How to Apply to Aerojet Rocketdyne

9 min read Last updated April 20, 2026 2 open positions
Blake Crosley
Blake Crosley Researched using publicly available information, hiring data, and ATS analysis.

Key Takeaways

  • Aerojet Rocketdyne is now the L3Harris Aerojet Rocketdyne segment following the July 2023 acquisition for $4.7 billion. Apply through the L3Harris careers portal at careers.l3harris.com, which routes to Workday at l3harris.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com.
  • U.S. citizenship is mandatory for nearly every engineering role because the company's work is ITAR-controlled and largely classified. Permanent residents and visa holders are filtered out at the application stage.
  • Active or recent security clearances dramatically accelerate the hiring funnel. Cleared candidates are often moved to offer in weeks while uncleared candidates wait six to eighteen months for clearance adjudication.
  • The product portfolio is built around the RL10 upper-stage engine, the RS-25 powering NASA's SLS for Artemis, the AR1 booster engine, partnership work on Blue Origin's BE-7, and dominant solid rocket motor production for THAAD, SM-3/6, Patriot, and other missile defense systems.
  • Compensation is competitive within defense aerospace but generally below SpaceX and Blue Origin for comparable propulsion roles. Engineers typically earn $90,000 to $160,000 base depending on level and location, with senior staff and principal engineers reaching $180,000 to $230,000.
  • Many candidates accept Aerojet Rocketdyne offers and then receive higher offers from SpaceX, Blue Origin, Anduril, or Relativity Space. Recruiters know this and move quickly when they sense a competing offer is imminent.
  • Post-acquisition cultural integration is ongoing. Benefits, IT systems, expense workflows, and reporting structures are all being aligned to L3Harris standards. Ask directly about integration status during interviews.
  • El Segundo headquarters places you in the densest aerospace cluster in the world. Sacramento (liquid propulsion), Huntsville (missile defense and SLS), and Camden Arkansas (solid rocket motor production) are the other major sites.
  • Defense aerospace interviewing is slower and more documentation-focused than commercial tech. Expect deep technical conversations, behavioral questions about program management, and explicit discussion of clearance lifestyle requirements.

About Aerojet Rocketdyne

Aerojet Rocketdyne is one of the most consequential propulsion companies in American aerospace history, formed through the 2013 merger of two legendary firms whose engines have powered nearly every major U.S. space and defense program for the better part of a century. Aerojet was founded in 1942 in Pasadena, California by a group of Caltech researchers including Theodore von Karman, originally to produce jet-assisted takeoff (JATO) units for World War II aircraft. Rocketdyne traces its origins to 1955 as a division of North American Aviation, growing out of rocket engine research that had begun in the late 1940s. The two organizations spent decades as rivals before consolidating under a single banner. In July 2023, Aerojet Rocketdyne was acquired by L3Harris Technologies for approximately $4.7 billion, ending its run as an independent public company and becoming the L3Harris Aerojet Rocketdyne segment within L3Harris's Space and Airborne Systems business. The headquarters sits in El Segundo, California, embedded in the dense Los Angeles aerospace cluster alongside SpaceX, Northrop Grumman, Boeing Satellite Systems, and the Aerospace Corporation. Total headcount is approximately 5,000 employees spread across facilities in California, Alabama, Virginia, Arkansas, Florida, and Mississippi. The product portfolio is the company's identity: the RL10 upper-stage engine that has flown more than 500 times since 1963 and continues to power the Centaur upper stage for ULA's Atlas V and Vulcan rockets; the RS-25 (formerly the Space Shuttle Main Engine) that now propels NASA's Space Launch System for the Artemis lunar program; the AR1 booster engine developed as a domestic alternative to the Russian RD-180; and partnership work on Blue Origin's BE-7 lunar lander engine. On the defense side, Aerojet Rocketdyne is the dominant U.S. supplier of solid rocket motors for missile defense and tactical missile systems, including THAAD interceptors, Standard Missile-3 and SM-6, the Patriot PAC-3, Stinger, Javelin, and the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system. Following the L3Harris acquisition, the company is being integrated into L3Harris's broader missile and weapons portfolio, with cultural and operational shifts ongoing as the segment aligns with L3Harris's mission systems strategy and supply-chain integration goals.

Application Process

  1. 1
    Search and apply through the L3Harris careers portal at careers

    Search and apply through the L3Harris careers portal at careers.l3harris.com, which feeds into the Workday-hosted job board at l3harris.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com. Aerojet Rocketdyne roles are typically tagged under the Aerojet Rocketdyne segment or by site location (Sacramento, Huntsville, Camden, Canoga Park, Orange, etc.).

  2. 2
    Create a Workday candidate profile with full work history, education, security c

    Create a Workday candidate profile with full work history, education, security clearance status (current level, granting agency, last investigation date), and U.S. citizenship attestation. Defense roles require clearance information up front because most postings are filtered by clearance eligibility.

  3. 3
    Submit a tailored resume in PDF or Word format

    Submit a tailored resume in PDF or Word format. Workday's parser will pull contact info, work history, education, and skills into structured fields, but you should review the parsed data before submitting because misparses are common with engineering resumes containing dense technical detail.

  4. 4
    Initial screening is handled by L3Harris talent acquisition recruiters, typicall

    Initial screening is handled by L3Harris talent acquisition recruiters, typically within one to three weeks of submission. Strong candidates receive a 30-minute phone screen covering background, clearance status, salary expectations, and interest in the specific program.

  5. 5
    Technical interviews follow with the hiring manager and two to four engineers fr

    Technical interviews follow with the hiring manager and two to four engineers from the team, usually conducted via Microsoft Teams or on-site at the facility. Expect deep technical questioning on propulsion fundamentals, prior project work, and program-specific domain knowledge (combustion, thermodynamics, materials, structural analysis, GN&C, or systems engineering depending on role).

  6. 6
    Offers are contingent on a successful background investigation and, for cleared

    Offers are contingent on a successful background investigation and, for cleared positions, completion or transfer of a security clearance. Clearance processing through the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) can take six to eighteen months for new Secret investigations and longer for Top Secret with SCI access. Many offers include a contingent start date pending clearance adjudication.

  7. 7
    Final paperwork includes ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) and EA

    Final paperwork includes ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) and EAR (Export Administration Regulations) acknowledgments, drug screening, and L3Harris-specific onboarding modules covering ethics, classified information handling, and insider threat awareness.

Resume Tips for Aerojet Rocketdyne

recommended

Lead with U

Lead with U.S. citizenship status. Aerojet Rocketdyne is a defense contractor working on classified propulsion programs, ITAR-controlled technology, and missile systems, which means U.S. citizenship is mandatory for nearly every engineering role. Permanent residents and visa holders cannot be considered for the majority of postings. State your citizenship clearly in the header or summary section.

recommended

List active or prior security clearances explicitly with level (Secret, Top Secr

List active or prior security clearances explicitly with level (Secret, Top Secret, TS/SCI), granting agency (DoD, DoE, IC), date of last periodic reinvestigation, and current status (active, current, expired). Even an expired clearance is valuable because reinstatement is faster than a new investigation. Without a clearance you can still be hired for unclassified work, but cleared candidates move through the funnel significantly faster.

recommended

Emphasize aerospace propulsion credentials and quantify them

Emphasize aerospace propulsion credentials and quantify them. List engines you have worked on (RL10, RS-25, AR1, solid rocket motor programs), test stand experience (hot-fire test campaigns, instrumentation, data reduction), CFD and combustion modeling tools (ANSYS Fluent, CFD++, CHEMKIN, Loci-CHEM), structural analysis software (ANSYS, NASTRAN, Abaqus), and any specific subsystem ownership (turbopumps, injectors, nozzles, thrust chambers, igniters, valves).

recommended

Highlight ITAR and EAR awareness directly

Highlight ITAR and EAR awareness directly. Mention prior experience handling export-controlled technical data, working under Technology Control Plans, or completing ITAR training. This signals you understand what working in defense aerospace actually requires day to day.

recommended

Call out specific aerospace standards and processes

Call out specific aerospace standards and processes. AS9100 quality system, NADCAP special process certifications, MIL-STD documentation, NASA-STD-5012 (strength and life assessment), and NASA-STD-5009 (nondestructive evaluation) are recognized credentials. Six Sigma green or black belt certifications and DOORS requirements management experience also score well.

recommended

Show program-specific experience where possible

Show program-specific experience where possible. Past work on SLS, Artemis, ULA Vulcan, missile defense (THAAD, GMD, Aegis BMD), tactical missiles (Patriot, Stinger, Javelin, SM-3/6), or hypersonics programs is directly relevant. If you have worked at competitors (Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Raytheon, Boeing Defense, SpaceX, Blue Origin), name the programs explicitly within ITAR limits.

recommended

Match the keywords in the job description

Match the keywords in the job description. Workday's parser and the recruiter screening rely heavily on keyword overlap. If the posting mentions 'liquid propulsion,' 'turbomachinery,' 'systems engineering V-model,' 'EVMS,' or 'CDR/PDR experience,' those exact phrases should appear in your resume where truthful.

recommended

Keep it to two pages for engineers with under fifteen years of experience and th

Keep it to two pages for engineers with under fifteen years of experience and three pages for senior staff or program leads. Defense recruiters expect dense technical content, not the one-page minimalism that tech companies prefer.

ATS System: Workday

Interview Culture

Interviewing at Aerojet Rocketdyne reflects three overlapping realities: the deliberate, documentation-heavy culture of the defense aerospace primes; the ongoing organizational integration following the L3Harris acquisition; and the competitive pressure of recruiting in the El Segundo and Sacramento aerospace corridors where SpaceX, Blue Origin, Anduril, and Northrop Grumman are actively poaching the same talent pool. Expect technical interviews to be thorough and slow-paced compared to Silicon Valley standards. Engineers will want to walk through your prior projects in real depth, asking about specific design decisions, failure modes encountered, root cause analyses you led, and how you handled requirements changes mid-program. Whiteboarding is common but tends to focus on first-principles propulsion problems (calculate the chamber pressure given mass flow and throat area, walk through a turbopump cavitation problem, explain combustion instability mechanisms) rather than algorithmic puzzles. Behavioral questions lean heavily on government program experience: how you handled a CDR finding, how you wrote a failure investigation report, how you negotiated a requirement change with a customer technical authority. The security clearance process is itself part of the cultural fit conversation. Hiring managers will probe your understanding of classified information handling, foreign contacts, and the lifestyle implications of holding a clearance (foreign travel reporting, financial disclosure, polygraph for some IC-related roles). The El Segundo headquarters culture is shaped by being five minutes from LAX and embedded in the densest aerospace cluster in the world, which means leadership cycles through industry events, customer meetings at Aerospace Corporation and SMC/Space Systems Command, and regular interaction with Air Force, Space Force, and NASA stakeholders. Sacramento and Huntsville sites have a more manufacturing- and test-focused rhythm built around hot-fire campaigns and motor casting schedules. Post-acquisition, the company is in a state of cultural transition. Long-tenured Aerojet Rocketdyne employees report ongoing changes in benefits administration, expense systems, IT tooling, and reporting structures as L3Harris standardizes processes across the segment. Some legacy autonomy has eroded; some new resources and program opportunities have opened up. Candidates should ask directly during interviews about how their team has been affected by integration and what reporting lines look like today versus six months ago.

What Aerojet Rocketdyne Looks For

  • U.S. citizenship and clearance eligibility, full stop. This is the first filter and it is non-negotiable for the vast majority of postings.
  • Deep domain expertise in a specific propulsion or aerospace subdiscipline. Generalists struggle here. The company hires combustion specialists, turbomachinery designers, GN&C engineers, structural analysts, and propellant chemists who have built careers in their lane.
  • Experience operating under government program management frameworks. Familiarity with EVMS, IMS, DOORS, Earned Value reporting, CDR/PDR/SRR milestones, and DFARS/FAR contracting clauses signals you can function inside the program structure on day one.
  • Hands-on hardware experience. The strongest candidates have built, tested, or qualified flight hardware. Pure simulation backgrounds are less competitive than candidates who can point to test stand campaigns, integration milestones, or anomaly resolutions they personally led.
  • AS9100 quality system fluency and an understanding of NADCAP special processes. Aerospace manufacturing rigor is a daily reality, and engineers who have driven nonconformance reports, MRB dispositions, and corrective action plans bring immediate value.
  • Stability and longevity. Defense primes value engineers who stay with programs across multi-year development cycles. A resume with three jobs in five years is a yellow flag in this culture, even if it would be normal in commercial tech.
  • Communication and documentation skills. Engineering work in this environment lives in formal documents (SDR packages, ICDs, V&V matrices, anomaly reports) that go to government customers. Candidates who can write clearly and present to non-technical program managers stand out.
  • Cultural willingness to work inside the L3Harris integration. Asking thoughtful questions about post-acquisition changes signals you understand the environment; complaining about bureaucracy signals you do not.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Aerojet Rocketdyne still an independent company?
No. Aerojet Rocketdyne was acquired by L3Harris Technologies in July 2023 for approximately $4.7 billion and now operates as the L3Harris Aerojet Rocketdyne segment within L3Harris's Space and Airborne Systems business. Job postings, the careers portal, payroll, and benefits all run through L3Harris infrastructure. The Aerojet Rocketdyne brand and product lines remain intact, but the legal entity, equity ticker, executive structure, and corporate functions are now L3Harris. Candidates should expect L3Harris-branded offer letters, L3Harris email domains, and L3Harris-administered onboarding for any role in the segment.
Do I need U.S. citizenship to work at Aerojet Rocketdyne?
Yes, for the overwhelming majority of engineering, manufacturing, and program roles. The company works on ITAR-controlled propulsion technology and classified defense programs, both of which require U.S. citizenship under federal law. A small number of corporate functions such as some IT, finance, and HR roles may be open to permanent residents, but engineering positions are essentially closed to non-citizens. Dual citizens may face additional scrutiny during clearance investigations and should expect to disclose all foreign passports and report any foreign contacts during the SF-86 process.
How important is a security clearance for getting hired?
Very important and often decisive. Many postings require an active Secret or Top Secret clearance at the time of application. Candidates with current clearances can start work immediately on classified programs, while uncleared candidates require six to eighteen months for new Secret investigations and substantially longer for TS/SCI with polygraph. Hiring managers strongly prefer cleared candidates for cleared roles, and the company will sponsor clearances for strong unclassified hires but it adds significant time to onboarding. List clearance level, granting agency, and date of last reinvestigation prominently on your resume.
What does compensation look like at Aerojet Rocketdyne?
Engineering compensation is competitive within the defense aerospace primes but trails commercial space companies. Entry-level engineers (E1-E2) typically earn $75,000 to $95,000 base. Mid-career engineers (E3-E4) earn $100,000 to $140,000. Senior engineers (E5) earn $135,000 to $170,000. Principal and senior staff engineers reach $170,000 to $230,000. Bonuses run 5 to 15 percent of base depending on level and program performance. L3Harris stock grants and a 401k match round out the package. Sacramento and Huntsville cost of living make these numbers stretch further than equivalent Bay Area offers.
Why do candidates accept Aerojet Rocketdyne offers and then leave for SpaceX or Blue Origin?
Three reasons dominate. First, total compensation at SpaceX and Blue Origin is typically 20 to 50 percent higher for equivalent propulsion engineering roles, especially with stock grants. Second, the work pace and design iteration speed at commercial space companies is faster, which appeals to engineers who want to see hardware fly within a year rather than five. Third, defense aerospace requires extensive documentation, government approvals, and program-protection compliance that some engineers find slow and frustrating compared to the move-fast culture at SpaceX. Aerojet Rocketdyne counters with program longevity, deeper technical mentorship, work-life balance, and the prestige of working on Artemis and missile defense, but the talent war is real and ongoing.
What is the El Segundo headquarters like?
The El Segundo HQ is embedded in the densest aerospace cluster in the world, with SpaceX five minutes away, Northrop Grumman, Boeing Satellite Systems, the Aerospace Corporation, and Space Systems Command (formerly Space and Missile Systems Center) all within a few miles. The office handles executive leadership, business development, customer engagement with Air Force and Space Force, and corporate functions. Most engineering work happens at the Canoga Park (liquid propulsion legacy Rocketdyne site), Sacramento (Aerojet liquid propulsion and propellants), Huntsville (missile defense and SLS RS-25 program management), Camden Arkansas (solid rocket motor manufacturing), and Orange Virginia (energetics) facilities.
How is the post-L3Harris-acquisition integration going?
Mixed reports. On the positive side, L3Harris has invested in the segment, expanded program opportunities, and provided access to broader corporate resources and supply chain. On the friction side, long-tenured Aerojet Rocketdyne employees describe ongoing changes to benefits administration, expense reporting, IT tooling, badging systems, and reporting structures as the segment is standardized to L3Harris processes. Some autonomy has eroded. Some hiring managers report frustration with new approval workflows. Candidates should ask directly during interviews how their specific team has been affected and what has changed in the past six months.
What ATS does Aerojet Rocketdyne use for applications?
All applications now flow through L3Harris's Workday instance at l3harris.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com, accessed via the L3Harris careers portal at careers.l3harris.com. The legacy Aerojet Rocketdyne careers site has been retired and redirects to L3Harris. Create a single Workday profile, attach a tailored resume, and apply to multiple Aerojet Rocketdyne segment postings from the same account. Workday's parser is mediocre with engineering resumes, so review the parsed fields after upload and correct misparses before final submission to avoid silent keyword loss that hurts your match score during recruiter screening.
What programs is the company hiring for most aggressively right now?
Hiring concentration tracks the funded program backlog. The RS-25 production restart for NASA's SLS Artemis program continues to drive liquid propulsion hiring at Canoga Park and Huntsville. Solid rocket motor production for missile defense (THAAD, SM-3, Patriot PAC-3) and tactical missiles drives Camden Arkansas hiring. Hypersonics propulsion work has been a growth area across multiple sites. The RL10 program continues steady production for ULA Vulcan and Atlas V. Energetics work at Orange Virginia ramps with tactical missile demand. Manufacturing engineering, propulsion systems engineering, and quality engineering have been the highest-volume openings.
How long does the full hiring process take from application to start date?
For an uncleared candidate applying to a cleared role: six to eighteen months total, with most of that time spent waiting for clearance adjudication. For a cleared candidate applying to a cleared role at the matching clearance level: typically four to ten weeks from application to offer, plus two to four weeks for background check and start date scheduling. For unclassified positions with no clearance requirement: three to eight weeks application to offer. Add additional time if the role requires a clearance upgrade (Secret to TS, or TS to TS/SCI with polygraph).

Open Positions

Aerojet Rocketdyne currently has 2 open positions.

Check Your Resume Before Applying → View 2 open positions at Aerojet Rocketdyne

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Sources

  1. L3Harris Completes Acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne —
  2. L3Harris Careers Portal —
  3. L3Harris Workday Job Board —
  4. Aerojet Rocketdyne Propulsion Products —
  5. RS-25 Engine and the Space Launch System —
  6. RL10 Engine Heritage and Performance —
  7. Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency Clearance Process —
  8. ITAR Compliance Overview —