Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Design release engineer salary
Average design release engineer salary
$98,886
Average Design Release Engineer Salary
The average salary for a Design Release Engineer stands at $98,886 per year, reflecting the demand for skilled professionals in this field. Factors influencing salary include geographic location, years of experience, and the specific industry of employment.
Salary by Experience Level
Entry-level positions typically start lower, while seasoned professionals with specialized skills can command higher wages. For example, those with over ten years of experience may earn upwards of $120,000 annually.
Top-Paying States
Design Release Engineers in states like California, Texas, and Massachusetts generally enjoy higher salaries than their counterparts in other regions. Understanding these geographic differences can guide job seekers in their search for optimal opportunities.
Career Opportunities
In addition to salary, the role offers diverse career paths across industries such as automotive, aerospace, and manufacturing. Continuous learning and certification in new technologies can further enhance job prospects and salary potential. By exploring these factors, aspiring Design Release Engineers can make informed career decisions.
Let Zippi find your next design release engineer job
Let Zippi find your next design release engineer job
Where can a Design Release Engineer earn more?
Design release engineer salaries by experience level
Design release engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average design release engineer salary by state
The average design release engineer salary in California, Washington, and Oregon are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average design release engineer salary states are Minnesota, Florida, and North Carolina.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for design release engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $132,437 | $63.67 |
| 2 | Washington | $111,674 | $53.69 |
| 3 | Oregon | $102,792 | $49.42 |
| 4 | Idaho | $101,444 | $48.77 |
| 5 | Arizona | $97,308 | $46.78 |
| 6 | Delaware | $97,665 | $46.95 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | $97,833 | $47.04 |
| 8 | Maryland | $100,963 | $48.54 |
| 9 | Alaska | $101,042 | $48.58 |
| 10 | New Mexico | $96,533 | $46.41 |
| 11 | Maine | $97,157 | $46.71 |
| 12 | Texas | $91,381 | $43.93 |
| 13 | Iowa | $93,253 | $44.83 |
| 14 | Massachusetts | $92,406 | $44.43 |
| 15 | District of Columbia | $95,150 | $45.75 |
| 16 | New York | $93,953 | $45.17 |
| 17 | Nevada | $94,171 | $45.27 |
| 18 | New Hampshire | $91,441 | $43.96 |
| 19 | Utah | $88,744 | $42.67 |
| 20 | Colorado | $90,128 | $43.33 |
| 21 | Indiana | $92,002 | $44.23 |
| 22 | New Jersey | $94,778 | $45.57 |
| 23 | Michigan | $85,462 | $41.09 |
| 24 | Wyoming | $85,660 | $41.18 |
| 25 | Alabama | $87,916 | $42.27 |
| 26 | Connecticut | $88,720 | $42.65 |
| 27 | Montana | $85,908 | $41.30 |
| 28 | Virginia | $85,367 | $41.04 |
| 29 | West Virginia | $88,495 | $42.55 |
| 30 | Vermont | $84,912 | $40.82 |
| 31 | Louisiana | $89,958 | $43.25 |
| 32 | Pennsylvania | $81,900 | $39.38 |
| 33 | Illinois | $80,315 | $38.61 |
| 34 | Ohio | $77,743 | $37.38 |
| 35 | South Carolina | $81,770 | $39.31 |
| 36 | Wisconsin | $79,601 | $38.27 |
| 37 | Oklahoma | $80,538 | $38.72 |
| 38 | Hawaii | $79,830 | $38.38 |
| 39 | South Dakota | $77,456 | $37.24 |
| 40 | Tennessee | $77,682 | $37.35 |
| 41 | North Dakota | $75,753 | $36.42 |
| 42 | Minnesota | $74,215 | $35.68 |
| 43 | North Carolina | $73,531 | $35.35 |
| 44 | Missouri | $78,037 | $37.52 |
| 45 | Georgia | $74,567 | $35.85 |
| 46 | Florida | $73,834 | $35.50 |
| 47 | Kentucky | $74,490 | $35.81 |
| 48 | Mississippi | $74,298 | $35.72 |
| 49 | Nebraska | $70,351 | $33.82 |
| 50 | Kansas | $68,216 | $32.80 |
| 51 | Arkansas | $64,521 | $31.02 |
Highest paying cities for design release engineers
The highest-paying cities for design release engineers are Palo Alto, CA, Newark, CA, and Mountain View, CA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palo Alto, CA | $142,886 | $68.70 |
| 2 | Newark, CA | $142,863 | $68.68 |
| 3 | Mountain View, CA | $142,810 | $68.66 |
| 4 | Fremont, CA | $142,791 | $68.65 |
| 5 | Santa Clara, CA | $142,714 | $68.61 |
| 6 | Gardena, CA | $128,950 | $62.00 |
| 7 | Torrance, CA | $128,673 | $61.86 |
| 8 | Anaheim, CA | $127,924 | $61.50 |
| 9 | Tustin, CA | $127,175 | $61.14 |
| 10 | Costa Mesa, CA | $126,841 | $60.98 |
| 11 | Irvine, CA | $126,798 | $60.96 |
| 12 | Everett, WA | $112,405 | $54.04 |
| 13 | Kirkland, WA | $112,138 | $53.91 |
| 14 | Phoenix, AZ | $97,914 | $47.07 |
| 15 | Cedar Park, TX | $92,037 | $44.25 |
| 16 | Indianapolis, IN | $91,722 | $44.10 |
| 17 | Grand Prairie, TX | $90,421 | $43.47 |
| 18 | Mio, MI | $86,203 | $41.44 |
| 19 | Saginaw, MI | $85,796 | $41.25 |
| 20 | Rochester Hills, MI | $85,668 | $41.19 |
Design release engineer salary details
A design release engineer's salary ranges from $72,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $134,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a design release engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $134,000 | $11,167 | $64 |
| 75th Percentile | $116,000 | $9,667 | $56 |
| Average | $98,886 | $8,241 | $48 |
| 25th Percentile | $84,000 | $7,000 | $40 |
| 10th Percentile | $72,000 | $6,000 | $35 |
Highest paying design release engineer jobs
The highest paying types of design release engineers are senior engineer, lead design engineer, and staff engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product Engineer | $89,645 | $7,470 | $43.10 | 157,888 |
| Research And Development Engineer | $100,169 | $8,347 | $48.16 | 187,910 |
| Project Engineer | $75,050 | $6,254 | $36.08 | 176,689 |
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
| Equipment Engineer | $97,539 | $8,128 | $46.89 | 108,449 |
| Staff Engineer | $107,530 | $8,961 | $51.70 | 277,011 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for design release engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Michael Rudisill
Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University
Top companies hiring design release engineers now:
Which companies pay design release engineers the most?
Design release engineer salaries at Waymo and Rivian are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average design release engineer salary at companies like Karma Automotive and Bartech are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waymo | $143,079 | $68.79 |
| 2 | Rivian | $111,960 | $53.83 |
| 3 | Karma Automotive | $107,835 | $51.84 |
| 4 | Bartech | $105,406 | $50.68 |
| 5 | Tesla | $104,933 | $50.45 |
| 6 | Faraday Technology | $101,497 | $48.80 |
| 7 | Lucid Motors | $101,463 | $48.78 |
| 8 | Visteon | $100,305 | $48.22 |
| 9 | General Motors | $99,036 | $47.61 |
| 10 | Ford Motor | $98,648 | $47.43 |
| 11 | ICONMA | $98,283 | $47.25 |
| 12 | Acro Service | $98,073 | $47.15 |
| 13 | Populus Group | $97,387 | $46.82 |
| 14 | Epitec | $93,018 | $44.72 |
| 15 | Faraday Future | $92,648 | $44.54 |
| 16 | FCA US LLC | $92,486 | $44.46 |
| 17 | Yazaki North America | $91,558 | $44.02 |
| 18 | Kelly Services | $91,285 | $43.89 |
| 19 | G-TECH | $91,193 | $43.84 |
| 20 | Nikola Motor | $90,970 | $43.74 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Design release engineer salary trends
The average design release engineer salary has risen by $11,988 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average design release engineer earned $86,898 annually, but today, they earn $98,886 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for design release engineers over the last decade.
Compare design release engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average design release engineer salary over time
Compare design release engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Design release engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $98,900 | $47.54 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | $97,000 | $46.63 | +1.2% |
| 2023 | $95,800 | $46.07 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $94,200 | $45.28 | +2.0% |
| 2021 | $92,300 | $44.39 | +0.7% |
Recently added design release engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slate Solutions | Interior Design Release Engineer | Troy, MI | 06/27/2025 | $115,000 |
| Faraday Future | Staff Design Release Engineer (DRE), Charging | Gardena, CA | 06/26/2025 | $130,000 |
| Rivian | SR. Design & Release Engineer-Interior & Small Lighting | Irvine, CA | 06/25/2025 | $107,000 |
| Oetiker Group | Senior Design Release Engineer (R&D Engineer) | Lancaster, NY | 06/10/2025 | $80,000 |
| Alten Technology USA | Design Release Engineer-Mechanisms | Newark, CA | 06/09/2025 | $110,000 |
| Staffmark Group | Design Release Engineer, Brake Components | Auburn Hills, MI | 05/30/2025 | $87,863 |
| Goken America | Design Release Engineer-Brakes | Newark, CA | 05/26/2025 | $125,220 |
| Goken | Design Release Engineer-Brakes | Southfield, MI | 05/24/2025 | $125,220 |
| Rivian | Staff Design & Release Engineer-Lighting | Irvine, CA | 05/15/2025 | $137,800 |
| Scout Motors | Engineer, Braking Design Release | Novi, MI | 05/10/2025 | $120,000 |
Design release engineer salary FAQs
Search for design release engineer jobs