Salary report · 2026 to date
Hardware Engineering jobs in United States advertised a median of $143K a year in 2026 (middle half $113K–$187K), from 356 job postings on JobRipe. Figures come only from pay ranges employers published; estimates are never counted.
Number of postings by yearly midpoint. The first and last bands also hold the lowest and highest 5%.
Every row rests on at least 5 postings; groups with fewer are left out.
| Level | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internship | $52K – $58K | $58K | $28.00 | 9 |
| Entry level | $102K – $115K | $107K | $51.60 | 17 |
| Mid level | $102K – $144K | $119K | $57.02 | 170 |
| Senior | $150K – $205K | $175K | $84.19 | 100 |
| Staff/Principal | $184K – $229K | $216K | $104 | 26 |
| Manager | $149K – $207K | $190K | $91.23 | 29 |
| Director | $241K – $250K | $241K | $116 | 5 |
JobRipe, "What Hardware Engineering jobs pay in the United States, 2026", https://jobripe.com/salary-reports/2026/us/hardware (23 October 2026).
Journalists and researchers are welcome to quote these figures with a link to this page. Questions about the data: support@jobripe.com
The median advertised pay is $143K a year (about $68.95 an hour), from 356 job postings on JobRipe that published a pay range between 21 January 2026 and 23 October 2026. Half of them fall between $113K and $187K.
One in ten postings advertised $222K a year or more; one in ten advertised $88K or less.
By median advertised pay, among cities with enough postings: San Mateo $250K; San Francisco $248K; Santa Clara $225K; Irvine $213K.
| Workplace | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On-site | $111K – $190K | $141K | $67.60 | 253 |
| Remote | $114K – $170K | $143K | $68.89 | 99 |
| City | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Beach | $129K – $185K | $163K | $78.37 | 38 |
| San Jose | $183K – $203K | $197K | $94.71 | 18 |
| Redmond | $115K – $145K | $121K | $58.29 | 18 |
| San Francisco | $128K – $356K | $248K | $119 | 17 |
| Hawthorne | $109K – $155K | $123K | $58.89 | 13 |
| Washington | $112K – $164K | $126K | $60.74 | 12 |
| Palo Alto | $155K – $228K | $203K | $97.36 | 9 |
| San Mateo | $204K – $256K | $250K | $120 | 8 |
| Sunnyvale | $143K – $183K | $153K | $73.68 | 8 |
| Pasadena | $121K – $210K | $146K | $69.97 | 8 |
| Santa Clara | $225K – $288K | $225K | $108 | 5 |
| Irvine | $213K – $213K | $213K | $102 | 5 |
| Silver Spring | $52K – $146K | $119K | $57.21 | 5 |
| Company | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SpaceX | $115K – $208K | $145K | $69.71 | 47 |
| Rocket Lab Corporation | $107K – $179K | $140K | $67.20 | 34 |
| Relativity Space | $133K – $185K | $165K | $79.33 | 23 |
| Muon Space | $183K – $203K | $193K | $92.79 | 21 |
| U.S. Army Corps of Engineers | $91K – $116K | $103K | $49.49 | 15 |
| Peloton | $141K – $189K | $156K | $74.89 | 9 |
| Verkada | $204K – $256K | $250K | $120 | 8 |
| Applied | $143K – $183K | $153K | $73.68 | 8 |
| Bureau of Reclamation | $104K – $114K | $114K | $54.66 | 7 |
| OpenAI | $310K – $356K | $345K | $166 | 6 |
| Samsara | $121K – $221K | $196K | $94.13 | 6 |
| Boeing | $110K – $116K | $116K | $55.77 | 6 |
| Woolpert | $98K – $110K | $98K | $47.12 | 6 |
| Everpure | $225K – $288K | $225K | $108 | 5 |
| Enercon Services, Inc. | $144K – $200K | $153K | $73.32 | 5 |
| Company size | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-size | $155K – $201K | $175K | $84.35 | 42 |
| Large | $118K – $198K | $164K | $78.61 | 90 |
| Enterprise | $118K – $213K | $155K | $74.52 | 97 |
| Industry | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware | $104K – $182K | $130K | $62.50 | 31 |
| Ai | $319K – $383K | $356K | $171 | 11 |
Median advertised pay is $143K for remote postings (99) and $141K for on-site ones (253). Remote and on-site roles also differ in seniority and employer, so this is not a like-for-like comparison.