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Hardware test engineer salary

Average hardware test engineer salary

$108,602

$52.21 hourly rate

Entry-level hardware test engineer salary
$82,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

Average Hardware Test Engineer Salary

The average salary for a Hardware Test Engineer is $108,602 annually, translating to about $52 per hour. Salaries can vary significantly depending on factors such as experience level, education, and geographic location. Entry-level engineers typically earn less, while those with several years of experience can command higher wages.

Where Can a Hardware Test Engineer Earn More?

States like California, Texas, and New York often offer the highest salaries for this position, reflecting the demand for skilled professionals in technology hubs. Additionally, companies in the electronics and computer manufacturing sectors tend to provide competitive compensation packages.

Salary Estimates by Experience Level

Entry-level hardware test engineers may start at approximately $75,000, while seasoned engineers with advanced skills can earn upwards of $130,000. As you gain experience, pursuing certifications or further education can enhance your earning potential.

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Where can a Hardware Test Engineer earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
149k
129k
109k
89k
69k
49k
Columbus, OH$138,311
Allen Park, MI$78,904
Compare salary by company
Vs
185k
165k
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85k
Meta$154,946
Motion Recruitment$114,596

Hardware test engineer salaries by experience level

Hardware test engineer salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor, Comparably and Payscale, the average salary for a hardware test engineer typically falls between $50,000 and $113,666.
zippia
$108,602yearly
glassdoor[1]
$93,475yearly
comparably[2]
$113,666yearly
Salary.com[3]
$94,383yearly
payscale[4]
$50,000yearly

Average hardware test engineer salary by state

The highest-paying states for hardware test engineers are Washington, California, and Maine. The lowest average hardware test engineer salary states are Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for hardware test engineers

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Washington$137,879$66.29
2California$124,284$59.75
3Oregon$106,425$51.17
4Maryland$110,074$52.92
5New Mexico$105,334$50.64
6Vermont$107,462$51.66
7Maine$116,265$55.90
8New York$112,090$53.89
9Connecticut$110,108$52.94
10Idaho$105,399$50.67
11Virginia$103,440$49.73
12Massachusetts$103,810$49.91
13North Dakota$106,111$51.01
14Alabama$97,638$46.94
15Kansas$105,366$50.66
16Arizona$97,020$46.64
17West Virginia$102,127$49.10
18Pennsylvania$99,776$47.97
19North Carolina$97,928$47.08
20Arkansas$100,294$48.22
21Utah$93,760$45.08
22Texas$93,264$44.84
23Montana$99,049$47.62
24Rhode Island$94,564$45.46
25Delaware$93,740$45.07
26New Jersey$98,941$47.57
27District of Columbia$93,125$44.77
28New Hampshire$91,480$43.98
29Alaska$95,468$45.90
30Colorado$91,172$43.83
31South Carolina$93,878$45.13
32Georgia$93,362$44.89
33South Dakota$91,626$44.05
34Louisiana$93,101$44.76
35Oklahoma$92,075$44.27
36Wyoming$87,211$41.93
37Illinois$91,175$43.83
38Florida$88,512$42.55
39Missouri$88,972$42.77
40Wisconsin$87,603$42.12
41Minnesota$86,370$41.52
42Iowa$87,601$42.12
43Michigan$78,756$37.86
44Hawaii$84,312$40.53
45Nebraska$84,343$40.55
46Mississippi$86,912$41.78
47Ohio$80,968$38.93
48Nevada$76,913$36.98
49Indiana$81,632$39.25
50Kentucky$67,847$32.62
51Tennessee$65,712$31.59

Highest paying cities for hardware test engineers

The highest-paying cities for hardware test engineers are Bellevue, WA, Petaluma, CA, and Norwalk, CT.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Bellevue, WA$138,311$66.50
2Petaluma, CA$136,657$65.70
3Norwalk, CT$110,138$52.95
4Portland, OR$106,136$51.03
5Albuquerque, NM$105,573$50.76
6Milford, MA$104,123$50.06
7Alexandria, VA$103,550$49.78
8Philadelphia, PA$100,166$48.16
9Phoenix, AZ$97,267$46.76
10South Jordan, UT$93,796$45.09
11Austin, TX$93,518$44.96
12Chicago, IL$91,379$43.93
13Longmont, CO$91,281$43.89
14Milwaukee, WI$87,745$42.19
15Council Bluffs, IA$86,634$41.65
16Columbus, OH$80,967$38.93
17Allen Park, MI$78,904$37.93

Hardware test engineer salary details

A hardware test engineer's salary ranges from $82,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $142,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average hardware test engineer salary graph
Average hardware test engineer salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a hardware test engineer's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$142,000$11,833$68
75th Percentile$125,000$10,417$60
Average$108,602$9,050$52
25th Percentile$94,000$7,833$45
10th Percentile$82,000$6,833$39

Highest paying hardware test engineer jobs

The highest paying types of hardware test engineers are manager, hardware engineering, hardware manager, and senior computer engineer.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Design Verification Engineer$117,277$9,773$56.3865,429
Verification Engineer$104,158$8,680$50.0838,261
Engineer$92,076$7,673$44.27618,207
Development Engineer$93,206$7,767$44.81224,881
Systems Engineer$82,834$6,903$39.82145,936
System Design Engineer$107,704$8,975$51.78113,582

Top companies hiring hardware test engineers now:

  1. Meta jobs (5)
  2. Google jobs (110)
  3. Apple jobs (4)
  4. Waymo jobs (7)
  5. Microsoft jobs (37)

Which companies pay hardware test engineers the most?

Hardware test engineer salaries at Meta and Google are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average hardware test engineer salary at companies like Apple and Lyft are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Meta$154,946$74.49
2Google$139,421$67.03
3Apple$138,903$66.78
4Lyft$137,516$66.11
5Waymo$131,954$63.44
6Microsoft$128,328$61.70
7Intuitive Surgical$126,961$61.04
8NVIDIA$125,890$60.52
9Cruise Automation$125,731$60.45
10Zoox$124,877$60.04
11Über$120,668$58.01
12CyberCoders$120,337$57.85
13Varian Medical Systems$119,226$57.32
14Amazon$118,650$57.04
15Parsons$118,264$56.86
16Randstad North America, Inc.$115,796$55.67
17Samsung Electronics Device Solutions (Semiconductor & Display)$115,513$55.54
18TransCore$115,101$55.34
19Tesla$114,880$55.23
20Motion Recruitment$114,596$55.09

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$105,000$104,400$103,800$103,200$102,600$102,000
MaleFemale

Hardware Test Engineer salary by industry

The average hardware test engineer salary varies across industries:

  • The average hardware test engineer salary in the automotive industry is $109,635, the highest of any industry.
  • The average hardware test engineer salary in the finance industry is $105,270.
  • Hardware test engineers in the finance industry earn an average salary of $84,968, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for hardware test engineers

RankIndustryAverage salaryHourly rate
1Automotive$109,635$52.71
2Technology$105,270$50.61
3Telecommunication$96,416$46.35
4Finance$84,968$40.85

High paying hardware test engineer jobs

Hardware test engineer salary trends

The average hardware test engineer salary has risen by $19,030 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average hardware test engineer earned $89,572 annually, but today, they earn $108,602 a year. That works out to a 4% change in pay for hardware test engineers over the last decade.

Compare hardware test engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average hardware test engineer salary over time

Compare hardware test engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Hardware test engineer salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$109,000$52.21+2.0%
2024$106,000$51.19+2.2%
2023$104,000$50.05-0.5%
2022$105,000$50.27+0.0%
2021$105,000$50.26+2.9%

Recently added hardware test engineer salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
AstranisSenior Hardware/Production Test Software EngineerSan Francisco, CA06/29/2025$150,000
ServicenowSenior Hardware Test EngineerKirkland, WA06/27/2025$140,700
Schneider ElectricHardware Test EngineerBuffalo, NY06/27/2025$80,600
AkkodisSenior Hardware-In-The-Loop Test EngineerTustin, CA06/27/2025$166,960
Impinj, Inc.Senior Hardware Test EngineerSeattle, WA06/26/2025$111,200
LumotiveSenior Engineer, Hardware Test EngineerRedmond, WA06/25/2025$85,000
Medtronic Inc.Senior Hardware Test Engineer (Manufacturing)-OnsiteBoulder, CO06/20/2025$100,000
ForterraSenior Hardware Test EngineerClarksburg, MD06/17/2025$130,000
QualcommSenior Staff Hardware Security & Post-Silicon Test EngineerSan Diego, CA06/13/2025$166,941
FigureR&D Hardware Test Engineer-Mechanical FocusSan Jose, CA06/11/2025$110,000

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