Engineering salaries: what engineering jobs advertise
Engineering postings that state pay run $124,500 to $206,500 for the middle half, median $161,500, from 19,966 paid postings from 3,712 employers. With function, level and industry matched, pay is +17.5% (about $23k a year) against other functions.
By Justin KullaLast updated
Engineering pay range
From 19,966 paid postings from 3,712 employers. Annual, in US dollars.
- Lower quarter
- $124,500
- Median
- $161,500
- Upper quarter
- $206,500
The median for all professional postings is $137,000, so Engineering is above it. With function, level and industry matched, Engineering pay is +17.5% (about $23k a year) against other functions.
Engineering pay by level
Levels with at least 30 paid postings from 8 employers.
| Group | Median | Middle half | Gap | Postings | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry level | $102,000 | $82,500 to $125,000 | n/a | 875 | 386 |
| Early career | $124,000 | $100,000 to $155,000 | n/a | 5,230 | 1,713 |
| Mid-level | $163,500 | $133,500 to $198,000 | n/a | 4,324 | 1,185 |
| Senior individual contributor | $180,000 | $147,500 to $220,000 | n/a | 7,007 | 1,797 |
| Manager | $209,000 | $165,000 to $250,000 | n/a | 1,615 | 675 |
| Director | $215,000 | $170,000 to $263,500 | n/a | 809 | 509 |
| VP and above | $250,000 | $190,000 to $299,000 | n/a | 106 | 94 |
Skills that go with higher Engineering pay
Skills listed on 50 or more paid postings from 10 employers in this function, by median pay.
| Skill | Median pay listing it | Raw gap | Gap, job mix matched | Postings | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PyTorch | $237,500 | +43.8% | +15.9% | 613 | 221 |
| TensorFlow | $232,500 | +40.9% | n/a | 233 | 113 |
| A/B Testing | $189,500 | +14.8% | n/a | 316 | 189 |
| Redis | $225,000 | +36.4% | n/a | 241 | 122 |
| Go-to-market | $200,000 | +23.1% | +5.4% | 3,202 | 974 |
Compare with other functions
The groups ranked just above and below by median.
Questions about this data
- How much do Engineering jobs pay?
- $124,500 to $206,500 for the middle half, median $161,500, from 19,966 paid postings from 3,712 employers that state pay. That is above the $137,000 median for all professional postings. It is advertised pay, not what people are paid.
- Is Engineering pay higher or lower once the job mix is matched?
- With function, level and industry matched, advertised pay is +17.5% (about $23k a year) against other functions.
- How does Engineering pay change with level?
- Entry level: $102,000; Early career: $124,000; Mid-level: $163,500; Senior individual contributor: $180,000; Manager: $209,000; Director: $215,000; VP and above: $250,000.
Method, download and how to cite
Data as of November 9, 2026. Rebuilt daily.
Pay is the midpoint of the range an employer posted (or stated in the posting text), converted to a year, on live U.S. professional jobs. It is advertised pay, not what anyone is paid.
A “gap, job mix matched” compares postings inside cells of the same function, level and industry, so a group is not credited for simply holding more senior or better-paid roles. It needs 150 or more postings across at least 5 cells with 15 postings on each side, and is shown as n/a otherwise. A gap is a difference in advertised pay between postings. It does not show that a skill, an industry or an employer size causes higher pay.
Download the CSV (aggregates only; no posting, employer or person is in it). Cite as: NextChapter, “Advertised pay in Engineering (function) on U.S. professional job postings”, data as of November 9, 2026, https://launchyournextchapter.com/resources/pay-data/function/engineering
See also the AI skills salary premium, which uses the same method for AI skills only, and the salary by job title pages.
More pay data
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