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Senior technical designer salary
Average senior technical designer salary
$84,266
Understanding the Senior Technical Designer Salary
The average salary for a Senior Technical Designer in the United States is $84,266 annually. This figure can vary significantly based on geographic location, industry, and the individual's level of experience. For example, states like California and New York often offer higher salaries due to the cost of living and demand for skilled professionals.
In addition to location, specific industries can impact salary levels as well. Senior Technical Designers in sectors such as technology, engineering, and manufacturing typically earn more than their counterparts in less specialized fields.
To further understand salary ranges, consider how years of experience influence earning potential. Entry-level positions may start around $60,000, while seasoned professionals can exceed $100,000 annually. This variability emphasizes the importance of continuous skill development and networking.
For those looking to maximize their salary, researching job openings in high-paying states and industries is crucial. Utilize platforms like Zippia to find relevant job listings and salary insights tailored to your career aspirations.
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Where can a Senior Technical Designer earn more?
Senior technical designer salary estimates from across the web
Average senior technical designer salary by state
The average senior technical designer salary in California, Idaho, and Massachusetts are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average senior technical designer salary states are Alabama, Kansas, and Mississippi.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for senior technical designers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Mexico | $97,612 | $46.93 |
| 2 | Delaware | $100,674 | $48.40 |
| 3 | Illinois | $95,225 | $45.78 |
| 4 | Alaska | $100,439 | $48.29 |
| 5 | California | $107,943 | $51.90 |
| 6 | New York | $95,694 | $46.01 |
| 7 | Michigan | $91,406 | $43.95 |
| 8 | Idaho | $103,722 | $49.87 |
| 9 | Iowa | $97,696 | $46.97 |
| 10 | Massachusetts | $102,588 | $49.32 |
| 11 | Washington | $97,010 | $46.64 |
| 12 | Rhode Island | $99,174 | $47.68 |
| 13 | Connecticut | $91,087 | $43.79 |
| 14 | West Virginia | $92,334 | $44.39 |
| 15 | Colorado | $87,903 | $42.26 |
| 16 | Wisconsin | $84,344 | $40.55 |
| 17 | District of Columbia | $102,070 | $49.07 |
| 18 | Maryland | $100,413 | $48.28 |
| 19 | Nevada | $83,613 | $40.20 |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | $83,452 | $40.12 |
| 21 | Maine | $85,117 | $40.92 |
| 22 | Tennessee | $82,683 | $39.75 |
| 23 | New Hampshire | $91,090 | $43.79 |
| 24 | Arizona | $81,015 | $38.95 |
| 25 | Ohio | $78,738 | $37.85 |
| 26 | Virginia | $89,755 | $43.15 |
| 27 | North Carolina | $77,766 | $37.39 |
| 28 | North Dakota | $77,798 | $37.40 |
| 29 | Indiana | $78,976 | $37.97 |
| 30 | Texas | $76,196 | $36.63 |
| 31 | Missouri | $79,256 | $38.10 |
| 32 | Vermont | $84,481 | $40.62 |
| 33 | New Jersey | $87,862 | $42.24 |
| 34 | Georgia | $75,572 | $36.33 |
| 35 | Utah | $79,937 | $38.43 |
| 36 | Minnesota | $75,255 | $36.18 |
| 37 | Oregon | $80,798 | $38.85 |
| 38 | Kentucky | $76,167 | $36.62 |
| 39 | Wyoming | $78,956 | $37.96 |
| 40 | Nebraska | $71,887 | $34.56 |
| 41 | South Carolina | $73,409 | $35.29 |
| 42 | South Dakota | $71,933 | $34.58 |
| 43 | Louisiana | $74,166 | $35.66 |
| 44 | Kansas | $67,895 | $32.64 |
| 45 | Montana | $77,540 | $37.28 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $71,546 | $34.40 |
| 47 | Alabama | $69,108 | $33.23 |
| 48 | Arkansas | $62,015 | $29.81 |
| 49 | Florida | $53,819 | $25.87 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $65,314 | $31.40 |
| 51 | Hawaii | $47,525 | $22.85 |
Highest paying cities for senior technical designers
The highest-paying cities for senior technical designers are San Francisco, CA, Framingham, MA, and Baltimore, MD.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $117,944 | $56.70 |
| 2 | Framingham, MA | $102,783 | $49.41 |
| 3 | Baltimore, MD | $100,712 | $48.42 |
| 4 | Everett, WA | $97,727 | $46.98 |
| 5 | New York, NY | $95,744 | $46.03 |
| 6 | McLean, VA | $92,904 | $44.67 |
| 7 | Reno, NV | $89,460 | $43.01 |
| 8 | Denver, CO | $87,895 | $42.26 |
| 9 | Milwaukee, WI | $84,343 | $40.55 |
| 10 | Phoenix, AZ | $81,456 | $39.16 |
| 11 | Beaverton, OR | $80,855 | $38.87 |
| 12 | Hazelwood, MO | $80,233 | $38.57 |
| 13 | Arlington, TX | $77,585 | $37.30 |
| 14 | Minneapolis, MN | $75,238 | $36.17 |
| 15 | Charleston, SC | $71,664 | $34.45 |
| 16 | Tampa, FL | $57,496 | $27.64 |
Senior technical designer salary details
A senior technical designer's salary ranges from $53,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $132,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a senior technical designer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $132,000 | $11,000 | $63 |
| 75th Percentile | $106,000 | $8,833 | $51 |
| Average | $84,266 | $7,022 | $41 |
| 25th Percentile | $66,000 | $5,500 | $32 |
| 10th Percentile | $53,000 | $4,417 | $25 |
Highest paying senior technical designer jobs
The highest paying types of senior technical designers are senior principal engineer, senior piping designer, and head designer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design Engineer Internship | $55,346 | $4,612 | $26.61 | 139,842 |
| Mechanical Engineering Internship | $42,749 | $3,562 | $20.55 | 115,512 |
| Designer | $66,347 | $5,529 | $31.90 | 52,433 |
| Lead Design Engineer | $108,490 | $9,041 | $52.16 | 118,073 |
| Piping Designer | $57,853 | $4,821 | $27.81 | 48,195 |
| Systems Designer | $93,438 | $7,786 | $44.92 | 101,665 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for senior technical designers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Daisy Huang
Assistant Professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Top companies hiring senior technical designers now:
Which companies pay senior technical designers the most?
Senior technical designer salaries at Apple and eBay are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average senior technical designer salary at companies like Atlassian and DoorDash are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple | $132,878 | $63.88 |
| 2 | eBay | $127,708 | $61.40 |
| 3 | Atlassian | $125,474 | $60.32 |
| 4 | DoorDash | $124,093 | $59.66 |
| 5 | Amazon | $118,033 | $56.75 |
| 6 | AT&T | $107,961 | $51.90 |
| 7 | The TJX Companies | $106,922 | $51.40 |
| 8 | Sony Interactive Entertainment America | $106,572 | $51.24 |
| 9 | Nike | $106,349 | $51.13 |
| 10 | Rockstar Games | $105,169 | $50.56 |
| 11 | Starbucks | $102,620 | $49.34 |
| 12 | Caterpillar | $102,194 | $49.13 |
| 13 | Logitech | $101,885 | $48.98 |
| 14 | ArenaNet | $101,526 | $48.81 |
| 15 | Under Armour | $101,027 | $48.57 |
| 16 | JCPenney | $100,474 | $48.30 |
| 17 | ZeniMax Media | $99,381 | $47.78 |
| 18 | Naughty Dog | $98,951 | $47.57 |
| 19 | Warner Bros. | $97,559 | $46.90 |
| 20 | Capgemini | $97,477 | $46.86 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Senior Technical Designer salary by industry
The average senior technical designer salary varies across industries:
- The average senior technical designer salary in the health care industry is $96,722, the highest of any industry.
- The average senior technical designer salary in the finance industry is $87,729.
- Senior technical designers in the retail industry earn an average salary of $78,613, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for senior technical designers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Health Care | $96,722 | $46.50 |
| 2 | Technology | $87,729 | $42.18 |
| 3 | Professional | $85,776 | $41.24 |
| 4 | Manufacturing | $83,047 | $39.93 |
| 5 | Retail | $78,613 | $37.79 |
High paying senior technical designer jobs
Senior technical designer salary trends
The average senior technical designer salary has risen by $10,215 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average senior technical designer earned $74,051 annually, but today, they earn $84,266 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for senior technical designers over the last decade.
Compare senior technical designer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average senior technical designer salary over time
Compare senior technical designer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Senior technical designer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $84,300 | $40.51 | +1.9% |
| 2025 | $82,600 | $39.74 | +1.2% |
| 2024 | $81,700 | $39.26 | +1.7% |
| 2023 | $80,300 | $38.59 | +2.0% |
| 2022 | $78,700 | $37.83 | +0.7% |
Recently added senior technical designer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gensler | Technical Designer-Senior | San Diego, CA | 06/30/2025 | $100,000 |
| Gensler | Technical Designer-Architecture-Senior | Chicago, IL | 06/30/2025 | $90,000 |
| Birdy Grey | Senior Technical Designer/1St. Patternmaker | Los Angeles, CA | 06/29/2025 | $70,000 |
| Fabletics | SR. Technical Designer-Yitty | El Segundo, CA | 06/28/2025 | $89,100 |
| Amazon.com, Inc. | Senior Design Technologist, Agentic AI Professional Services Experience | New York, NY | 06/27/2025 | $138,200 |
| Amazon | Senior Design Technologist, Agentic AI Professional Services Experience | Atlanta, GA | 06/27/2025 | $138,200 |
| Amazon | Senior Design Technologist, Agentic AI Professional Services Experience | Arlington, VA | 06/27/2025 | $138,200 |
| Amazon | Senior Design Technologist, Agentic AI Professional Services Experience | Dallas, TX | 06/27/2025 | $138,200 |
| Alo | Senior Technical Designer | Commerce, CA | 06/26/2025 | $105,000 |
| High Voltage Software | Senior Technical Game Designer | Hoffman Estates, IL | 06/26/2025 | $70,000 |
Senior technical designer salary FAQs
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