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Lead design engineer salary
Average lead design engineer salary
$108,490
Average Lead Design Engineer Salary
As of October 2025, the average salary for a Lead Design Engineer is approximately $108,490 annually. This figure translates to about $52 per hour. Understanding the salary structure is essential for professionals in this field, as it can differ significantly based on factors such as experience, geographic location, and industry sector.
Salary by Experience Level
Entry-level positions may start around $80,000, while experienced engineers can earn upwards of $130,000. This progression underscores the value of gaining expertise and expanding your skill set.
Top-Paying States
Lead Design Engineers in states like California and New York typically see higher salaries, reflecting the demand for skilled professionals in these regions. By understanding where the best opportunities lie, candidates can strategically target their job search.
Job Opportunities
Exploring the job market reveals various roles that offer competitive salaries. Companies in tech, aerospace, and automotive industries often seek experienced candidates, making this a promising career path for aspiring engineers.
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Where can a Lead Design Engineer earn more?
Lead design engineer salaries by experience level
Lead design engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average lead design engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for lead design engineers are California, Idaho, and Arizona. The lowest average lead design engineer salary states are Mississippi, Iowa, and Wisconsin.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for lead design engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $138,510 | $66.59 |
| 2 | Idaho | $128,157 | $61.61 |
| 3 | Nevada | $109,884 | $52.83 |
| 4 | Arizona | $122,459 | $58.87 |
| 5 | Washington | $117,132 | $56.31 |
| 6 | Oregon | $111,043 | $53.39 |
| 7 | New Mexico | $106,418 | $51.16 |
| 8 | District of Columbia | $115,124 | $55.35 |
| 9 | Delaware | $109,338 | $52.57 |
| 10 | Michigan | $95,728 | $46.02 |
| 11 | Alaska | $102,278 | $49.17 |
| 12 | Texas | $101,542 | $48.82 |
| 13 | New Hampshire | $102,964 | $49.50 |
| 14 | Colorado | $99,867 | $48.01 |
| 15 | Montana | $94,097 | $45.24 |
| 16 | New Jersey | $105,368 | $50.66 |
| 17 | Massachusetts | $98,721 | $47.46 |
| 18 | New York | $102,834 | $49.44 |
| 19 | Wyoming | $96,241 | $46.27 |
| 20 | Illinois | $99,295 | $47.74 |
| 21 | West Virginia | $99,559 | $47.86 |
| 22 | Utah | $93,115 | $44.77 |
| 23 | Maryland | $101,192 | $48.65 |
| 24 | Vermont | $94,379 | $45.37 |
| 25 | Louisiana | $98,052 | $47.14 |
| 26 | Georgia | $94,294 | $45.33 |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | $91,322 | $43.90 |
| 28 | Maine | $93,578 | $44.99 |
| 29 | Rhode Island | $90,918 | $43.71 |
| 30 | Connecticut | $93,737 | $45.07 |
| 31 | Alabama | $88,441 | $42.52 |
| 32 | Tennessee | $89,104 | $42.84 |
| 33 | Virginia | $88,923 | $42.75 |
| 34 | Minnesota | $88,159 | $42.38 |
| 35 | Oklahoma | $85,155 | $40.94 |
| 36 | South Dakota | $83,025 | $39.92 |
| 37 | Indiana | $86,839 | $41.75 |
| 38 | Florida | $88,777 | $42.68 |
| 39 | Ohio | $83,443 | $40.12 |
| 40 | North Carolina | $83,537 | $40.16 |
| 41 | Missouri | $87,100 | $41.88 |
| 42 | North Dakota | $84,225 | $40.49 |
| 43 | Kansas | $79,391 | $38.17 |
| 44 | Nebraska | $77,715 | $37.36 |
| 45 | Kentucky | $83,101 | $39.95 |
| 46 | Hawaii | $84,005 | $40.39 |
| 47 | Iowa | $81,831 | $39.34 |
| 48 | South Carolina | $83,171 | $39.99 |
| 49 | Arkansas | $73,851 | $35.51 |
| 50 | Wisconsin | $80,429 | $38.67 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $82,307 | $39.57 |
Highest paying cities for lead design engineers
The highest-paying cities for lead design engineers are San Francisco, CA, Chandler, AZ, and Seattle, WA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $146,237 | $70.31 |
| 2 | Chandler, AZ | $121,968 | $58.64 |
| 3 | Seattle, WA | $117,472 | $56.48 |
| 4 | New York, NY | $102,972 | $49.51 |
| 5 | Austin, TX | $102,426 | $49.24 |
| 6 | Columbia, MD | $101,169 | $48.64 |
| 7 | Denver, CO | $99,825 | $47.99 |
| 8 | Lynn, MA | $98,841 | $47.52 |
| 9 | Peoria, IL | $97,668 | $46.96 |
| 10 | Farmington Hills, MI | $95,771 | $46.04 |
| 11 | Arlington, VA | $89,713 | $43.13 |
| 12 | Palm Bay, FL | $89,579 | $43.07 |
| 13 | Bloomington, MN | $88,211 | $42.41 |
| 14 | Decatur, AL | $87,162 | $41.90 |
| 15 | Hazelwood, MO | $86,770 | $41.72 |
| 16 | Columbus, IN | $86,125 | $41.41 |
| 17 | Oklahoma City, OK | $85,533 | $41.12 |
| 18 | Cary, NC | $84,146 | $40.45 |
| 19 | North Charleston, SC | $83,516 | $40.15 |
| 20 | Columbus, OH | $83,002 | $39.90 |
Lead design engineer salary details
A lead design engineer's salary ranges from $82,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $143,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a lead design engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $143,000 | $11,917 | $69 |
| 75th Percentile | $125,000 | $10,417 | $60 |
| Average | $108,490 | $9,041 | $52 |
| 25th Percentile | $93,000 | $7,750 | $45 |
| 10th Percentile | $82,000 | $6,833 | $39 |
Highest paying lead design engineer jobs
The highest paying types of lead design engineers are senior staff engineer, principal engineer, and team lead engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Principal Engineer | $130,213 | $10,851 | $62.60 | 312,683 |
| Tool Engineer | $101,135 | $8,428 | $48.62 | 98,936 |
| Product Engineer | $89,645 | $7,470 | $43.10 | 157,888 |
| Project Engineer | $75,050 | $6,254 | $36.08 | 176,689 |
| Staff Engineer | $107,530 | $8,961 | $51.70 | 277,011 |
| Development Engineer | $93,206 | $7,767 | $44.81 | 224,881 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for lead design 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 design engineers now:
Which companies pay lead design engineers the most?
Lead design engineer salaries at Meta and Google are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average lead design engineer salary at companies like Apple and NVIDIA are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $174,183 | $83.74 |
| 2 | $159,920 | $76.88 | |
| 3 | Apple | $155,599 | $74.81 |
| 4 | NVIDIA | $148,455 | $71.37 |
| 5 | Amazon | $146,278 | $70.33 |
| 6 | Rivian | $144,890 | $69.66 |
| 7 | Micron Technology | $141,476 | $68.02 |
| 8 | Volvo Trucks | $136,652 | $65.70 |
| 9 | Nikola Motor | $132,941 | $63.91 |
| 10 | Tesla | $132,610 | $63.75 |
| 11 | Rambus | $131,678 | $63.31 |
| 12 | Finisar | $130,991 | $62.98 |
| 13 | Amd | $130,932 | $62.95 |
| 14 | Ampere | $129,835 | $62.42 |
| 15 | Chevron | $129,537 | $62.28 |
| 16 | Target | $128,828 | $61.94 |
| 17 | Lucid Motors | $128,272 | $61.67 |
| 18 | Hyperloop Transportation Technologies | $126,019 | $60.59 |
| 19 | Katalyst Technologies | $124,207 | $59.71 |
| 20 | Shoals Technologies Group | $123,504 | $59.38 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Lead Design Engineer salary by industry
The average lead design engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average lead design engineer salary in the agriculture industry is $112,898, the highest of any industry.
- The average lead design engineer salary in the finance industry is $112,272.
- Lead design engineers in the transportation industry earn an average salary of $86,837, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for lead design engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agriculture | $112,898 | $54.28 |
| 2 | Professional | $112,272 | $53.98 |
| 3 | Automotive | $111,247 | $53.48 |
| 4 | Technology | $107,217 | $51.55 |
| 5 | Manufacturing | $102,486 | $49.27 |
| 6 | Transportation | $86,837 | $41.75 |
High paying lead design engineer jobs
Lead design engineer salary trends
The average lead design engineer salary has risen by $13,152 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average lead design engineer earned $95,338 annually, but today, they earn $108,490 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for lead design engineers over the last decade.
Compare lead design engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average lead design engineer salary over time
Compare lead design engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Lead design engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $108,000 | $52.16 | +1.9% |
| 2025 | $106,000 | $51.16 | +1.2% |
| 2024 | $105,000 | $50.54 | +1.7% |
| 2023 | $103,000 | $49.68 | +2.0% |
| 2022 | $101,000 | $48.71 | +0.7% |
Recently added lead design engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postjobmatches | A Remote/Hybrid Tech Lead Substation Design Engineer | Kansas City, MO | 06/29/2025 | $110,000 |
| Postjobmatches | A Remote/Hybrid Tech Lead Substation Design Engineer | Ann Arbor, MI | 06/29/2025 | $110,000 |
| Postjobmatches | A Remote/Hybrid Tech Lead Substation Design Engineer | Minneapolis, MN | 06/29/2025 | $110,000 |
| Railpros | Utilities Design Lead Engineer | San Diego, CA | 06/28/2025 | $120,000 |
| Hitachi | Engineering Design Lead | Oakland, CA | 06/26/2025 | $126,000 |
| E2 Consulting Engineers | Substation Lead Design Engineer | Houston, TX | 06/26/2025 | $140,000 |
| Meta | Lead Contracts Manager-Data Center Design, Engineering & Construction | Urban Honolulu, HI | 06/25/2025 | $144,000 |
| Meta | Lead Contracts Manager-Data Center Design, Engineering & Construction | Montgomery, AL | 06/25/2025 | $144,000 |
| Meta | Lead Contracts Manager-Data Center Design, Engineering & Construction | Oklahoma City, OK | 06/25/2025 | $144,000 |
| Meta | Lead Contracts Manager-Data Center Design, Engineering & Construction | Pierre, SD | 06/25/2025 | $144,000 |
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