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Senior linux engineer salary
Average senior linux engineer salary
$109,623
Average Salary for Senior Linux Engineers
The current average salary for a Senior Linux Engineer in the United States is approximately $109,623 per year or about $53 per hour. This figure can vary significantly based on factors such as location, years of experience, and the specific industry.
Influencing Factors
- Location: Salaries differ across states, with higher pay typically found in technology hubs.
- Experience: Senior engineers with extensive experience tend to earn more compared to their entry-level counterparts.
- Industry: Certain sectors like finance and tech often pay higher salaries for Linux engineers due to specialized needs.
For instance, states like California and New York frequently offer competitive salaries, often exceeding the national average. Additionally, industries such as cloud computing and cybersecurity are rapidly expanding, increasing demand for skilled professionals in these areas.
Career Advancement
As you gain experience and expertise, opportunities for advancement can lead to higher salaries. Pursuing certifications in Linux systems and related technologies can also enhance your earning potential. Understanding these salary dynamics is crucial for making informed career choices and maximizing your professional growth.
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Where can a Senior Linux Engineer earn more?
Senior linux engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average senior linux engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for senior linux engineers are California, Massachusetts, and New York. The lowest average senior linux engineer salary states are Utah, Montana, and Florida.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for senior linux engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | $118,593 | $57.02 |
| 2 | California | $120,796 | $58.08 |
| 3 | Nevada | $117,205 | $56.35 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $110,900 | $53.32 |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | $114,338 | $54.97 |
| 6 | Maryland | $115,429 | $55.49 |
| 7 | New York | $117,800 | $56.63 |
| 8 | Oregon | $111,793 | $53.75 |
| 9 | Delaware | $111,716 | $53.71 |
| 10 | Vermont | $108,815 | $52.31 |
| 11 | Connecticut | $114,220 | $54.91 |
| 12 | Washington | $110,609 | $53.18 |
| 13 | Ohio | $106,008 | $50.97 |
| 14 | North Carolina | $103,234 | $49.63 |
| 15 | New Jersey | $110,953 | $53.34 |
| 16 | District of Columbia | $109,110 | $52.46 |
| 17 | Maine | $109,292 | $52.54 |
| 18 | Minnesota | $107,533 | $51.70 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | $104,879 | $50.42 |
| 20 | Rhode Island | $102,869 | $49.46 |
| 21 | Idaho | $104,074 | $50.04 |
| 22 | Indiana | $101,012 | $48.56 |
| 23 | West Virginia | $99,277 | $47.73 |
| 24 | Michigan | $100,167 | $48.16 |
| 25 | Arizona | $98,825 | $47.51 |
| 26 | Wyoming | $97,138 | $46.70 |
| 27 | Virginia | $98,188 | $47.21 |
| 28 | South Dakota | $98,627 | $47.42 |
| 29 | Alabama | $91,287 | $43.89 |
| 30 | Kentucky | $98,329 | $47.27 |
| 31 | Louisiana | $100,010 | $48.08 |
| 32 | New Mexico | $91,971 | $44.22 |
| 33 | Georgia | $96,394 | $46.34 |
| 34 | Hawaii | $92,506 | $44.47 |
| 35 | Texas | $91,126 | $43.81 |
| 36 | Illinois | $96,849 | $46.56 |
| 37 | Utah | $88,590 | $42.59 |
| 38 | Alaska | $91,108 | $43.80 |
| 39 | North Dakota | $94,060 | $45.22 |
| 40 | Colorado | $88,965 | $42.77 |
| 41 | Tennessee | $92,211 | $44.33 |
| 42 | Mississippi | $94,993 | $45.67 |
| 43 | Nebraska | $89,352 | $42.96 |
| 44 | Iowa | $91,203 | $43.85 |
| 45 | Oklahoma | $90,844 | $43.67 |
| 46 | Florida | $86,486 | $41.58 |
| 47 | Kansas | $88,739 | $42.66 |
| 48 | South Carolina | $85,812 | $41.26 |
| 49 | Montana | $86,879 | $41.77 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $86,078 | $41.38 |
| 51 | Missouri | $82,239 | $39.54 |
Highest paying cities for senior linux engineers
The highest-paying cities for senior linux engineers are San Francisco, CA, Carson City, NV, and Boston, MA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $131,980 | $63.45 |
| 2 | Carson City, NV | $124,904 | $60.05 |
| 3 | Boston, MA | $118,597 | $57.02 |
| 4 | New York, NY | $118,043 | $56.75 |
| 5 | Annapolis, MD | $115,561 | $55.56 |
| 6 | Philadelphia, PA | $114,922 | $55.25 |
| 7 | Beaverton, OR | $111,689 | $53.70 |
| 8 | Concord, NH | $110,507 | $53.13 |
| 9 | Washington, DC | $109,135 | $52.47 |
| 10 | Columbus, OH | $105,616 | $50.78 |
| 11 | Raleigh, NC | $104,489 | $50.24 |
| 12 | Indianapolis, IN | $100,636 | $48.38 |
| 13 | Baton Rouge, LA | $100,454 | $48.30 |
| 14 | Phoenix, AZ | $99,014 | $47.60 |
| 15 | Springfield, VA | $98,803 | $47.50 |
| 16 | Chicago, IL | $97,321 | $46.79 |
| 17 | Atlanta, GA | $96,394 | $46.34 |
| 18 | Bismarck, ND | $93,965 | $45.18 |
| 19 | Albuquerque, NM | $92,086 | $44.27 |
| 20 | Austin, TX | $91,801 | $44.14 |
Senior linux engineer salary details
A senior linux engineer's salary ranges from $82,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $145,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a senior linux engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $145,000 | $12,083 | $70 |
| 75th Percentile | $127,000 | $10,583 | $61 |
| Average | $109,623 | $9,135 | $53 |
| 25th Percentile | $94,000 | $7,833 | $45 |
| 10th Percentile | $82,000 | $6,833 | $39 |
Highest paying senior linux engineer jobs
The highest paying types of senior linux engineers are lead systems engineer, senior infrastructure engineer, and senior unix systems administrator.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unix Systems Administrator | $87,936 | $7,328 | $42.28 | 110,185 |
| Administrator | $72,882 | $6,074 | $35.04 | 67,553 |
| Network Administrator | $71,357 | $5,946 | $34.31 | 106,886 |
| Network Technician | $68,938 | $5,745 | $33.14 | 79,712 |
| Systems Administrator | $77,156 | $6,430 | $37.09 | 134,500 |
| Linux Systems Administrator | $83,032 | $6,919 | $39.92 | 109,091 |
Top companies hiring senior linux engineers now:
Which companies pay senior linux engineers the most?
Senior linux engineer salaries at Apple and Exelixis are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average senior linux engineer salary at companies like NVIDIA and Bloomberg are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple | $149,352 | $71.80 |
| 2 | Exelixis | $145,771 | $70.08 |
| 3 | NVIDIA | $136,456 | $65.60 |
| 4 | Bloomberg | $135,408 | $65.10 |
| 5 | CrowdStrike | $134,082 | $64.46 |
| 6 | Scality | $132,237 | $63.58 |
| 7 | Synaptics | $131,741 | $63.34 |
| 8 | Ambarella | $130,925 | $62.94 |
| 9 | Cisco | $130,008 | $62.50 |
| 10 | Applied Materials | $129,920 | $62.46 |
| 11 | Proofpoint | $128,456 | $61.76 |
| 12 | Nike | $127,185 | $61.15 |
| 13 | AARP | $125,879 | $60.52 |
| 14 | Backblaze | $125,660 | $60.41 |
| 15 | PMC-Sierra | $125,362 | $60.27 |
| 16 | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | $124,457 | $59.84 |
| 17 | Fresh Direct Holdings Inc | $123,979 | $59.61 |
| 18 | The Wonderful Company | $122,902 | $59.09 |
| 19 | OmniVision Technologies | $121,591 | $58.46 |
| 20 | Staples | $120,876 | $58.11 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Senior Linux Engineer salary by industry
The average senior linux engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average senior linux engineer salary in the utilities industry is $129,917, the highest of any industry.
- The average senior linux engineer salary in the finance industry is $108,543.
- Senior linux engineers in the hospitality industry earn an average salary of $95,286, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for senior linux engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utilities | $129,917 | $62.46 |
| 2 | Automotive | $108,543 | $52.18 |
| 3 | Technology | $104,299 | $50.14 |
| 4 | Manufacturing | $104,148 | $50.07 |
| 5 | Professional | $101,057 | $48.59 |
| 6 | Finance | $98,124 | $47.17 |
| 7 | Hospitality | $95,286 | $45.81 |
High paying senior linux engineer jobs
Senior linux engineer salary trends
The average senior linux engineer salary has risen by $20,004 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average senior linux engineer earned $89,619 annually, but today, they earn $109,623 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for senior linux engineers over the last decade.
Compare senior linux engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average senior linux engineer salary over time
Compare senior linux engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Senior linux engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $110,000 | $52.70 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $106,000 | $50.97 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $104,000 | $49.81 | +1.2% |
| 2022 | $102,000 | $49.24 | +1.7% |
| 2021 | $101,000 | $48.39 | +2.4% |
Recently added senior linux engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeppesen | Senior Linux Administrator | Huntsville, AL | 06/30/2025 | $108,800 |
| Caci International Inc. | Senior Linux Engineer | Oklahoma City, OK | 06/28/2025 | $98,500 |
| Amentum | Senior Linux Administrator-Ts/Sci W/Poly | Linthicum, MD | 06/28/2025 | $165,000 |
| Boeing | Senior Linux Administrator | Huntsville, AL | 06/25/2025 | $108,800 |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | Senior Linux Sysadmin 2 | Fort Meade, MD | 06/20/2025 | $99,700 |
| Ericsson | Senior Linux Engineer | Santa Clara, CA | 06/20/2025 | $191,200 |
| York Space Systems | Linux Platform Engineer Senior | Greenwood Village, CO | 06/18/2025 | $120,000 |
| 0000050176 RBC Capital Markets | Senior SRE Linux and Automation-CPS | Jersey City, NJ | 06/16/2025 | $165,000 |
| Deloitte | Senior Azure/Linux Engineer (FED/Govcloud) | Boise, ID | 06/14/2025 | $102,000 |
| Deloitte | Senior Azure/Linux Engineer (FED/Govcloud) | Tempe, AZ | 06/14/2025 | $102,000 |
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