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Lead systems engineer salary
Average lead systems engineer salary
$119,705
Average Lead Systems Engineer Salary
The average salary for a Lead Systems Engineer is approximately $119,705 as of October 2025. This figure varies based on factors such as geographical location, industry, and individual experience. For instance, professionals in high-demand areas can command significantly higher salaries, while those just starting may earn less.
Geographical Salary Variations
Lead Systems Engineers in states like California and New York often see higher compensation due to the concentration of technology companies and the cost of living. Conversely, states with lower living costs may offer slightly lower salaries.
Industries Offering Competitive Salaries
Industries such as technology, aerospace, and defense tend to provide the highest salaries for Lead Systems Engineers. This reflects the critical need for skilled engineers who can manage complex systems and ensure successful project outcomes.
Salary Insights
To gain a comprehensive understanding of salary trends, reviewing data from various sources can be beneficial. This information can help prospective Lead Systems Engineers make informed career decisions and negotiate better compensation packages.
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Where can a Lead Systems Engineer earn more?
Lead systems engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average lead systems engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for lead systems engineers are California, Washington, and Oregon. The lowest average lead systems engineer salary states are Missouri, Tennessee, and Indiana.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for lead systems engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $149,924 | $72.08 |
| 2 | Nevada | $126,916 | $61.02 |
| 3 | Washington | $144,336 | $69.39 |
| 4 | Idaho | $127,270 | $61.19 |
| 5 | Alaska | $126,125 | $60.64 |
| 6 | Oregon | $135,850 | $65.31 |
| 7 | South Dakota | $123,256 | $59.26 |
| 8 | Connecticut | $126,466 | $60.80 |
| 9 | Utah | $113,038 | $54.35 |
| 10 | Texas | $112,910 | $54.28 |
| 11 | Arizona | $113,110 | $54.38 |
| 12 | Oklahoma | $111,067 | $53.40 |
| 13 | North Carolina | $112,916 | $54.29 |
| 14 | Massachusetts | $115,186 | $55.38 |
| 15 | Maryland | $115,600 | $55.58 |
| 16 | Michigan | $107,283 | $51.58 |
| 17 | Delaware | $116,345 | $55.94 |
| 18 | Virginia | $110,779 | $53.26 |
| 19 | Alabama | $110,011 | $52.89 |
| 20 | Hawaii | $132,814 | $63.85 |
| 21 | Maine | $113,534 | $54.58 |
| 22 | New Hampshire | $110,485 | $53.12 |
| 23 | Montana | $107,820 | $51.84 |
| 24 | New Mexico | $105,532 | $50.74 |
| 25 | Kansas | $105,929 | $50.93 |
| 26 | Florida | $110,440 | $53.10 |
| 27 | Georgia | $110,896 | $53.32 |
| 28 | New York | $113,591 | $54.61 |
| 29 | Ohio | $107,346 | $51.61 |
| 30 | Pennsylvania | $107,714 | $51.79 |
| 31 | New Jersey | $112,665 | $54.17 |
| 32 | Rhode Island | $106,479 | $51.19 |
| 33 | Nebraska | $102,822 | $49.43 |
| 34 | Colorado | $103,605 | $49.81 |
| 35 | North Dakota | $102,258 | $49.16 |
| 36 | District of Columbia | $101,231 | $48.67 |
| 37 | Minnesota | $102,704 | $49.38 |
| 38 | Illinois | $104,190 | $50.09 |
| 39 | Iowa | $101,917 | $49.00 |
| 40 | West Virginia | $99,163 | $47.67 |
| 41 | Arkansas | $96,053 | $46.18 |
| 42 | Louisiana | $102,177 | $49.12 |
| 43 | Vermont | $98,785 | $47.49 |
| 44 | South Carolina | $101,197 | $48.65 |
| 45 | Wyoming | $96,355 | $46.32 |
| 46 | Wisconsin | $100,000 | $48.08 |
| 47 | Kentucky | $99,655 | $47.91 |
| 48 | Indiana | $96,623 | $46.45 |
| 49 | Tennessee | $96,677 | $46.48 |
| 50 | Missouri | $98,226 | $47.22 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $93,628 | $45.01 |
Highest paying cities for lead systems engineers
The highest-paying cities for lead systems engineers are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Las Vegas, NV.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $158,925 | $76.41 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $145,523 | $69.96 |
| 3 | Las Vegas, NV | $126,587 | $60.86 |
| 4 | Annapolis, MD | $115,752 | $55.65 |
| 5 | Marlborough, MA | $115,230 | $55.40 |
| 6 | Austin, TX | $114,263 | $54.93 |
| 7 | Raleigh, NC | $113,998 | $54.81 |
| 8 | New York, NY | $113,850 | $54.74 |
| 9 | Phoenix, AZ | $113,414 | $54.53 |
| 10 | Jersey City, NJ | $112,673 | $54.17 |
| 11 | Tampa, FL | $111,197 | $53.46 |
| 12 | Oklahoma City, OK | $111,160 | $53.44 |
| 13 | McLean, VA | $110,951 | $53.34 |
| 14 | Atlanta, GA | $110,508 | $53.13 |
| 15 | Huntsville, AL | $109,188 | $52.49 |
| 16 | Grand Rapids, MI | $106,268 | $51.09 |
| 17 | Chicago, IL | $104,373 | $50.18 |
| 18 | Colorado Springs, CO | $103,537 | $49.78 |
| 19 | Omaha, NE | $102,913 | $49.48 |
| 20 | Minneapolis, MN | $102,760 | $49.40 |
Lead systems engineer salary details
A lead systems engineer's salary ranges from $90,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $158,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a lead systems engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $158,000 | $13,167 | $76 |
| 75th Percentile | $138,000 | $11,500 | $66 |
| Average | $119,705 | $9,975 | $58 |
| 25th Percentile | $103,000 | $8,583 | $50 |
| 10th Percentile | $90,000 | $7,500 | $43 |
Highest paying lead systems engineer jobs
The highest paying types of lead systems engineers are principal systems engineer, principal engineer, and manager, systems engineering.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systems Administrator Lead | $99,956 | $8,330 | $48.06 | 132,285 |
| Systems Analyst | $75,383 | $6,282 | $36.24 | 141,289 |
| Principal Engineer | $130,213 | $10,851 | $62.60 | 312,683 |
| Systems Integrator | $102,867 | $8,572 | $49.46 | 98,466 |
| Staff Engineer | $107,530 | $8,961 | $51.70 | 277,011 |
| Computer Engineer | $96,805 | $8,067 | $46.54 | 126,709 |
Top companies hiring lead systems engineers now:
Which companies pay lead systems engineers the most?
Lead systems engineer salaries at Meta and Google are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average lead systems engineer salary at companies like Cloudflare and Microsoft are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $192,761 | $92.67 |
| 2 | $178,580 | $85.86 | |
| 3 | Cloudflare | $171,476 | $82.44 |
| 4 | Microsoft | $160,435 | $77.13 |
| 5 | The Walt Disney Company | $159,380 | $76.63 |
| 6 | Pandora | $154,625 | $74.34 |
| 7 | Rivian | $150,200 | $72.21 |
| 8 | Cisco | $147,883 | $71.10 |
| 9 | Starbucks | $146,424 | $70.40 |
| 10 | Gap Inc. | $144,775 | $69.60 |
| 11 | Zynga | $144,027 | $69.24 |
| 12 | Volvo Trucks | $143,511 | $69.00 |
| 13 | Experian Data Quality | $142,809 | $68.66 |
| 14 | Akamai Technologies | $142,300 | $68.41 |
| 15 | Amazon | $141,746 | $68.15 |
| 16 | Hyperloop Transportation Technologies | $141,302 | $67.93 |
| 17 | Nikola Motor | $141,128 | $67.85 |
| 18 | ZeniMax Media | $140,977 | $67.78 |
| 19 | Wellington Management | $140,785 | $67.69 |
| 20 | BorgWarner | $140,639 | $67.61 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Lead Systems Engineer salary by industry
The average lead systems engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average lead systems engineer salary in the automotive industry is $123,397, the highest of any industry.
- The average lead systems engineer salary in the finance industry is $114,647.
- Lead systems engineers in the transportation industry earn an average salary of $105,823, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for lead systems engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Automotive | $123,397 | $59.33 |
| 2 | Manufacturing | $114,647 | $55.12 |
| 3 | Finance | $109,577 | $52.68 |
| 4 | Technology | $108,491 | $52.16 |
| 5 | Transportation | $105,823 | $50.88 |
High paying lead systems engineer jobs
Lead systems engineer salary trends
The average lead systems engineer salary has risen by $21,843 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average lead systems engineer earned $97,862 annually, but today, they earn $119,705 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for lead systems engineers over the last decade.
Compare lead systems engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average lead systems engineer salary over time
Compare lead systems engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Lead systems engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $120,000 | $57.55 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $116,000 | $55.65 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $113,000 | $54.39 | +1.2% |
| 2022 | $112,000 | $53.76 | +1.7% |
| 2021 | $110,000 | $52.84 | +2.4% |
Recently added lead systems engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeppesen | Lead Systems Engineer | Cole, OK | 06/30/2025 | $111,350 |
| Jeppesen | Lead GPS Systems Engineer | Boone, CO | 06/30/2025 | $119,850 |
| Jeppesen | Systems Engineer (Experienced or Lead) | Hazelwood, MO | 06/30/2025 | $119,850 |
| Jeppesen | Systems Engineer (Lead or Senior) | Albuquerque, NM | 06/30/2025 | $147,050 |
| Jeppesen | Systems Engineer (Lead or Senior)-Reliability, Maintainability & System Health | Richardson, TX | 06/30/2025 | $157,250 |
| Blue Origin | Lead Systems Engineer-New Shepard Operations and Maintenance Engineering | Seattle, WA | 06/30/2025 | $140,959 |
| Contact Government Services | Systems Engineering Lead | Wyoming | 06/30/2025 | $112,000 |
| Contact Government Services | Systems Engineering Lead | Pierre, SD | 06/30/2025 | $112,000 |
| Relativity | Lead Engineer, Engine Systems Design & Analysis | Long Beach, CA | 06/29/2025 | $146,000 |
| Perspecta | Cyber Systems Engineer, Lead Associate | Jessup, MD | 06/29/2025 | $135,000 |
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