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Director, hardware engineering salary
Average director, hardware engineering salary
$182,954
Understanding Director, Hardware Engineering Salaries
The role of a Director of Hardware Engineering is critical in technology and engineering sectors, overseeing the development and implementation of hardware systems. As of October 2025, the average salary for this position is $182,954 annually, which reflects both the high level of expertise required and the responsibilities involved.
Factors influencing salary include years of experience, industry, and geographic location. Directors with over ten years of experience typically earn significantly more, with salaries rising alongside their expertise. For instance, positions in major tech hubs like San Francisco or New York often command higher salaries due to the cost of living and demand for skilled professionals.
Additionally, understanding salary trends by state can provide insights into where to seek employment. States like California and Washington report some of the highest salaries for this role. Therefore, job seekers can enhance their career prospects by targeting positions in these lucrative areas.
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Where can a Director, Hardware Engineering earn more?
Director, hardware engineering salaries by experience level
Average director, hardware engineering salary by state
The average director, hardware engineering salary in Alaska, Nevada, and Wisconsin are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average director, hardware engineering salary states are Wyoming, Minnesota, and Florida.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for directors, hardware engineering
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | $187,028 | $89.92 |
| 2 | Washington | $180,117 | $86.59 |
| 3 | Wisconsin | $182,634 | $87.80 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $181,985 | $87.49 |
| 5 | Arkansas | $161,956 | $77.86 |
| 6 | Rhode Island | $167,549 | $80.55 |
| 7 | Maine | $171,184 | $82.30 |
| 8 | Nevada | $184,971 | $88.93 |
| 9 | Connecticut | $177,321 | $85.25 |
| 10 | New Hampshire | $168,829 | $81.17 |
| 11 | Oregon | $167,115 | $80.34 |
| 12 | Montana | $167,421 | $80.49 |
| 13 | New York | $176,322 | $84.77 |
| 14 | Alabama | $155,225 | $74.63 |
| 15 | Mississippi | $153,902 | $73.99 |
| 16 | Oklahoma | $154,366 | $74.21 |
| 17 | Idaho | $159,981 | $76.91 |
| 18 | Illinois | $170,443 | $81.94 |
| 19 | Pennsylvania | $163,260 | $78.49 |
| 20 | Indiana | $159,908 | $76.88 |
| 21 | New Jersey | $173,236 | $83.29 |
| 22 | South Dakota | $156,772 | $75.37 |
| 23 | North Dakota | $152,620 | $73.38 |
| 24 | Delaware | $158,898 | $76.39 |
| 25 | Hawaii | $164,347 | $79.01 |
| 26 | Michigan | $153,422 | $73.76 |
| 27 | Louisiana | $148,528 | $71.41 |
| 28 | California | $174,568 | $83.93 |
| 29 | Ohio | $154,249 | $74.16 |
| 30 | North Carolina | $153,971 | $74.02 |
| 31 | Colorado | $156,168 | $75.08 |
| 32 | Georgia | $154,426 | $74.24 |
| 33 | Iowa | $138,968 | $66.81 |
| 34 | Vermont | $157,379 | $75.66 |
| 35 | Utah | $141,237 | $67.90 |
| 36 | Nebraska | $147,541 | $70.93 |
| 37 | Wyoming | $137,532 | $66.12 |
| 38 | West Virginia | $142,259 | $68.39 |
| 39 | Virginia | $146,004 | $70.19 |
| 40 | Texas | $147,263 | $70.80 |
| 41 | Kansas | $146,162 | $70.27 |
| 42 | Arizona | $144,803 | $69.62 |
| 43 | Maryland | $145,358 | $69.88 |
| 44 | District of Columbia | $141,698 | $68.12 |
| 45 | New Mexico | $140,571 | $67.58 |
| 46 | Tennessee | $141,036 | $67.81 |
| 47 | Minnesota | $136,943 | $65.84 |
| 48 | South Carolina | $132,354 | $63.63 |
| 49 | Florida | $133,456 | $64.16 |
| 50 | Kentucky | $133,046 | $63.96 |
| 51 | Missouri | $132,442 | $63.67 |
Highest paying cities for directors, hardware engineering
The highest-paying cities for directors, hardware engineering are Boston, MA, San Francisco, CA, and Richmond, CA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston, MA | $185,175 | $89.03 |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $184,666 | $88.78 |
| 3 | Richmond, CA | $184,579 | $88.74 |
| 4 | Marlborough, MA | $184,548 | $88.72 |
| 5 | Burlingame, CA | $184,487 | $88.70 |
| 6 | Berkeley, CA | $184,411 | $88.66 |
| 7 | Palo Alto, CA | $184,078 | $88.50 |
| 8 | Hayward, CA | $184,037 | $88.48 |
| 9 | Mountain View, CA | $183,964 | $88.44 |
| 10 | Sunnyvale, CA | $183,869 | $88.40 |
| 11 | Cupertino, CA | $183,861 | $88.39 |
| 12 | Saratoga, CA | $183,834 | $88.38 |
| 13 | Santa Clara, CA | $183,766 | $88.35 |
| 14 | San Jose, CA | $183,501 | $88.22 |
| 15 | Agoura Hills, CA | $176,093 | $84.66 |
| 16 | Irvine, CA | $174,492 | $83.89 |
| 17 | Lincolnshire, IL | $173,072 | $83.21 |
| 18 | San Diego, CA | $173,065 | $83.20 |
| 19 | Chicago, IL | $172,575 | $82.97 |
| 20 | Corvallis, OR | $169,337 | $81.41 |
Director, hardware engineering salary details
A director, hardware engineering's salary ranges from $128,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $260,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a director, hardware engineering's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $260,000 | $21,667 | $125 |
| 75th Percentile | $220,000 | $18,333 | $106 |
| Average | $182,954 | $15,246 | $88 |
| 25th Percentile | $152,000 | $12,667 | $73 |
| 10th Percentile | $128,000 | $10,667 | $62 |
Highest paying director, hardware engineering jobs
The highest paying types of directors, hardware engineering are engineering director, senior engineering manager, and vice president of engineering.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research And Development Director | $137,944 | $11,495 | $66.32 | 102,901 |
| Research And Development Manager | $117,507 | $9,792 | $56.49 | 125,447 |
| Engineering/Maintenance Manager | $99,907 | $8,326 | $48.03 | 125,639 |
| Design Manager | $102,637 | $8,553 | $49.34 | 61,273 |
| Engineering Operations Manager | $122,682 | $10,223 | $58.98 | 125,798 |
| Engineering Services Manager | $132,039 | $11,003 | $63.48 | 141,613 |
Top companies hiring directors, hardware engineering now:
Which companies pay directors, hardware engineering the most?
Director, hardware engineering salaries at NVIDIA and Juniper Networks are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average director, hardware engineering salary at companies like Honeywell and Samsara are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NVIDIA | $232,111 | $111.59 |
| 2 | Juniper Networks | $202,481 | $97.35 |
| 3 | Honeywell | $196,762 | $94.60 |
| 4 | Samsara | $196,181 | $94.32 |
| 5 | X Cafe | $195,714 | $94.09 |
| 6 | Mojo Vision | $195,340 | $93.91 |
| 7 | Rigetti Computing | $192,965 | $92.77 |
| 8 | Synaptics | $192,725 | $92.66 |
| 9 | Synergys Biotherapeutics | $191,465 | $92.05 |
| 10 | Cadence Design Systems | $188,551 | $90.65 |
| 11 | Intelsat | $187,402 | $90.10 |
| 12 | Agility | $186,408 | $89.62 |
| 13 | Amd | $184,394 | $88.65 |
| 14 | Qualcomm | $178,784 | $85.95 |
| 15 | Philips | $177,901 | $85.53 |
| 16 | Oni Press | $176,455 | $84.83 |
| 17 | Applied Materials | $163,641 | $78.67 |
| 18 | Western Digital | $157,778 | $75.85 |
| 19 | Abbott | $156,809 | $75.39 |
| 20 | Zebra Technologies | $156,719 | $75.35 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Director, Hardware Engineering salary by industry
The average director, hardware engineering salary varies across industries:
- The average director, hardware engineering salary in the start-up industry is $187,196, the highest of any industry.
- The average director, hardware engineering salary in the finance industry is $182,649.
- Directors, hardware engineering in the manufacturing industry earn an average salary of $162,514, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for directors, hardware engineering
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start-up | $187,196 | $90.00 |
| 2 | Automotive | $182,649 | $87.81 |
| 3 | Technology | $178,724 | $85.92 |
| 4 | Telecommunication | $177,702 | $85.43 |
| 5 | Manufacturing | $162,514 | $78.13 |
High paying director, hardware engineering jobs
Director, hardware engineering salary trends
The average director, hardware engineering salary has risen by $33,451 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average director, hardware engineering earned $149,503 annually, but today, they earn $182,954 a year. That works out to a 11% change in pay for directors, hardware engineering over the last decade.
Compare director, hardware engineering salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average director, hardware engineering salary over time
Compare director, hardware engineering salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Director, hardware engineering salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $183,000 | $87.96 | +3.1% |
| 2025 | $177,000 | $85.19 | +2.8% |
| 2024 | $172,000 | $82.80 | +2.2% |
| 2023 | $169,000 | $81.01 | +2.2% |
| 2022 | $165,000 | $79.25 | +1.4% |
Recently added director, hardware engineering salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyngn | Director of Engineering, Hardware | Mountain View, CA | 06/22/2025 | $220,000 |
| Cyngn | Director of Engineering, Hardware | Mountain View, CA | 05/28/2025 | $220,000 |
| Gigamon | SR. Director, Hardware Engineering-Santa Clara, CA-Hybrid | Santa Clara, CA | 05/24/2025 | $244,000 |
| SiLC Technologies, Inc. | Director of Hardware Engineering | Monrovia, CA | 05/24/2025 | $170,000 |
| Hyve Solutions | Director, Hardware Engineering | Fremont, CA | 04/29/2025 | $177,000 |
| Echostar | Director-Hardware Engineering | Germantown, MD | 03/28/2025 | $131,000 |
| Hyve Solutions | Director, Hardware Engineering | Fremont, CA | 03/28/2025 | $177,000 |
| Palo Alto Networks | SR Director Hardware Quality and Compliance Engineering | Santa Clara, CA | 03/26/2025 | $211,000 |
| Fellows Industries | Director of Hardware Engineering | San Francisco, CA | 03/26/2025 | $190,000 |
| Sambanova Systems | Director, Hardware Systems Engineering | Palo Alto, CA | 03/26/2025 | $230,000 |
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