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What is a hardware development engineer and how to become one
Hardware development engineers are responsible for the design, manufacture, installation, and upgrade of hardware components. The hardware components include computer mouse and keyboards, modems, circuit boards, disk drives, and others.
As a development engineer, you will modify hardware as well as design and develop new prototypes. You will also oversee the manufacturing process of new components and ensure that it is in line with the predesigned blueprint. You must test the new products to evaluate their functionality. Another responsibility is the assessment of the new hardware's compatibility with existing software.
The least educational requirement is a Bachelor's degree in electronics, engineering, computer programming, or similar fields. For this role, you must possess top-notch problem-solving and decision-making skills in addition to strong critical and analytical skills. You should be able to pay attention to details, reason deductively, and be very creative. Yearly, a hardware development engineer makes an average of $116,854.
What general advice would you give to a hardware development engineer?
Fred Garber Ph.D.
Professor, Electrical Engineering, Wright State University
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.
Avg. Salary $119,370
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 5%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.44%
Asian 29.72%
Black or African American 6.14%
Hispanic or Latino 10.47%
Unknown 2.89%
White 50.34%
Genderfemale 12.80%
male 87.20%
Age - 43American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 43Stress level is manageable
7.1 - high
Complexity level is challenging
7 - challenging
Work life balance is good
6.4 - fair
Hardware development engineer career paths
Key steps to become a hardware development engineer
Explore hardware development engineer education requirements
Start to develop specific hardware development engineer skills
Skills Percentages Hardware Development 7.00% Analog 6.19% PCB 5.24% Prototype 5.05% Firmware 4.56% Complete relevant hardware development engineer training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New hardware development engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a hardware development engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real hardware development engineer resumes.Research hardware development engineer duties and responsibilities
- Develop a LabVIEW application to automate the data acquisition of the qualification performance data.
- Direct PCB layout to ensure signal integrity, EMI constraints, and design goals are meet.
- Develop print circuit boards for lab bench, hand test and production test of digital and analog integrate circuits.
- Test and verify products meet RF and safety requirements, including UL, EMC, CE-Europe, and LV.
Prepare your hardware development engineer resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your hardware development engineer resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a hardware development engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable hardware development engineer resume templates
Build a professional hardware development engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your hardware development engineer resume.
Apply for hardware development engineer jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a hardware development engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first hardware development engineer job
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Average hardware development engineer salary
The average hardware development engineer salary in the United States is $119,370 per year or $57 per hour. Hardware development engineer salaries range between $88,000 and $161,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do hardware development engineers rate their job?
Hardware development engineer reviews
continuous learning
low scale pay which is not so good for the years of experience
Can't think of anything
Repairing rebuilding and diagnosising laptop and desktop computers. Along with trouble shooting and giving sound advice
Hardware Design Engineer's are few intellectuals in a company who has exposure to all the aspects of product life cycle. It needs versatile knowledge of all most of the things. I feel passionate dealing with electronics components and analyzing them. It is a flexible job. It is a Real time job.
At times software development team questions on hardware design without looking the code running the stuff irritates Must have some knowledge of coding as well
Updated January 8, 2025
