-C and Nova-D landers are built.

Roles span mechanical engineering (largest category), software engineering (ground and embedded), GN&C (guidance, navigation & controls), avionics, thermal analysis, manufacturing, and program management. The Lanteris acquisition expanded the engineering headcount significantly and added satellite/spacecraft manufacturing roles in Palo Alto.

Interview process

The interview process is straightforward and fast — about 2 weeks from first contact to offer, with a difficulty rating of 2.8/5 on Glassdoor. Typical structure:

1. Phone screen with recruiter
2. Interview with hiring manager
3. Final round with the team

Software engineers report Python-focused technical questions (dict vs OrderedDict, threading/concurrency, data structures). 70% of candidates rated the experience positively. Compared to SpaceX's 3-6 week, 4-round gauntlet, Intuitive Machines moves faster and asks less.

Upcoming missions

Mission	Target	Destination	What's New
IM-3	H2 2026	Reiner Gamma	First lunar data relay satellite, NASA CADRE rovers
IM-4	2027	Lunar South Pole	6 NASA payloads, ESA drill for water search, 2 relay satellites
LTV	TBD (Artemis)	Lunar surface	Crew rover via Nova-D lander
Near Space Network	2026-2034	Cislunar orbit	Full relay constellation

The Near Space Network buildout is the biggest near-term development — Intuitive Machines raised $175 million in February 2026 specifically to fund this satellite constellation. If the NSNS contract plays out at scale, it transforms the company from a lunar lander startup into a cislunar infrastructure provider.

Should you join Intuitive Machines?

Yes, if: You want to work on hardware that actually flies to the Moon, you can accept below-market salary in exchange for equity and mission, and you want to be at a company in a rapid growth phase. The NSNS contract and Lanteris acquisition give the company more financial stability than most space startups.

Be cautious if: You're compensation-focused. The salary gap versus defense primes is real and may not be fully offset by LUNR stock. Ask detailed questions about equity grants during your offer negotiation.

Browse Intuitive Machines positions on Zero G Talent. For other Houston-area space employers, see NASA jobs or browse Texas space jobs.