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Senior optical engineer salary
Average senior optical engineer salary
$98,518
Understanding Senior Optical Engineer Salaries
The average salary for a Senior Optical Engineer stands at $98,518 annually, translating to approximately $47 per hour. Salaries in this profession can vary based on factors such as experience, location, and industry. For instance, engineers in states like California and Massachusetts typically earn higher wages due to the demand for their expertise in technology and innovation.
Salary by State
Senior Optical Engineers in states like California and New York can expect some of the highest compensation packages, reflecting the cost of living and concentration of tech companies. Conversely, those in less populated states may see lower average salaries.
Career Opportunities
Beyond salary, Senior Optical Engineers have a range of career paths available in industries such as telecommunications, aerospace, and defense. Companies in these fields often look for engineers to develop optical systems for various applications, providing ample opportunities for growth and advancement.
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Where can a Senior Optical Engineer earn more?
Senior optical engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average senior optical engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for senior optical engineers are Washington, Texas, and California. The lowest average senior optical engineer salary states are Nebraska, Montana, and West Virginia.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for senior optical engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $124,586 | $59.90 |
| 2 | District of Columbia | $122,967 | $59.12 |
| 3 | California | $115,236 | $55.40 |
| 4 | Texas | $116,837 | $56.17 |
| 5 | Utah | $97,102 | $46.68 |
| 6 | Colorado | $102,590 | $49.32 |
| 7 | Nevada | $106,113 | $51.02 |
| 8 | Vermont | $99,136 | $47.66 |
| 9 | Idaho | $104,743 | $50.36 |
| 10 | Alaska | $99,858 | $48.01 |
| 11 | Michigan | $90,491 | $43.51 |
| 12 | Massachusetts | $95,896 | $46.10 |
| 13 | Rhode Island | $93,940 | $45.16 |
| 14 | New Jersey | $102,452 | $49.26 |
| 15 | Delaware | $93,345 | $44.88 |
| 16 | Maryland | $94,291 | $45.33 |
| 17 | Illinois | $93,438 | $44.92 |
| 18 | New Mexico | $93,071 | $44.75 |
| 19 | Arizona | $89,378 | $42.97 |
| 20 | Alabama | $88,376 | $42.49 |
| 21 | Virginia | $90,139 | $43.34 |
| 22 | Tennessee | $93,260 | $44.84 |
| 23 | Minnesota | $89,995 | $43.27 |
| 24 | Ohio | $88,229 | $42.42 |
| 25 | Florida | $91,327 | $43.91 |
| 26 | Oklahoma | $91,086 | $43.79 |
| 27 | Wyoming | $84,401 | $40.58 |
| 28 | Pennsylvania | $86,294 | $41.49 |
| 29 | Indiana | $85,044 | $40.89 |
| 30 | New Hampshire | $84,523 | $40.64 |
| 31 | Connecticut | $86,945 | $41.80 |
| 32 | Missouri | $88,326 | $42.46 |
| 33 | Georgia | $85,381 | $41.05 |
| 34 | North Carolina | $83,842 | $40.31 |
| 35 | North Dakota | $81,451 | $39.16 |
| 36 | Oregon | $80,591 | $38.75 |
| 37 | Kansas | $84,418 | $40.59 |
| 38 | Arkansas | $82,963 | $39.89 |
| 39 | New York | $80,197 | $38.56 |
| 40 | Mississippi | $84,773 | $40.76 |
| 41 | Louisiana | $85,041 | $40.89 |
| 42 | Hawaii | $82,487 | $39.66 |
| 43 | Maine | $80,368 | $38.64 |
| 44 | Nebraska | $73,747 | $35.46 |
| 45 | South Carolina | $79,430 | $38.19 |
| 46 | Montana | $68,953 | $33.15 |
| 47 | Iowa | $74,181 | $35.66 |
| 48 | Wisconsin | $62,139 | $29.87 |
| 49 | South Dakota | $63,477 | $30.52 |
| 50 | West Virginia | $67,143 | $32.28 |
| 51 | Kentucky | $61,621 | $29.63 |
Highest paying cities for senior optical engineers
The highest-paying cities for senior optical engineers are Seattle, WA, Redwood City, CA, and Fort Worth, TX.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle, WA | $125,157 | $60.17 |
| 2 | Redwood City, CA | $122,257 | $58.78 |
| 3 | Fort Worth, TX | $116,717 | $56.11 |
| 4 | Piscataway, NJ | $102,448 | $49.25 |
| 5 | Westminster, CO | $102,399 | $49.23 |
| 6 | Cambridge, MA | $95,768 | $46.04 |
| 7 | Albuquerque, NM | $93,567 | $44.98 |
| 8 | Orlando, FL | $92,193 | $44.32 |
| 9 | Farmington Hills, MI | $90,621 | $43.57 |
| 10 | Tucson, AZ | $87,784 | $42.20 |
| 11 | Huntsville, AL | $86,092 | $41.39 |
| 12 | Peachtree City, GA | $85,383 | $41.05 |
| 13 | Hilo, HI | $80,908 | $38.90 |
| 14 | Ithaca, NY | $79,030 | $38.00 |
Senior optical engineer salary details
A senior optical engineer's salary ranges from $71,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $134,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a senior optical engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $134,000 | $11,167 | $64 |
| 75th Percentile | $116,000 | $9,667 | $56 |
| Average | $98,518 | $8,210 | $47 |
| 25th Percentile | $83,000 | $6,917 | $40 |
| 10th Percentile | $71,000 | $5,917 | $34 |
Highest paying senior optical engineer jobs
The highest paying types of senior optical engineers are senior staff engineer, principal engineer, and staff design engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controls Designer | $91,944 | $7,662 | $44.20 | 79,729 |
| Engineering Trainee | $60,235 | $5,020 | $28.96 | 79,966 |
| Control Systems Engineer | $92,727 | $7,727 | $44.58 | 133,220 |
| Radio Frequency Engineer | $88,301 | $7,358 | $42.45 | 35,158 |
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
| Project Controls Engineer | $86,685 | $7,224 | $41.68 | 38,974 |
Top companies hiring senior optical engineers now:
Which companies pay senior optical engineers the most?
Senior optical engineer salaries at Meta and Apple are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average senior optical engineer salary at companies like Microsoft and Amazon are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $160,178 | $77.01 |
| 2 | Apple | $147,653 | $70.99 |
| 3 | Microsoft | $141,438 | $68.00 |
| 4 | Amazon | $129,881 | $62.44 |
| 5 | GoPro | $129,587 | $62.30 |
| 6 | Magic Leap | $126,695 | $60.91 |
| 7 | Tencent | $126,224 | $60.68 |
| 8 | Cisco | $125,107 | $60.15 |
| 9 | Finisar | $118,607 | $57.02 |
| 10 | PacBio | $109,314 | $52.55 |
| 11 | KLA | $108,513 | $52.17 |
| 12 | OmniVision Technologies | $108,168 | $52.00 |
| 13 | Infinera | $107,877 | $51.86 |
| 14 | Seagate Technology | $106,324 | $51.12 |
| 15 | ASML Holding | $105,998 | $50.96 |
| 16 | OmniGuide | $105,951 | $50.94 |
| 17 | Oclaro | $105,793 | $50.86 |
| 18 | DRS | $105,380 | $50.66 |
| 19 | Acacia Communications | $105,175 | $50.56 |
| 20 | AEVA | $104,921 | $50.44 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Senior Optical Engineer salary by industry
The average senior optical engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average senior optical engineer salary in the telecommunication industry is $113,229, the highest of any industry.
- The average senior optical engineer salary in the finance industry is $102,895.
- Senior optical engineers in the technology industry earn an average salary of $98,041, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for senior optical engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Telecommunication | $113,229 | $54.44 |
| 2 | Health Care | $102,895 | $49.47 |
| 3 | Manufacturing | $98,412 | $47.31 |
| 4 | Technology | $98,041 | $47.14 |
High paying senior optical engineer jobs
Senior optical engineer salary trends
The average senior optical engineer salary has risen by $14,695 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average senior optical engineer earned $83,823 annually, but today, they earn $98,518 a year. That works out to a 8% change in pay for senior optical engineers over the last decade.
Compare senior optical engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average senior optical engineer salary over time
Compare senior optical engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Senior optical engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $98,500 | $47.36 | +1.8% |
| 2025 | $96,700 | $46.50 | +2.7% |
| 2024 | $94,100 | $45.23 | +0.5% |
| 2023 | $93,600 | $45.00 | +2.9% |
| 2022 | $90,900 | $43.70 | +0.9% |
Recently added senior optical engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet Payment | Senior Optical Engineer | San Francisco, CA | 06/29/2025 | $144,500 |
| DRS Technologies | Senior Optical Engineer | San Diego, CA | 06/27/2025 | $116,786 |
| Leonardo DRS, Inc. | Senior Optical Engineer | San Diego, CA | 06/27/2025 | $116,786 |
| Amazon.com, Inc. | SR. Optical Metrology Engineer, Hardware-Emerging Optics | Sunnyvale, CA | 06/26/2025 | $128,600 |
| Anduril Industries | Senior Optical AI&T Engineer, Imaging | Boulder, CO | 06/26/2025 | $130,900 |
| Anduril Industries | Senior Optical AI&T Engineer, Imaging | Lexington, MA | 06/26/2025 | $154,000 |
| Arete Associates | Senior Optical Systems Engineer | Tucson, AZ | 06/16/2025 | $150,000 |
| Diamond Foundry | Senior Metrology Engineer-Optical Spectroscopy | Ione, CA | 06/14/2025 | $110,000 |
| Nlight | SR. Optical Engineer-Defense | Camas, WA | 06/10/2025 | $103,000 |
| Omnivision Technologies | SR. Optical Engineer | Santa Clara, CA | 06/10/2025 | $120,600 |
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