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Lead hardware engineer salary
Average lead hardware engineer salary
$121,252
Understanding Lead Hardware Engineer Salaries
The average salary for a Lead Hardware Engineer is approximately $121,252 per year, translating to around $58 per hour. This figure represents a solid compensation package, reflecting the critical role these engineers play in technology and product development.
Factors influencing salary include:
- Experience Level: Entry-level positions typically start lower, while seasoned professionals earn significantly more.
- Industry: Engineers in sectors like aerospace or technology often command higher salaries due to the complexity and demand of their work.
- Geographic Location: Salaries can differ widely depending on the state, with regions like California and New York offering some of the highest pay rates.
Furthermore, understanding the salary dynamics based on these variables can help candidates negotiate better pay and pursue opportunities that match their expertise. Being informed about salary trends equips professionals to make strategic career decisions in a competitive job market.
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Where can a Lead Hardware Engineer earn more?
Lead hardware engineer salaries by experience level
Lead hardware engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average lead hardware engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for lead hardware engineers are Washington, California, and New York. The lowest average lead hardware engineer salary states are Michigan, Nevada, and Indiana.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for lead hardware engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $154,554 | $74.30 |
| 2 | Washington | $166,934 | $80.26 |
| 3 | New Mexico | $116,018 | $55.78 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $129,828 | $62.42 |
| 5 | Alaska | $112,849 | $54.25 |
| 6 | Idaho | $111,438 | $53.58 |
| 7 | Texas | $118,210 | $56.83 |
| 8 | New York | $130,528 | $62.75 |
| 9 | Kansas | $112,546 | $54.11 |
| 10 | Maine | $124,326 | $59.77 |
| 11 | Oregon | $116,324 | $55.92 |
| 12 | Arkansas | $105,716 | $50.83 |
| 13 | Montana | $105,714 | $50.82 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | $116,496 | $56.01 |
| 15 | Utah | $102,429 | $49.24 |
| 16 | Vermont | $114,067 | $54.84 |
| 17 | Colorado | $113,708 | $54.67 |
| 18 | Connecticut | $114,584 | $55.09 |
| 19 | Virginia | $112,327 | $54.00 |
| 20 | North Dakota | $112,837 | $54.25 |
| 21 | Rhode Island | $98,703 | $47.45 |
| 22 | Arizona | $105,376 | $50.66 |
| 23 | Alabama | $101,875 | $48.98 |
| 24 | Louisiana | $100,067 | $48.11 |
| 25 | South Dakota | $97,705 | $46.97 |
| 26 | West Virginia | $104,194 | $50.09 |
| 27 | Oklahoma | $97,626 | $46.94 |
| 28 | Hawaii | $101,917 | $49.00 |
| 29 | New Hampshire | $95,883 | $46.10 |
| 30 | Maryland | $105,202 | $50.58 |
| 31 | Wyoming | $93,507 | $44.96 |
| 32 | Illinois | $101,046 | $48.58 |
| 33 | Missouri | $94,262 | $45.32 |
| 34 | Wisconsin | $96,179 | $46.24 |
| 35 | Delaware | $97,439 | $46.85 |
| 36 | District of Columbia | $96,003 | $46.16 |
| 37 | North Carolina | $96,315 | $46.31 |
| 38 | Michigan | $87,692 | $42.16 |
| 39 | Georgia | $96,759 | $46.52 |
| 40 | Nebraska | $90,285 | $43.41 |
| 41 | Minnesota | $96,365 | $46.33 |
| 42 | Nevada | $86,733 | $41.70 |
| 43 | South Carolina | $95,464 | $45.90 |
| 44 | New Jersey | $96,911 | $46.59 |
| 45 | Iowa | $92,558 | $44.50 |
| 46 | Tennessee | $76,973 | $37.01 |
| 47 | Mississippi | $91,579 | $44.03 |
| 48 | Kentucky | $68,118 | $32.75 |
| 49 | Florida | $88,024 | $42.32 |
| 50 | Indiana | $84,232 | $40.50 |
| 51 | Ohio | $83,345 | $40.07 |
Highest paying cities for lead hardware engineers
The highest-paying cities for lead hardware engineers are Seattle, WA, Berkeley, CA, and New York, NY.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle, WA | $168,796 | $81.15 |
| 2 | Berkeley, CA | $165,378 | $79.51 |
| 3 | New York, NY | $130,741 | $62.86 |
| 4 | Boston, MA | $129,889 | $62.45 |
| 5 | Austin, TX | $119,375 | $57.39 |
| 6 | Cranberry, PA | $113,775 | $54.70 |
| 7 | Springfield, VA | $113,066 | $54.36 |
| 8 | Phoenix, AZ | $105,680 | $50.81 |
| 9 | Baltimore, MD | $105,547 | $50.74 |
| 10 | Huntsville, AL | $100,905 | $48.51 |
| 11 | Wilmington, NC | $96,715 | $46.50 |
| 12 | Chanhassen, MN | $96,374 | $46.33 |
| 13 | Washington, DC | $96,063 | $46.18 |
| 14 | Nashua, NH | $96,039 | $46.17 |
| 15 | Clearwater, FL | $89,032 | $42.80 |
| 16 | Southfield, MI | $87,795 | $42.21 |
| 17 | Indianapolis, IN | $84,110 | $40.44 |
Lead hardware engineer salary details
A lead hardware engineer's salary ranges from $89,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $163,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a lead hardware engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $163,000 | $13,583 | $78 |
| 75th Percentile | $141,000 | $11,750 | $68 |
| Average | $121,252 | $10,104 | $58 |
| 25th Percentile | $103,000 | $8,583 | $50 |
| 10th Percentile | $89,000 | $7,417 | $43 |
Highest paying lead hardware engineer jobs
The highest paying types of lead hardware engineers are manager, hardware engineering, hardware manager, and senior staff engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design Verification Engineer | $117,277 | $9,773 | $56.38 | 65,429 |
| Contracting Engineer | $122,620 | $10,218 | $58.95 | 115,631 |
| Principal Engineer | $130,213 | $10,851 | $62.60 | 312,683 |
| Verification Engineer | $104,158 | $8,680 | $50.08 | 38,261 |
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
| Electrical Engineer | $81,026 | $6,752 | $38.95 | 68,536 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for lead hardware 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 hardware engineers now:
Which companies pay lead hardware engineers the most?
Lead hardware engineer salaries at Meta and Google are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average lead hardware engineer salary at companies like Cloudflare and Microsoft are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $175,646 | $84.45 |
| 2 | $158,698 | $76.30 | |
| 3 | Cloudflare | $155,370 | $74.70 |
| 4 | Microsoft | $155,190 | $74.61 |
| 5 | Apple | $152,676 | $73.40 |
| 6 | Netgear | $145,177 | $69.80 |
| 7 | CyberCoders | $138,293 | $66.49 |
| 8 | Lucid Motors | $136,214 | $65.49 |
| 9 | Cisco | $134,955 | $64.88 |
| 10 | Strategic Employment Partners | $133,215 | $64.05 |
| 11 | Honeywell | $132,920 | $63.90 |
| 12 | Hyperloop Transportation Technologies | $132,206 | $63.56 |
| 13 | FreshAir Sensor | $131,701 | $63.32 |
| 14 | Morphlab | $131,701 | $63.32 |
| 15 | Verkada | $131,701 | $63.32 |
| 16 | Turntide Technologies | $131,699 | $63.32 |
| 17 | Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories | $131,559 | $63.25 |
| 18 | Enertiv | $131,429 | $63.19 |
| 19 | Business Impact Group | $129,948 | $62.48 |
| 20 | Hitachi U.S.A. | $128,739 | $61.89 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Lead Hardware Engineer salary by industry
The average lead hardware engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average lead hardware engineer salary in the start-up industry is $131,689, the highest of any industry.
- The average lead hardware engineer salary in the finance industry is $117,600.
- Lead hardware engineers in the telecommunication industry earn an average salary of $101,791, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for lead hardware engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start-up | $131,689 | $63.31 |
| 2 | Manufacturing | $117,600 | $56.54 |
| 3 | Automotive | $112,305 | $53.99 |
| 4 | Technology | $106,046 | $50.98 |
| 5 | Telecommunication | $101,791 | $48.94 |
High paying lead hardware engineer jobs
Lead hardware engineer salary trends
The average lead hardware engineer salary has risen by $21,246 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average lead hardware engineer earned $100,006 annually, but today, they earn $121,252 a year. That works out to a 4% change in pay for lead hardware engineers over the last decade.
Compare lead hardware engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average lead hardware engineer salary over time
Compare lead hardware engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Lead hardware engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $121,000 | $58.29 | +2.0% |
| 2025 | $119,000 | $57.15 | +2.2% |
| 2024 | $116,000 | $55.88 | -0.5% |
| 2023 | $117,000 | $56.13 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | $117,000 | $56.11 | +2.9% |
Recently added lead hardware engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeppesen | Lead Mission Computing Hardware Engineer-Fighters Mission Systems | Saint Louis, MO | 06/30/2025 | $119,850 |
| GE Aerospace | Advanced Lead Engineer-Electronic Hardware | Clearwater, FL | 06/28/2025 | $105,600 |
| GE Aerospace | Advanced Lead Engineer-Electronic Hardware | Grand Rapids, MI | 06/28/2025 | $105,600 |
| Boeing | Lead Mission Computing Hardware Engineer-Fighters Mission Systems | Saint Louis, MO | 06/27/2025 | $119,850 |
| Actalent | Lead Hardware Engineer | Greenville, SC | 06/27/2025 | $114,785 |
| GE Aerospace | Advanced Lead Engineer-Electronic Hardware | Dayton, OH | 06/24/2025 | $105,600 |
| Spacex | Lead Hardware Reliability Engineer (Starlink Aviation) | Woodinville, WA | 06/21/2025 | $125,000 |
| Astranu | Lead Hardware Engineer | Holmdel, NJ | 06/20/2025 | $130,000 |
| Qualcomm | Security Hardware Design Lead | San Diego, CA | 06/18/2025 | $164,000 |
| Lightmatter | Lead Hardware Systems Engineer | Mountain View, CA | 06/16/2025 | $210,000 |
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