Indian Space Research Organisation Recruitment

ISRO recruitment for engineers runs through the ISRO Centralised Recruitment Board (ICRB), which fills Scientist/Engineer 'SC' posts at ISRO and Department of Space centres across India. The current cycle, advertised as ISRO:ICRB:03(EMC):2026, invites BE/B.Tech graduates in Electronics, Mechanical and Computer Science Engineering to apply for Level 10 posts through a written test (CBT) and an interview.

This page gathers the facts that matter in one place: vacancies, dates, eligibility, fee, pattern, selection stages, pay and a practical preparation plan. Every figure comes from the official advertisement and FAQs on isro.gov.in. Where the official site shows conflicting information, we say so instead of guessing.

Table of Contents

ISRO Recruitment

How ISRO Hires: Know the Different Recruitments

Searching for "ISRO recruitment" brings up several different advertisements, and mixing them up is a common mistake. ISRO recruits through more than one route:

• ICRB written-test route: Scientist/Engineer 'SC' posts filled through a CBT and interview. This is the cycle covered on this page.

• ICRB GATE-based route: a separate advertisement, ISRO:ICRB:02(EMC-CEPO):2026, filled Scientist/Engineer 'SC' posts for more disciplines (including Civil, Electrical, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, and Architecture) using a valid GATE score and an interview. Its application window closed in August 2026.

• ICRB administrative posts: a third advertisement, ISRO:ICRB:01(A-JPA):2026, covers Assistant, Junior Personal Assistant, Upper Division Clerk and Stenographer posts.

• Centre-specific recruitment: individual centres advertise Technical Assistant, Technician 'B', Draughtsman and similar posts, and some centres advertise Scientist/Engineer posts directly. Check the Careers page for the centre you are targeting.

If you hold a valid GATE score, the GATE-based advertisement is a separate opportunity from the written test discussed here. Both are listed on the official ISRO Careers page.

Notification Overview

The advertisement was released on 27 August 2026 and the online window ran until 16 September 2026. Applicants had to be registered on the National Career Services (NCS) portal and had to apply online only. The vacancy numbers are provisional, and ISRO has reserved the right to change them or to leave posts unfilled.

Some points from the notification deserve attention:

• Backlog vacancies: several PwBD vacancies are backlog posts. If no suitable candidate is found in a notified disability category, the post may be filled by interchange among the disability categories and then, failing that, by a non-PwBD candidate.

• Autonomous body posts: one post each in Electronics, Mechanical and Computer Science is for the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), an autonomous body.

• Hall tickets by email: call letters are sent only to the registered email ID, so a valid email address and regular checks of the spam folder matter.

• Posting: appointees can be posted to any ISRO or Department of Space centre or unit and are liable to transfer.

Important Dates

Tentative dates come from the notification page and can change. Track the official advertisement page on isro.gov.in and your registered email, and treat the latest dated notice there as final.

Vacancy Details

Figures are tentative and the advertisement does not publish a category-wise split in the main table beyond the PwBD columns. Download the advertisement PDF for the reservation details of your discipline.

Eligibility Criteria

Educational qualification

You need a BE/B.Tech or an equivalent degree in the relevant discipline with at least 65% marks in aggregate or a CGPA of 6.84 on a 10-point scale. If your certificate shows only CGPA, that CGPA must meet the norm, because converting it to a percentage is not permitted. The course must be completed within the minimum period set by the university. M.E./M.Tech alone does not qualify, and the FAQs state that there is no relaxation in marks for any category.

Age limit

The maximum age is 28 years as on 16 September 2026. Relaxation is available for serving Central Government civilian employees, ex-servicemen and persons with benchmark disabilities as per Government of India orders. The advertisement does not state the number of years in the text we reviewed, so read the official PDF before assuming a limit.

Other conditions

Only Indian nationals can apply. Candidates claiming PwBD reservation need at least 40% of the relevant disability. Employed candidates must carry a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the employer to the interview. For full branch-wise rules, see the dedicated ISRO eligibility criteria page.

Application Fee and How to Apply

Payment is online only through the Bharatkosh gateway using internet banking, UPI or domestic debit cards. Refunds go to the bank account entered in the application, and only to candidates who actually appear in the test.

Steps to apply

1. Register on the National Career Services (NCS) portal if you have not already.

2. Open the official ISRO Careers page and select the advertisement ISRO:ICRB:03(EMC):2026.

3. Fill in the application with a valid email ID, your qualification details and your preferred test city.

4. Upload a recent photograph and your signature in the prescribed format.

5. Pay the processing fee online and keep the registration number safe.

Edits are not allowed after submission, and if you submit duplicate applications, only the one with the fee received by the deadline is considered. The test city chosen in the form cannot be changed later.

Exam Pattern

The written test is a computer-based test of 100 marks with two parts.

Part A carries a deduction of one-third mark for each wrong answer. Part B has no negative marking. To qualify, unreserved candidates need at least 50% in each part, and PwBD candidates (where posts are reserved) need 40%.

What this means for you:

• Part A decides your rank: it carries four times the marks of Part B, so most of your preparation time belongs to core engineering subjects.

• Do not skip Part B: missing the 50% line in either part ends your candidature even if the other part is strong.

• Guess with care: a wrong answer costs one-third of a mark, so guess only after you can remove at least one option.

Older pages and earlier-year articles may show different structures, so follow the current advertisement. The full breakdown is on the ISRO exam pattern page.

Syllabus Summary

ISRO names the two parts of the test but does not publish a topic-wise syllabus in the advertisement. The table below is a working checklist built from the standard engineering curriculum and from the previous papers ISRO itself publishes. It is not an official list.

Go deeper in the ISRO Scientist/Engineer syllabus page.

Selection Process

1. Written test (CBT): 100 marks as described above, with the qualifying minimums.

2. Shortlisting: candidates are shortlisted for the interview in the ratio of 1:5 against vacancies, with a minimum of 10 candidates, based on written test performance.

3. Interview: 100 marks, split as technical knowledge 40, general awareness in the area of specialisation 20, presentation and communication 20, comprehension 10 and academic achievements 10.

4. Final panel: written test and interview carry 50% weightage each. Unreserved candidates need at least 50% in the interview and 60% in aggregate; PwBD candidates need 40% and 50%.

Ties are broken in this order: written test marks, marks in the essential qualification, and then date of birth, with the older candidate ranked higher. ISRO may change interview and selection criteria for administrative reasons.

Salary and Career Growth

Appointees are covered under the New Pension Scheme. In-hand salary depends on the city of posting and on allowances, and the advertisement does not give an in-hand figure, so treat any such number you see elsewhere as an estimate. ISRO scientists work on launch vehicles, satellites, ground systems and space applications, and growth beyond Level 10 follows the departmental promotion process.

How to Prepare for ISRO Scientist/Engineer

Build the core first

Part A is a test of your undergraduate fundamentals. Revise the subjects of your discipline in the order of their weight in previous papers, and solve numerical problems by hand rather than only reading theory. Engineering mathematics supports every discipline and is worth covering early.

Use ISRO's own papers

The official ISRO Careers page hosts previous question papers for Electronics, Mechanical and Computer Science. Solving them under a timer is the best way to understand the real difficulty and the style of questions.

Practise in the CBT format

Since Part A allows 90 minutes for 80 questions, you have a little over a minute per question. Timed practice shows where you lose time. For this, you can attempt ISRO-pattern online tests on Testkart as they become available for your discipline, and use the section-wise analysis to plan revision.

A simple phased plan

1. Weeks 1 to 4: revise core subjects and engineering mathematics.

2. Weeks 5 to 8: topic-wise questions, previous papers and Part B reasoning practice.

3. Final weeks: full-length timed tests, same-day analysis and an error log of repeated mistakes.

Also start preparing for the interview early. Revise your final-year project, your core subjects and basic space-science awareness related to your specialisation.

Cut-off Reference

ISRO publishes qualifying criteria in the advertisement, and these are fixed. The marks needed to reach the interview shortlist are not fixed and depend on the year, so treat them as a benchmark only.

Cut-offs change every year with difficulty, vacancies and the number of applicants. Aim for a clear margin above the qualifying line rather than a bare pass. More detail is on the ISRO cut-off page. Official updates are on the ISRO ICRB Scientist/Engineer notification page.