Developing a professional career in the space industry is a great challenge to take up. Historically, space has been restricted to national agencies alone, but it has now become a dominion of private companies working, in many cases, close with their governments. From multibillion Dollar companies developing reusable rockets to small startups providing services. With the sector currently booming globally, it is now a great time to decide launching a career in the Space Industry. 

Demand for STEM professionals is expected to grow, and both, private companies and national agencies are working closely with universities and other academic entities to attract future leaders in the industry. Artemis mission from NASA is a great example of a national effort that requires a significant cooperation between research public entities as well as private entities.

Many programs at NASA allow short- and long-term internships, scholarships, fellowships with plenty of possibilities to pursue research at a NASA center. For US nationals and green-card holders another option is the NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities (NSTGRO). Finally for doctoral and post-doctoral studies NASA offers opportunities such as NASA Post-doctoral Program (NPP) and the JPL Post-doctoral programs.

Numerous private companies subcontracted by NASA provide engineering services and consulting in-campus, and they present an attractive option for nationals and non-US nationals to work in state-of-the-art technologies developed by the agency. Some good examples are Goddard Contractors Association, Beacon,  SSAI, Newton, Genesis Engineering, KBR.

However, there are significant restrictions to step a foot in the door, especially to foreign national and expats, because of technology export control. Several activities can be only performed with a Greencard or under US citizenship. Nevertheless, these requirements can be sometimes waived with export control licenses and waivers.

In the video in the link below, Iban Ibanez Domenech and Giuseppe Cataldo from NASA and Arnie Christanson from SES address the exposed points in more detail. They also share their experiences on how is working at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.