Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Job outlook for linux engineers in the United States
Linux engineer job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected linux engineer job growth rate is 5% from 2018-2028.
About 18,200 new jobs for linux engineers are projected over the next decade.
Linux engineer salaries have increased 9% for linux engineers in the last 5 years.
There are over 19,097 linux engineers currently employed in the United States.
There are 62,808 active linux engineer job openings in the US.
The average linux engineer salary is $103,666.
Are linux engineer jobs in demand?
Linux engineer job and salary trends over time
Linux engineer jobs over time
Linux engineer job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 19,097 | 0.01% |
| 2020 | 9,640 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 8,207 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 6,171 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 6,319 | 0.00% |
Average linux engineer salary over time
Linux engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $103,666 | $49.84 | +3.4% |
| 2024 | $100,251 | $48.20 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $97,981 | $47.11 | +1.2% |
| 2022 | $96,846 | $46.56 | +1.8% |
| 2021 | $95,175 | $45.76 | +2.4% |
Linux engineer jobs by state
Most common states for linux engineers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 508 | 73% |
| 2 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 2,281 | 27% |
| 3 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 1,562 | 26% |
| 4 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 1,055 | 19% |
| 5 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,205 | 18% |
| 6 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 453 | 15% |
| 7 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 932 | 13% |
| 8 | Delaware | 961,939 | 128 | 13% |
| 9 | California | 39,536,653 | 4,829 | 12% |
| 10 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 511 | 12% |
| 11 | Vermont | 623,657 | 73 | 12% |
| 12 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 152 | 11% |
| 13 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 724 | 10% |
| 14 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 909 | 9% |
| 15 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 518 | 9% |
| 16 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 457 | 9% |
| 17 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 178 | 9% |
| 18 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 91 | 9% |
| 19 | Alaska | 739,795 | 65 | 9% |
| 20 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 677 | 8% |
Most common cities for linux engineers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oak Ridge | 5 | 17% | $103,597 |
| 2 | Springfield | 2 | 7% | $103,386 |
| 3 | Milpitas | 4 | 5% | $128,409 |
| 4 | Bethesda | 3 | 5% | $109,568 |
| 5 | Frisco | 3 | 2% | $92,866 |
| 6 | Santa Clara | 2 | 2% | $128,304 |
| 7 | Tampa | 3 | 1% | $90,253 |
| 8 | Orlando | 2 | 1% | $90,632 |
| 9 | New York | 8 | 0% | $121,986 |
| 10 | Houston | 3 | 0% | $92,781 |
| 11 | Los Angeles | 3 | 0% | $112,573 |
| 12 | Baltimore | 2 | 0% | $109,990 |
| 13 | Colorado Springs | 2 | 0% | $81,089 |
| 14 | San Diego | 2 | 0% | $110,502 |
| 15 | Washington | 2 | 0% | $91,025 |
| 16 | Anaheim | 1 | 0% | $112,076 |
Linux Engineer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of linux engineer experts
Northwood University
Albertus Magnus College
Bakersfield College
Portland State University
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
University of New Hampshire
Indiana University Bloomington
Kennesaw State University
Pennsylvania State University - Great Valley
Professor David Sanford
Associate Professor an Department Chair (MIS, CS, CYB MGT, IS CYB)Northwood University
Computer And Information Sciences
What general advice would you give to a Linux Engineer?
Professor David Sanford: Workers like that they are challenged to solve problems and lead technological innovations.
They appreciate the diversity of projects
They enjoy the need for continuous improvement and education
Many see the global impact of their work.
They also desire and appreciate the need for versatile skills
A competitive salary is also an item that employees like
Workers dislike that the work can be stressful
Dealing with tight deadlines and/ or cybersecurity concerns.
This is a positive and a negative: The need to constantly stay up to date with technology can be a bit overwhelming for some.
There may be times of isolation, and
The unexpected system failures can be frustrating as they often require extra hours or the need to be on-call.
The multiple responsibilities and managing repetitive tasks are also issues workers point out in this field.
In short, the workplace offers exciting opportunities but comes with its fair share of pressures and challenges. Different people have different experiences based on their roles and personal preferences.
David Garaventa
Director, Computer Information Systems and Cybersecurity Programs, Assistant Professor, CISAlbertus Magnus College
Business Administration and Management Department
What skills stand out on Linux Engineer resumes?
David Garaventa: The skills/attributes required across a variety of jobs in the IT fields.
What general advice would you give to a Linux Engineer?
Maryam Farahani: Thinking about the fields they want to experience or try. And to be intentional about their job search. The best advice is learning as much as they can about what company offers. Visualizing themselves in the next 5 years as a starting point. Do they want to travel a lot, or be in management positions? Do they want to be subject matter expert, or a hands-on engineer or technologist? Their goal may change as they progress in their career but having one makes a big difference in their career choices and keeping them on track.
Dr. Wayne Wakeland Ph.D.
Professor and Systems Science Program ChairPortland State University
Systems science program
What Linux Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Wayne Wakeland Ph.D.: For analyst positions, I think that employers want to hire people with strong data analysis skills, which, of course, includes statistics, but also big data, machine learning (algorithms), computer-based modeling, and programming. And, in addition to these apparently rather specialized skills, there is growing recognition that a talent for thinking, communicating, and problem-solving in a very general sense, and being able to cope with/address complexity, is also quite important.
Dr. T.S. Kalkur
Department ChairUniversity of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
What experience really stands out on Linux Engineer resumes?
Dr. T.S. Kalkur: Internship experience and tools used in design.
Marc Lessard
ProfessorUniversity of New Hampshire
Physics and Astronomy Department and Space Science Center
What type of skills will young Linux Engineers need?
Marc Lessard: This is a very good and important question. Graduates who can address complex problems in creative ways will be the most successful. This might sound obvious, but there seems to be a trend developing where younger engineers tend to want to follow written procedures or instructions for solving problems.
What is more valuable, of course, is being able to use a broad-based background to provide new and creative solutions, or at least to suggest new ideas and engage in discussions to further develop those ideas. The cliche of "thinking outside the box" will always be important.
Dr. Ariful Azad Ph.D.
Director of Graduate Studies for the Dept. of Intelligent Systems Engineering, Assistant Professor of Intelligent Systems EngineeringIndiana University Bloomington
Department of Intelligent Systems Engineering
What general advice would you give to a Linux Engineer?
Dr. Ariful Azad Ph.D.: Look for a job that you would enjoy doing, even if it takes some time to find such a position. Internships are great to explore various options.
What experience really stands out on Linux Engineer resumes?
Adeel Khalid Ph.D.: It is the age of diversity. A graduate can stand out when their resume shows a broad portfolio of experiences. In addition to a solid academic record, students who demonstrate that they can take on challenging tasks and work beyond a degree's basic requirements are more likely to be successful. I advise students to get involved in various activities, including undergraduate research projects, student design competitions, student organizations, internships, co-ops, etc. All of these should be highlighted on the resume. When a recruiter sees an overview of a student that shows relevant work experience in the form of work-study, internships, or co-op or research, their resume automatically comes to the top of the pile.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Linux Engineers?
Nil Ergin Ph.D.: The pandemic disrupts all systems. With disruptions, new forms of services, delivery formats, and jobs will emerge. One overall result of the epidemic is that tech companies consider allowing employees to work remotely, beyond the end of the pandemic. Emerging work from the home norm will enable companies to hire a diverse and distributed workforce and compete for technical talent nationwide. This will also create a demand for IT capabilities and create a network of shared workspaces. Graduates need to diversify their skill sets to adapt and be agile to new forms of change.