Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Materials research engineer salary
Average materials research engineer salary
$87,100
Average Materials Research Engineer Salary
The current average salary for a Materials Research Engineer is approximately $87,100 per year, translating to about $42 per hour. Salaries can differ based on factors such as experience, location, and industry sector.
Salary by Experience Level
Entry-level positions typically start at around $70,000, while those with several years of experience can earn upwards of $100,000. Senior engineers or those in management roles often see salaries exceed $120,000.
Top-Paying States
States like California, Texas, and New York offer the highest salaries for materials research engineers. For example, in California, salaries can reach as high as $110,000 annually.
Job Opportunities
As industries seek innovative solutions, the demand for materials research engineers is increasing. Companies in sectors such as aerospace, automotive, and electronics are actively hiring, providing numerous opportunities for career advancement.
Let Zippi find your next materials research engineer job
Let Zippi find your next materials research engineer job
Where can a Materials Research Engineer earn more?
Materials research engineer salaries by experience level
| Experience level | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level materials research engineer | $93,000 | $44.73 |
| Mid-level materials research engineer | $107,000 | $51.53 |
| Senior-level materials research engineer | $121,000 | $58.33 |
Materials research engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average materials research engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for materials research engineers are Washington, New Hampshire, and Oregon. The lowest average materials research engineer salary states are Wisconsin, Ohio, and Missouri.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for materials research engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Hampshire | $104,650 | $50.31 |
| 2 | Oregon | $102,878 | $49.46 |
| 3 | Vermont | $98,683 | $47.44 |
| 4 | Washington | $107,739 | $51.80 |
| 5 | Texas | $99,292 | $47.74 |
| 6 | Maryland | $99,385 | $47.78 |
| 7 | Tennessee | $96,198 | $46.25 |
| 8 | New Mexico | $94,985 | $45.67 |
| 9 | Florida | $98,728 | $47.47 |
| 10 | Arizona | $93,167 | $44.79 |
| 11 | New Jersey | $99,125 | $47.66 |
| 12 | Massachusetts | $101,750 | $48.92 |
| 13 | Wyoming | $92,341 | $44.39 |
| 14 | North Dakota | $95,432 | $45.88 |
| 15 | Minnesota | $93,339 | $44.87 |
| 16 | Virginia | $93,181 | $44.80 |
| 17 | New York | $95,293 | $45.81 |
| 18 | Georgia | $94,120 | $45.25 |
| 19 | Maine | $96,137 | $46.22 |
| 20 | Connecticut | $93,067 | $44.74 |
| 21 | Pennsylvania | $89,824 | $43.18 |
| 22 | Kentucky | $93,704 | $45.05 |
| 23 | Rhode Island | $89,140 | $42.86 |
| 24 | Nevada | $93,541 | $44.97 |
| 25 | Michigan | $85,893 | $41.29 |
| 26 | Alaska | $98,439 | $47.33 |
| 27 | Delaware | $88,053 | $42.33 |
| 28 | Colorado | $86,032 | $41.36 |
| 29 | Louisiana | $91,400 | $43.94 |
| 30 | Utah | $82,260 | $39.55 |
| 31 | Montana | $88,960 | $42.77 |
| 32 | California | $87,511 | $42.07 |
| 33 | Alabama | $82,701 | $39.76 |
| 34 | Idaho | $82,864 | $39.84 |
| 35 | South Dakota | $84,009 | $40.39 |
| 36 | South Carolina | $84,404 | $40.58 |
| 37 | District of Columbia | $87,296 | $41.97 |
| 38 | North Carolina | $79,620 | $38.28 |
| 39 | West Virginia | $80,216 | $38.57 |
| 40 | Illinois | $79,565 | $38.25 |
| 41 | Wisconsin | $76,226 | $36.65 |
| 42 | Ohio | $74,459 | $35.80 |
| 43 | Indiana | $77,415 | $37.22 |
| 44 | Hawaii | $82,248 | $39.54 |
| 45 | Iowa | $79,992 | $38.46 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $76,894 | $36.97 |
| 47 | Nebraska | $62,735 | $30.16 |
| 48 | Kansas | $76,493 | $36.78 |
| 49 | Missouri | $71,886 | $34.56 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $66,919 | $32.17 |
| 51 | Arkansas | $63,717 | $30.63 |
Highest paying cities for materials research engineers
The highest-paying cities for materials research engineers are Beaverton, OR, Waltham, MA, and Houston, TX.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beaverton, OR | $102,053 | $49.06 |
| 2 | Waltham, MA | $101,616 | $48.85 |
| 3 | Houston, TX | $99,904 | $48.03 |
| 4 | Gaithersburg, MD | $99,119 | $47.65 |
| 5 | Oak Ridge, TN | $96,362 | $46.33 |
| 6 | Grand Forks, ND | $95,623 | $45.97 |
| 7 | Troy, NY | $94,500 | $45.43 |
| 8 | Atlanta, GA | $93,751 | $45.07 |
| 9 | Maplewood, MN | $93,496 | $44.95 |
| 10 | Berkeley, CA | $92,995 | $44.71 |
| 11 | Warren, MI | $86,206 | $41.45 |
| 12 | Rapid City, SD | $83,924 | $40.35 |
| 13 | Montgomery, AL | $82,919 | $39.86 |
| 14 | Westlake, OH | $75,892 | $36.49 |
Materials research engineer salary details
A materials research engineer's salary ranges from $67,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $111,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a materials research engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $111,000 | $9,250 | $53 |
| 75th Percentile | $99,000 | $8,250 | $48 |
| Average | $87,100 | $7,258 | $42 |
| 25th Percentile | $76,000 | $6,333 | $37 |
| 10th Percentile | $67,000 | $5,583 | $32 |
Highest paying materials research engineer jobs
The highest paying types of materials research engineers are research and development engineer, equipment engineer, and research engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development Engineer | $93,206 | $7,767 | $44.81 | 224,881 |
| Equipment Engineer | $97,539 | $8,128 | $46.89 | 108,449 |
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
| Product Engineer | $89,645 | $7,470 | $43.10 | 157,888 |
| Project Engineer | $75,050 | $6,254 | $36.08 | 176,689 |
| Product Development Engineer | $86,075 | $7,173 | $41.38 | 202,155 |
Top companies hiring materials research engineers now:
Which companies pay materials research engineers the most?
Materials research engineer salaries at Nike and General Motors are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average materials research engineer salary at companies like Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Fenix are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nike | $109,868 | $52.82 |
| 2 | General Motors | $100,280 | $48.21 |
| 3 | Oak Ridge National Laboratory | $99,042 | $47.62 |
| 4 | Fenix | $98,452 | $47.33 |
| 5 | A123 Systems | $96,936 | $46.60 |
| 6 | Oshkosh | $94,189 | $45.28 |
| 7 | General Electric | $94,076 | $45.23 |
| 8 | Alliance for Sustainable Energy | $93,525 | $44.96 |
| 9 | Ford Motor | $93,267 | $44.84 |
| 10 | 3M Company | $92,775 | $44.60 |
| 11 | Hewlett Packard Enterprise | $91,951 | $44.21 |
| 12 | Jacobs Enterprises | $91,142 | $43.82 |
| 13 | MSX International | $89,758 | $43.15 |
| 14 | Teva Pharmaceuticals | $89,715 | $43.13 |
| 15 | CVE Group | $89,700 | $43.13 |
| 16 | Jacobs Engineering Group | $89,199 | $42.88 |
| 17 | Populus Group | $88,882 | $42.73 |
| 18 | Xerox | $88,299 | $42.45 |
| 19 | Pelican Products | $87,199 | $41.92 |
| 20 | Niagara Bottling | $87,174 | $41.91 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Materials Research Engineer salary by industry
The average materials research engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average materials research engineer salary in the technology industry is $101,507, the highest of any industry.
- The average materials research engineer salary in the finance industry is $91,364.
- Materials research engineers in the manufacturing industry earn an average salary of $80,531, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for materials research engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology | $101,507 | $48.80 |
| 2 | Energy | $91,364 | $43.92 |
| 3 | Automotive | $83,656 | $40.22 |
| 4 | Education | $82,223 | $39.53 |
| 5 | Professional | $82,210 | $39.52 |
| 6 | Manufacturing | $80,531 | $38.72 |
High paying materials research engineer jobs
Materials research engineer salary trends
The average materials research engineer salary has risen by $10,100 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average materials research engineer earned $77,000 annually, but today, they earn $87,100 a year. That works out to a 2% change in pay for materials research engineers over the last decade.
Compare materials research engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average materials research engineer salary over time
Compare materials research engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Materials research engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $87,100 | $41.87 | +2.4% |
| 2024 | $85,000 | $40.88 | +1.0% |
| 2023 | $84,100 | $40.45 | -2.4% |
| 2022 | $86,200 | $41.42 | +1.4% |
| 2021 | $85,000 | $40.85 | +2.1% |
Recently added materials research engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genex Systems, LLC | Concrete Material Research Engineer | McLean, VA | 12/30/2024 | $90,000 |
| Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc. | Research SCI. Engineer High Temp. Porous Materials Modeling | Mountain View, CA | 11/12/2024 | $136,816 |
| Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC | Researcher III-Materials Science | Golden, CO | 09/19/2024 | $90,400 |
| University of Maine | Research Assoc. Materials Science | Orono, ME | 07/15/2024 | $61,799 |
| Braskem America, Inc. | Materials Science Researcher | Pittsburgh, PA | 05/15/2024 | $119,025 |
| Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Materials Research Scientist/Engineer | Berkeley, CA | 04/18/2024 | $145,428 |
| Ut-Battelle, LLC (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) | R&D Assc. Staff, Materials SCI and Chemistry, Electrification | Oak Ridge, TN | 02/05/2024 | $118,080 |
| Ut-Battelle, LLC (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) | R&D Assc. Staff, Materials SCI and Chemistry, Electrification | Oak Ridge, TN | 02/05/2024 | $118,080 |
| Department of Commerce | Materials Research Engineer | Gaithersburg, MD | 11/17/2023 | $78,592 |
| Department of Commerce | Materials Research Engineer | Gaithersburg, MD | 11/17/2023 | $78,592 |
Materials research engineer salary FAQs
Search for materials research engineer jobs