Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Lead application engineer salary
Average lead application engineer salary
$111,059
Average Lead Application Engineer Salary
The average salary for a Lead Application Engineer stands at $111,059 annually, equating to approximately $53 per hour. This figure represents a competitive compensation rate within the tech industry, reflecting the high demand for skilled engineers who can lead application development projects.
Factors Influencing Salary
Several factors can influence the salary of a Lead Application Engineer:
- Experience Level: More experienced engineers typically command higher salaries.
- Location: Salaries can vary significantly by state and city, with metropolitan areas often offering more competitive pay.
- Industry: Different sectors, such as finance or healthcare, may offer varying pay scales for the same role.
Salary Estimates by State
For those considering a career in this field, examining state-specific salary data can be beneficial. For instance, states like California and New York generally offer higher salaries due to the cost of living and demand for tech talent. Understanding these dynamics can help professionals negotiate their compensation effectively.
Let Zippia find your next lead application engineer job
Let Zippia find your next lead application engineer job
Where can a Lead Application Engineer earn more?
Lead application engineer salaries by experience level
Lead application engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average lead application engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for lead application engineers are Virginia, New Mexico, and California. The lowest average lead application engineer salary states are Montana, Arkansas, and Nebraska.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for lead application engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virginia | $134,929 | $64.87 |
| 2 | New Mexico | $128,728 | $61.89 |
| 3 | Washington | $124,100 | $59.66 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $124,803 | $60.00 |
| 5 | California | $127,055 | $61.08 |
| 6 | Maryland | $124,253 | $59.74 |
| 7 | Nevada | $114,092 | $54.85 |
| 8 | Delaware | $120,461 | $57.91 |
| 9 | Oregon | $115,746 | $55.65 |
| 10 | Idaho | $113,813 | $54.72 |
| 11 | District of Columbia | $124,285 | $59.75 |
| 12 | Arizona | $115,082 | $55.33 |
| 13 | New York | $120,027 | $57.71 |
| 14 | Alabama | $119,396 | $57.40 |
| 15 | Illinois | $113,353 | $54.50 |
| 16 | Louisiana | $115,924 | $55.73 |
| 17 | West Virginia | $111,268 | $53.49 |
| 18 | Texas | $108,612 | $52.22 |
| 19 | Oklahoma | $104,580 | $50.28 |
| 20 | Alaska | $106,110 | $51.01 |
| 21 | Connecticut | $110,518 | $53.13 |
| 22 | New Hampshire | $104,264 | $50.13 |
| 23 | Michigan | $100,141 | $48.14 |
| 24 | North Carolina | $101,965 | $49.02 |
| 25 | New Jersey | $110,618 | $53.18 |
| 26 | Rhode Island | $102,471 | $49.26 |
| 27 | Colorado | $102,642 | $49.35 |
| 28 | Missouri | $103,539 | $49.78 |
| 29 | Ohio | $98,550 | $47.38 |
| 30 | Utah | $94,608 | $45.48 |
| 31 | Florida | $102,700 | $49.38 |
| 32 | Maine | $100,674 | $48.40 |
| 33 | Georgia | $99,285 | $47.73 |
| 34 | Tennessee | $97,761 | $47.00 |
| 35 | Pennsylvania | $97,747 | $46.99 |
| 36 | Hawaii | $103,789 | $49.90 |
| 37 | Minnesota | $95,605 | $45.96 |
| 38 | Montana | $87,802 | $42.21 |
| 39 | South Carolina | $97,719 | $46.98 |
| 40 | Vermont | $93,486 | $44.95 |
| 41 | Kentucky | $95,772 | $46.04 |
| 42 | Iowa | $94,851 | $45.60 |
| 43 | Wyoming | $92,721 | $44.58 |
| 44 | Indiana | $93,462 | $44.93 |
| 45 | Arkansas | $86,788 | $41.73 |
| 46 | Nebraska | $86,005 | $41.35 |
| 47 | South Dakota | $88,370 | $42.49 |
| 48 | Kansas | $83,922 | $40.35 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $91,822 | $44.15 |
| 50 | North Dakota | $84,586 | $40.67 |
| 51 | Wisconsin | $85,106 | $40.92 |
Highest paying cities for lead application engineers
The highest-paying cities for lead application engineers are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Cambridge, MA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $134,973 | $64.89 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $124,940 | $60.07 |
| 3 | Cambridge, MA | $124,760 | $59.98 |
| 4 | Baltimore, MD | $124,370 | $59.79 |
| 5 | New York, NY | $120,380 | $57.88 |
| 6 | Hillsboro, OR | $115,303 | $55.43 |
| 7 | Chandler, AZ | $115,038 | $55.31 |
| 8 | Chicago, IL | $113,449 | $54.54 |
| 9 | Bridgewater, NJ | $110,510 | $53.13 |
| 10 | Austin, TX | $109,455 | $52.62 |
| 11 | Saint Louis, MO | $104,282 | $50.14 |
| 12 | Tampa, FL | $103,734 | $49.87 |
| 13 | Cary, NC | $102,508 | $49.28 |
| 14 | Troy, MI | $100,432 | $48.28 |
| 15 | Columbus, GA | $99,317 | $47.75 |
| 16 | Columbus, OH | $98,764 | $47.48 |
| 17 | York, PA | $97,896 | $47.07 |
| 18 | Columbus, IN | $93,960 | $45.17 |
| 19 | Waukesha, WI | $85,210 | $40.97 |
| 20 | Overland Park, KS | $83,833 | $40.30 |
Lead application engineer salary details
A lead application engineer's salary ranges from $85,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $144,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a lead application engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $144,000 | $12,000 | $69 |
| 75th Percentile | $127,000 | $10,583 | $61 |
| Average | $111,059 | $9,255 | $53 |
| 25th Percentile | $96,000 | $8,000 | $46 |
| 10th Percentile | $85,000 | $7,083 | $41 |
Highest paying lead application engineer jobs
The highest paying types of lead application engineers are principal engineer, software engineer lead, and application manager.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer Lead | $125,565 | $10,464 | $60.37 | 342,462 |
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
| Application Support Analyst | $92,078 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 173,440 |
| Principal Engineer | $130,213 | $10,851 | $62.60 | 312,683 |
| Staff Engineer | $107,530 | $8,961 | $51.70 | 277,011 |
| Chief Engineer | $108,050 | $9,004 | $51.95 | 88,473 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for lead application engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Michael Rudisill
Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University
Top companies hiring lead application engineers now:
Which companies pay lead application engineers the most?
Lead application engineer salaries at Lyft and Match Group are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average lead application engineer salary at companies like Citi and Kenandy are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lyft | $150,727 | $72.46 |
| 2 | Match Group | $144,865 | $69.65 |
| 3 | Citi | $142,695 | $68.60 |
| 4 | Kenandy | $140,184 | $67.40 |
| 5 | The Walt Disney Company | $137,597 | $66.15 |
| 6 | Nikola Motor | $136,210 | $65.49 |
| 7 | Santander Private Banking International | $134,588 | $64.71 |
| 8 | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | $133,841 | $64.35 |
| 9 | MUFG EMEA | $133,701 | $64.28 |
| 10 | Dolby Laboratories | $133,655 | $64.26 |
| 11 | Adobe | $133,155 | $64.02 |
| 12 | ViacomCBS | $133,114 | $64.00 |
| 13 | Santander Bank | $131,856 | $63.39 |
| 14 | PMC-Sierra | $130,972 | $62.97 |
| 15 | Sephora | $130,040 | $62.52 |
| 16 | H-E-B | $129,655 | $62.33 |
| 17 | Chevron | $129,080 | $62.06 |
| 18 | Nike | $128,747 | $61.90 |
| 19 | NBCUniversal | $128,684 | $61.87 |
| 20 | Jo-Ann Stores | $128,201 | $61.64 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Lead Application Engineer salary by industry
The average lead application engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average lead application engineer salary in the retail industry is $127,945, the highest of any industry.
- The average lead application engineer salary in the finance industry is $120,738.
- Lead application engineers in the manufacturing industry earn an average salary of $109,798, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for lead application engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retail | $127,945 | $61.51 |
| 2 | Hospitality | $120,738 | $58.05 |
| 3 | Technology | $115,082 | $55.33 |
| 4 | Insurance | $112,923 | $54.29 |
| 5 | Manufacturing | $109,798 | $52.79 |
High paying lead application engineer jobs
Lead application engineer salary trends
The average lead application engineer salary has risen by $13,464 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average lead application engineer earned $97,595 annually, but today, they earn $111,059 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for lead application engineers over the last decade.
Compare lead application engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average lead application engineer salary over time
Compare lead application engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Lead application engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $111,000 | $53.39 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | $109,000 | $52.37 | +1.2% |
| 2023 | $108,000 | $51.74 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $106,000 | $50.86 | +2.0% |
| 2021 | $104,000 | $49.86 | +0.7% |
Recently added lead application engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cox Holdings, Inc. | Lead Enterprise Applications Engineer | Atlanta, GA | 06/28/2025 | $169,744 |
| Cadence Systems | Lead Application Engineer | Joseph, UT | 06/24/2025 | $102,900 |
| GE Vernova | Lead New Unit Gas Turbine Application Engineer | Atlanta, GA | 06/18/2025 | $88,600 |
| Citigroup Inc. | Senior Full-Stack Lead Application Engineer | Jersey City, NJ | 06/14/2025 | $142,320 |
| Eaton Corporation | Lead Application Engineer | Greenwood, SC | 06/12/2025 | $93,750 |
| Henkel | Lead Application Engineer | Rocky Hill, CT | 06/10/2025 | $90,000 |
| Zeta Global | Lead Application & Platform Security Engineer | San Francisco, CA | 06/09/2025 | $140,000 |
| Cox Enterprises | Lead Enterprise Applications Engineer | Atlanta, GA | 06/05/2025 | $169,744 |
| Henkel | Lead Application Engineer | Rocky Hill, CT | 05/28/2025 | $115,000 |
| Iberdrola | Lead Engineer-Software Applications | Orange, CT | 05/24/2025 | $115,000 |
Lead application engineer salary FAQs
Search for lead application engineer jobs