Also called: Multi-Layer Insulation Technician, Thermal Blanket Fabricator
Cuts, layers and sews the shiny gold and silver blankets that wrap satellites to protect them from the extreme heat and cold of space.
In a cleanroom, wearing a bunny suit, you lay out 20 paper-thin layers of metal-coated film and cut them to a pattern that fits around a telescope part. You stitch and tape the edges, add tiny vents, and fit the blanket onto real flight hardware with engineers watching.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Certificate, about 0.5 years after high school. High school; sewing, upholstery or composite skills help. Trained on the job.
Ways in: On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Upholstery / Sewing (trade school), Composites Technology.
Growing faster than average. More satellites are being built than ever.
Low risk for 10 years. Pattern cutting is more automated, but fitting delicate blankets onto flight hardware stays hand work.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply to satellite makers for thermal blanket technician jobs; they train you (US citizenship often needed)
Classes: Sewing or textiles class, Art, Geometry, Physics.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.