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Job outlook for digital design engineers in the United States
Digital design engineer job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected digital design engineer job growth rate is 3% from 2018-2028.
About 9,800 new jobs for digital design engineers are projected over the next decade.
Digital design engineer salaries have increased 8% for digital design engineers in the last 5 years.
There are over 12,787 digital design engineers currently employed in the United States.
There are 87,167 active digital design engineer job openings in the US.
The average digital design engineer salary is $108,993.
Are digital design engineer jobs in demand?
Digital design engineer job and salary trends over time
Digital design engineer jobs over time
Digital design engineer job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12,787 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 12,339 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 12,963 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 12,348 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 13,077 | 0.00% |
Average digital design engineer salary over time
Digital design engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $108,993 | $52.40 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | $106,996 | $51.44 | +2.8% |
| 2023 | $104,087 | $50.04 | +0.5% |
| 2022 | $103,560 | $49.79 | +3.0% |
| 2021 | $100,550 | $48.34 | +1.0% |
Digital design engineer jobs by state
Most common states for digital design engineers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 338 | 49% |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,440 | 21% |
| 3 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 767 | 19% |
| 4 | Delaware | 961,939 | 186 | 19% |
| 5 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,431 | 17% |
| 6 | California | 39,536,653 | 6,199 | 16% |
| 7 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,199 | 16% |
| 8 | Vermont | 623,657 | 97 | 16% |
| 9 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 906 | 15% |
| 10 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 808 | 14% |
| 11 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 786 | 14% |
| 12 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 103 | 14% |
| 13 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 415 | 13% |
| 14 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 169 | 13% |
| 15 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 124 | 12% |
| 16 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 804 | 11% |
| 17 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 397 | 11% |
| 18 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 64 | 11% |
| 19 | Michigan | 9,962,311 | 960 | 10% |
| 20 | Alaska | 739,795 | 77 | 10% |
Most common cities for digital design engineers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manhattan Beach | 3 | 8% | $121,575 |
| 2 | Cupertino | 4 | 7% | $134,360 |
| 3 | Santa Clara | 7 | 6% | $134,330 |
| 4 | Annapolis | 1 | 3% | $98,275 |
| 5 | Cambridge | 2 | 2% | $101,439 |
| 6 | Tucson | 5 | 1% | $100,761 |
| 7 | Arlington | 2 | 1% | $96,898 |
| 8 | Phoenix | 4 | 0% | $102,297 |
| 9 | Denver | 3 | 0% | $94,745 |
| 10 | Baltimore | 2 | 0% | $98,416 |
| 11 | Dallas | 2 | 0% | $110,006 |
| 12 | Indianapolis | 2 | 0% | $79,348 |
| 13 | New York | 2 | 0% | $85,016 |
| 14 | Sacramento | 2 | 0% | $133,917 |
| 15 | San Diego | 2 | 0% | $116,640 |
| 16 | San Jose | 2 | 0% | $134,156 |
| 17 | Washington | 2 | 0% | $128,173 |
| 18 | Atlanta | 1 | 0% | $88,640 |
| 19 | Baton Rouge | 1 | 0% | $87,936 |
Digital Design Engineer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of digital design engineer experts
Gonzaga University
Stevens Institute of Technology
University of Alabama at Birmingham
San Diego State University
Murray State University
The University of Texas at Austin
Arizona State University
University of Connecticut
Old Dominion University
University of Central Florida
Michigan Technological University
University of Mississippi
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Wright State University
What Digital Design Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Steven Schennum Ph.D. P.E.: The most important skill is the ability to learn new things, and especially to unlearn things you “know” after evidence demonstrates that these things are not true. Learn how to analyze information. Your intuition, simulations, and results should all be in alignment. If they are not, then dig deeper. Learn the terminology and jargon specific to your company and your projects. Spend time reading. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be intimidated by new software.
What Digital Design Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Min Song: Communication skills and innovative thinking skills. As emerging technologies continue to be complex and multidisciplinary, it’s important to be able to communicate with professionals in diverse disciplines. Taking robotics, for example, the electrical engineer must be able to work with mechanical and biomechanical engineers, computer engineers, software engineers, artificial intelligence experts, cognitive scientists, system engineers, etc. A person will be able to generate innovative ideas only if the person has a complete and comprehensive understanding of the entire system and can work well with other individuals with a range of expertise.
What will help Digital Design Engineers increase their earning potential?
Min Song: Have an open mind and be willing to learn new knowledge and skills. College education primarily focuses on the development of critical and creative thinking skills, the learning of fundamental principles and design methodologies, and the building up of enthusiasm and dedication to lifelong learning. Starting a professional career requires new graduates develop the ability to translate the knowledge and skills developed in school to solving complex, real-world problems.
What Digital Design Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Arie Nakhmani: Electrical Engineering has always (from its inception) been a good profession to enter, but now it is better than ever. Now everything is becoming Electrical Engineering, and the world cannot survive without it even for a few days. Electrical Engineering is the most necessary profession for the survival of modern society.
What will help Digital Design Engineers increase their earning potential?
Dr. Arif Engin: Electrical engineers solve problems by skillfully applying mathematics and science. Electrical engineering classes are challenging at college, and electrical engineers must embrace lifelong learning to remain at the top of their skills. In the end, seeing the results of their work in a finished product is a rewarding experience.
Bryant Harrison
InstructorMurray State University
Design Engineering Technology
What skills stand out on Digital Design Engineer resumes?
Bryant Harrison: Design Engineers should be able to think creatively and be prepared to use software to solve problems. Students who have acquired certifications in design software have shown some level of aptitude toward using that software to create and design engineering solutions.
Sanjay Banerjee Ph.D.
ProfessorThe University of Texas at Austin
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
What's a good job out of college for Digital Design Engineers?
Sanjay Banerjee Ph.D.: Electrical Engineering is one of most sought after degrees. Starting salaries for undergrads are over 70k$ per year. They work in electronics circuit and system design, wireless communication systems and computers.
Philip Horton
Interim School Director, Clinical Assistant ProfessorArizona State University
The Design School, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Digital Design Engineers?
Philip Horton: I think there will be a few enduring impacts.
One impact is that there has been a bit of a slow down in the market for a number of firms, due to the economic impacts of the pandemic. But an imminent stimulus package will hopefully provide a fairly quick course correction there.
More enduring is that much of the professional world has learned to work remotely -- at-scale -- over the last year. So how we work and collaborate on projects will continue to transform beyond the pandemic.
Also, public spaces, offices, restaurants, and retail have all been impacted by the pandemic. Many have made tactical changes to the designs of their physical environments and to their services. These responses, and uncertainty about future public health concerns, will change the way we design spaces and services going forward.
How have salaries changed over time for Digital Design Engineers?
Philip Horton: Like a lot of fields, salaries in architecture had been stagnant for years following the 2008 Great Recession. But like a lot of fields, salaries were rising remarkably in the years running up to the pandemic. And in spite of some of the economic uncertainty of the past year, it appears that salaries will continue to steadily rise as we move forward from this pandemic.
What type of skills will young Digital Design Engineers need?
John Chandy Ph.D.: I don't think my answer to this question would be any different to what I may have answered a decade ago. The technical skills that they acquire as a student will establish their qualifications to do the work. That means understanding the fundamentals of computer engineering hardware and software as well as more advanced training in specific areas of interest. However, to be truly effective in a company, they need to be able to communicate (both orally and in written form) and they need to show that they can work in a team. Most modern engineering systems will often require a computer engineer to design the control/compute interface and that often requires that the computer engineer be able to understand the language of electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, and computer scientists. Finally, computer engineering is a fast-moving field, and new graduates should be prepared to continuously learn new technologies and approaches.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Digital Design Engineers?
Michel Audette Ph.D.: My take on this is what I've seen with my wife's work in industry, which suggests that the industrial landscape is going to be increasingly equipped for, and open to, remote work. I think that the implication for graduates is that they may need to be flexible about working within a geographically distributed team. If company deciders feel that someone is worth employing because of a unique skill set, then they would typically be more willing to hire that person even if unable to make it to work regularly, if that is feasible given the nature of the work; some work, such as hardware testing or industrial production, may not lend itself to remote contributions.
Nonetheless, for those areas that accommodate geographically distributed activity, such as software development, graduates can expect to interact with team members all over the US, possibly all over the world, if someone is deemed unique enough to hire despite living abroad. This places a high premium on the ability and willingness to work in a heterogeneous team, where not only will members look different, but also have myriad accents in their English, which will also impose a certain adaptability and tolerance to team members.
A related impact could also be that global hiring will make it easier for multi-national companies to hire a portion of their talent in countries where wages are lower and motivate US-based engineers to seek out graduate degrees in order to increase their competitiveness and employability at US salaries.
Maria Jacob
ProfessorUniversity of Central Florida
Department of ECE
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Digital Design Engineers?
Maria Jacob: Well, this is a somewhat difficult question, since it's hard to predict what is going to happen.
Given the current research, everything seems to indicate that even with the vaccine, we won't be able to come back to what we were used to for a long time.
This will mean, work and classes from home for some time. Although I see and enjoy some of the advantages of staying at home (that go from clothing to saving money on gas), I feel we are losing some of the human contact we were used to. Of course, we have software like Zoom or Meet that helps us to communicate with others, but this virtuality is just simply different. For example, some students do just fine, and others can't deal with the fact that they have to write their questions over a chat. More than that, some students have family making everything more difficult.
There are other aspects that also impact the knowledge the new graduates have at the time of start working. For example, we as professors also have to take into account that we are living special circumstances and that some students may find this new system more difficult. Then, sometimes is easy to overcompensate and be more lenient with some things. If we are not careful this could lead to students graduating having less knowledge in some topics, where students pass a class not knowing certain topics that they should.
What experience really stands out on Digital Design Engineer resumes?
Maria Jacob: Well, this is a too general question to answer. It totally depends on which job you are applying. Is the graduate going to the industry or research? Is the job for testing, designing, coding? What will stand out will depend on this.
However, if I really have to choose one, I always thought that one of the most important things you can learn is to work in a multidisciplinary group. Then, if before graduation a student can have an internship either in the industry or in research that will definitely stand out.
What experience really stands out on Digital Design Engineer resumes?
Joshua Pearce Ph.D: There has been an ongoing trend of employers wanting to see students' work before interviewing or making a job offer. One of the best ways for graduates to stand out is to have made a significant contribution to an open-source project. Your resume then starts to look more like a portfolio than just a list of positions or skills. This is already mature in the computer and software industries, but now we see it in hardware. For example, in manufacturing industries, employers want to see your CAD work - what open-source designs have you shared on sites like YouMagine and MyMiniFactory?
How do you envision technology impacting Digital Design Engineers in the next 5 years?
Dr. John Daigle Ph.D.: Starting with automatic speech recognition and leading to biometrics in identifications/verifications of people and self-driving autonomous vehicles in the near future, artificial intelligence/machine learning continues to play a big role in the development of our society and our thinking with respect to ethics and safety. Additionally, wireless access to information and entertainment and connectivity for data-intensive applications in IoT and industrial IoT would skyrocket with emerging 5G and future technologies. Tomorrow's electrical engineers would work in interdisciplinary teams that would increasingly involve mechanical and biomedical engineers and computer scientists.
Robert Saunders P.E.
Assistant Department HeadUniversity of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Electrical Engineering Department
What general advice would you give to a Digital Design Engineer?
Robert Saunders P.E.: The job market for an electrical engineering student coming out of college is challenging right now. Many companies are still hiring electrical engineering students but, the students can't be as finicky about what jobs they are accepting. More than half of the students are starting their new jobs working remotely, which is a large shift from normal but the companies seem to be using this time to bring the new hires up to speed on policy, procedures, and industry regulations.
What general advice would you give to a Digital Design Engineer?
Fred Garber Ph.D.: I think the primary question, in the minds of those who are yet to graduate or are still searching, is in regard to the strength of the technical job market, especially the local job market. But you are in a position to definitively answer that question.
In you article, I would ask that you address the following:
Number of employers looking to fill and number of job offerings in the region (by engineering and computer science major) compared to last year and to the previous five years.
Any noticeable differences in job descriptions Zippia is receiving relative to work environment, benefits, starting salaries, etc.
Many of our soon-to-graduate students would be very interested in these quantitative and qualitative comparisons. Additionally, vast numbers of potential students would benefit from such information to guide their career choices.