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Optical design engineer salary
Average optical design engineer salary
$94,750
Average Optical Design Engineer Salary
As of October 2025, the average salary for an optical design engineer is $94,750 per year. This figure can fluctuate based on several influencing factors, including geographical location, years of experience, and specific industry sector. For example, engineers in larger metropolitan areas may command higher salaries due to the cost of living and demand for specialized skills.
Optical Design Engineer Salaries by Experience Level
Entry-level positions typically start lower, around $70,000, while experienced professionals can earn upwards of $120,000. Continuing education and certifications can also enhance earning potential.
Highest Paying States for Optical Design Engineers
States like California and New York often offer the highest salaries, reflecting both demand for optical technology and living costs. Understanding salary variations can help prospective engineers choose the best locations to maximize their earnings.
Job Opportunities in Optical Design Engineering
With a growing demand for innovative optical systems in sectors like telecommunications, healthcare, and consumer electronics, job opportunities are plentiful. As technology evolves, so do the roles tailored for skilled optical design engineers.
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Where can an Optical Design Engineer earn more?
Optical design engineer salaries by experience level
| Experience level | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level optical design engineer | $84,800 | $40.77 |
| Mid-level optical design engineer | $106,000 | $50.73 |
| Senior-level optical design engineer | $133,000 | $64.05 |
Optical design engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average optical design engineer salary by state
The average optical design engineer salary in Washington, California, and Colorado are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average optical design engineer salary states are Kentucky, Nebraska, and Montana.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for optical design engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $122,952 | $59.11 |
| 2 | California | $122,709 | $58.99 |
| 3 | District of Columbia | $120,236 | $57.81 |
| 4 | Colorado | $108,886 | $52.35 |
| 5 | Arizona | $102,978 | $49.51 |
| 6 | Utah | $95,061 | $45.70 |
| 7 | Maryland | $103,028 | $49.53 |
| 8 | Florida | $102,313 | $49.19 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | $97,834 | $47.04 |
| 10 | Nevada | $105,305 | $50.63 |
| 11 | Idaho | $102,722 | $49.39 |
| 12 | Michigan | $91,086 | $43.79 |
| 13 | Minnesota | $92,473 | $44.46 |
| 14 | Alaska | $98,939 | $47.57 |
| 15 | Maine | $95,690 | $46.00 |
| 16 | Delaware | $91,660 | $44.07 |
| 17 | Oregon | $89,585 | $43.07 |
| 18 | Texas | $88,106 | $42.36 |
| 19 | Pennsylvania | $93,444 | $44.92 |
| 20 | Rhode Island | $94,904 | $45.63 |
| 21 | Virginia | $89,396 | $42.98 |
| 22 | Alabama | $84,777 | $40.76 |
| 23 | New Mexico | $88,580 | $42.59 |
| 24 | Wyoming | $83,122 | $39.96 |
| 25 | New Hampshire | $87,124 | $41.89 |
| 26 | New Jersey | $92,783 | $44.61 |
| 27 | Connecticut | $87,187 | $41.92 |
| 28 | Oklahoma | $87,491 | $42.06 |
| 29 | North Dakota | $81,544 | $39.20 |
| 30 | New York | $85,861 | $41.28 |
| 31 | Kansas | $83,377 | $40.09 |
| 32 | Vermont | $83,026 | $39.92 |
| 33 | Tennessee | $82,710 | $39.76 |
| 34 | Georgia | $81,299 | $39.09 |
| 35 | Ohio | $79,041 | $38.00 |
| 36 | Hawaii | $81,514 | $39.19 |
| 37 | Mississippi | $81,741 | $39.30 |
| 38 | Louisiana | $82,190 | $39.51 |
| 39 | Missouri | $81,190 | $39.03 |
| 40 | Indiana | $77,226 | $37.13 |
| 41 | Illinois | $78,075 | $37.54 |
| 42 | Arkansas | $79,833 | $38.38 |
| 43 | South Carolina | $78,352 | $37.67 |
| 44 | North Carolina | $73,118 | $35.15 |
| 45 | Iowa | $73,492 | $35.33 |
| 46 | Wisconsin | $68,917 | $33.13 |
| 47 | Kentucky | $73,084 | $35.14 |
| 48 | Nebraska | $72,768 | $34.98 |
| 49 | Montana | $69,533 | $33.43 |
| 50 | South Dakota | $63,542 | $30.55 |
| 51 | West Virginia | $65,650 | $31.56 |
Highest paying cities for optical design engineers
The highest-paying cities for optical design engineers are Menlo Park, CA, Redmond, WA, and Boulder, CO.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Menlo Park, CA | $131,102 | $63.03 |
| 2 | Redmond, WA | $123,651 | $59.45 |
| 3 | Boulder, CO | $108,589 | $52.21 |
| 4 | Glendale, AZ | $103,598 | $49.81 |
| 5 | Clearwater, FL | $103,252 | $49.64 |
| 6 | Reading, MA | $98,064 | $47.15 |
| 7 | Dallas, TX | $87,662 | $42.15 |
| 8 | Ithaca, NY | $84,840 | $40.79 |
| 9 | Lincoln, NE | $72,711 | $34.96 |
Optical design engineer salary details
An optical design engineer's salary ranges from $71,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $125,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is an optical design engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $125,000 | $10,417 | $60 |
| 75th Percentile | $109,000 | $9,083 | $52 |
| Average | $94,750 | $7,896 | $46 |
| 25th Percentile | $81,000 | $6,750 | $39 |
| 10th Percentile | $71,000 | $5,917 | $34 |
Highest paying optical design engineer jobs
The highest paying types of optical design engineers are staff design engineer, circuit design engineer, and senior controls engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Trainee | $60,235 | $5,020 | $28.96 | 79,966 |
| Radio Frequency Engineer | $88,301 | $7,358 | $42.45 | 35,158 |
| Project Controls Engineer | $86,685 | $7,224 | $41.68 | 38,974 |
| Telecom Engineer | $81,384 | $6,782 | $39.13 | 33,530 |
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
| Customer Engineer | $101,212 | $8,434 | $48.66 | 44,709 |
Top companies hiring optical design engineers now:
Which companies pay optical design engineers the most?
Optical design engineer salaries at Meta and Apple are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average optical design engineer salary at companies like Google and Cisco are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $142,825 | $68.67 |
| 2 | Apple | $139,056 | $66.85 |
| 3 | $130,946 | $62.95 | |
| 4 | Cisco | $115,289 | $55.43 |
| 5 | Amazon | $110,745 | $53.24 |
| 6 | Texas Instruments | $108,334 | $52.08 |
| 7 | OmniVision Technologies | $106,224 | $51.07 |
| 8 | KLA | $105,411 | $50.68 |
| 9 | Tesla | $105,162 | $50.56 |
| 10 | Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc. | $99,290 | $47.74 |
| 11 | Intel | $98,414 | $47.31 |
| 12 | Keysight Technologies | $97,759 | $47.00 |
| 13 | Corning Incorporated | $97,539 | $46.89 |
| 14 | Magic Leap | $97,264 | $46.76 |
| 15 | Koch Industries | $94,575 | $45.47 |
| 16 | ASML Holding | $94,516 | $45.44 |
| 17 | IonQ | $94,191 | $45.28 |
| 18 | Eaton | $93,807 | $45.10 |
| 19 | Randstad North America, Inc. | $91,864 | $44.17 |
| 20 | Crystal Equation | $91,045 | $43.77 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Optical Design Engineer salary by industry
The average optical design engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average optical design engineer salary in the technology industry is $95,316, the highest of any industry.
- The average optical design engineer salary in the finance industry is $93,868.
- Optical design engineers in the professional industry earn an average salary of $81,775, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for optical design engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology | $95,316 | $45.83 |
| 2 | Manufacturing | $93,868 | $45.13 |
| 3 | Start-up | $90,534 | $43.53 |
| 4 | Professional | $81,775 | $39.31 |
High paying optical design engineer jobs
Optical design engineer salary trends
The average optical design engineer salary has risen by $14,132 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average optical design engineer earned $80,618 annually, but today, they earn $94,750 a year. That works out to a 8% change in pay for optical design engineers over the last decade.
Compare optical design engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average optical design engineer salary over time
Compare optical design engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Optical design engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $94,800 | $45.55 | +1.8% |
| 2024 | $93,000 | $44.72 | +2.7% |
| 2023 | $90,500 | $43.50 | +0.5% |
| 2022 | $90,000 | $43.28 | +2.9% |
| 2021 | $87,400 | $42.02 | +0.9% |
Recently added optical design engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concordia | Remote Fiber Optic Design Engineer | Seattle, WA | 06/29/2025 | $80,000 |
| Snap | Optical Design Engineer | Boulder, CO | 06/20/2025 | $190,000 |
| Actalent | Optical Design Engineer | San Diego, CA | 06/18/2025 | $180,000 |
| KLA Corporation | Senior Staff Optical Design Engineer | Milpitas, CA | 06/06/2025 | $159,300 |
| Snap | Optical Design Engineer | Boulder, CO | 05/25/2025 | $190,000 |
| Actalent | Optical Design Engineer | Poway, CA | 05/24/2025 | $180,000 |
| Applied Materials | Senior Optical Packaging Design Engineer | Santa Clara, CA | 05/15/2025 | $138,000 |
| KLA Corporation | SR. Optical Design Engineer-Detector | Milpitas, CA | 05/08/2025 | $159,300 |
| Snap | Optical Design Engineer | Boulder, CO | 04/28/2025 | $190,000 |
| Leidos Holdings Inc. | Optical Design Engineer | San Diego, CA | 04/23/2025 | $85,150 |
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