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Senior applications engineer salary

Quoted expert
Michael Rudisill

Average senior applications engineer salary

$107,989

$51.92 hourly rate

Entry-level senior applications engineer salary
$84,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

Understanding Senior Applications Engineer Salaries

The position of a Senior Applications Engineer is integral to the tech industry, responsible for developing and maintaining software applications. As of October 2025, the average salary for this role is $107,989, translating to approximately $52 per hour. Salaries can vary widely based on factors such as location, experience, and the specific industry.

Top-Paying States

Senior Applications Engineers can earn more in states like California, New York, and Washington, where the demand for skilled engineers is high. For instance, California offers competitive salaries due to its robust tech industry. Understanding regional salary differences can guide job seekers in making informed decisions about where to apply.

Industries with High Demand

Industries such as software development, finance, and healthcare also offer lucrative positions for Senior Applications Engineers. By focusing on sectors with high growth potential, professionals can maximize their earning potential. Continuously updating skills and certifications can further enhance job prospects and salary expectations.

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Where can a Senior Applications Engineer earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
164k
144k
124k
104k
84k
64k
Columbus, OH$136,326
Troy, OH$94,499
Compare salary by company
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186k
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Netflix$164,440
Walmart$135,964

Senior applications engineer salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor, Comparably and Payscale, the average salary for a senior applications engineer typically falls between $102,549 and $172,501.
zippia
$107,989yearly
glassdoor[1]
$172,501yearly
comparably[2]
$113,995yearly
Salary.com[3]
$116,030yearly
payscale[4]
$102,549yearly

Average senior applications engineer salary by state

The highest-paying states for senior applications engineers are California, Washington, and Oregon. The lowest average senior applications engineer salary states are South Carolina, Indiana, and Kansas.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for senior applications engineers

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Washington$123,411$59.33
2California$126,846$60.98
3Oregon$116,748$56.13
4Massachusetts$110,908$53.32
5New Mexico$111,763$53.73
6West Virginia$114,544$55.07
7Texas$106,645$51.27
8District of Columbia$113,694$54.66
9Arizona$104,927$50.45
10New York$110,017$52.89
11Alaska$112,322$54.00
12Idaho$104,348$50.17
13Connecticut$107,631$51.75
14Maine$107,592$51.73
15Virginia$105,372$50.66
16Maryland$106,677$51.29
17New Jersey$107,229$51.55
18Nevada$102,696$49.37
19Louisiana$106,298$51.10
20Florida$105,550$50.75
21Georgia$103,285$49.66
22Illinois$103,330$49.68
23South Dakota$103,539$49.78
24Vermont$101,307$48.71
25Minnesota$101,432$48.77
26Colorado$102,293$49.18
27Pennsylvania$101,972$49.02
28Utah$97,639$46.94
29New Hampshire$98,943$47.57
30Hawaii$107,771$51.81
31Michigan$97,540$46.89
32Tennessee$99,683$47.92
33Rhode Island$97,758$47.00
34Delaware$97,686$46.96
35North Carolina$94,865$45.61
36Nebraska$95,244$45.79
37Ohio$95,169$45.75
38Alabama$93,682$45.04
39Oklahoma$97,537$46.89
40Missouri$97,601$46.92
41Montana$93,083$44.75
42Wyoming$88,591$42.59
43North Dakota$90,538$43.53
44Wisconsin$93,570$44.99
45Indiana$87,124$41.89
46Iowa$89,433$43.00
47Kansas$86,646$41.66
48South Carolina$87,957$42.29
49Kentucky$85,699$41.20
50Mississippi$85,825$41.26
51Arkansas$81,155$39.02
Top senior applications engineer jobs near you

Highest paying cities for senior applications engineers

The highest-paying cities for senior applications engineers are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Hillsboro, OR.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1San Francisco, CA$136,326$65.54
2Seattle, WA$123,985$59.61
3Hillsboro, OR$117,132$56.31
4Boston, MA$110,918$53.33
5New York, NY$110,153$52.96
6Portland, ME$107,883$51.87
7Austin, TX$107,017$51.45
8Tampa, FL$106,252$51.08
9Phoenix, AZ$104,957$50.46
10Chicago, IL$103,441$49.73
11Atlanta, GA$103,132$49.58
12Philadelphia, PA$102,388$49.23
13Denver, CO$102,252$49.16
14Plymouth, MN$101,481$48.79
15Burlington, VT$101,109$48.61
16Wilmington, DE$97,730$46.99
17Saint Louis, MO$97,651$46.95
18Troy, MI$97,641$46.94
19Wilmington, NC$95,376$45.85
20Troy, OH$94,499$45.43

Senior applications engineer salary details

A senior applications engineer's salary ranges from $84,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $138,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average senior applications engineer salary graph
Average senior applications engineer salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a senior applications engineer's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$138,000$11,500$66
75th Percentile$123,000$10,250$59
Average$107,989$8,999$52
25th Percentile$94,000$7,833$45
10th Percentile$84,000$7,000$40

Highest paying senior applications engineer jobs

The highest paying types of senior applications engineers are principal software engineer, principal engineer, and software engineer lead.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Software Engineer-Consultant$113,987$9,499$54.80317,033
Principal Software Engineer$134,230$11,186$64.53345,893
Software Engineer Lead$125,565$10,464$60.37342,462
Software Engineer$100,260$8,355$48.20339,938
Team Lead Engineer$114,867$9,572$55.22235,155
Lead Engineer$84,927$7,077$40.83301,777

How would you rate the starting salaries for senior applications engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Michael Rudisill

Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University

From what we've seen, salaries haven't been reduced, even though demand is down. I would expect wages and salary progression to remain strong as the need for engineering will only continue to grow.

Top companies hiring senior applications engineers now:

  1. Medidata jobs (55)
  2. Salesforce jobs (52)
  3. Intuit jobs (138)
  4. Akamai Technologies jobs (69)
  5. Nike jobs (127)

Which companies pay senior applications engineers the most?

Senior applications engineer salaries at Netflix and Flexport are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average senior applications engineer salary at companies like CrowdStrike and Marin Software are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Netflix$164,440$79.06
2Flexport$155,783$74.90
3CrowdStrike$154,747$74.40
4Marin Software$152,610$73.37
5Coinbase$152,196$73.17
6MongoDB$147,313$70.82
7Algolia$145,997$70.19
8Pacific Investment Management Company LLC$145,326$69.87
9Match Group$145,243$69.83
10Atlassian$144,833$69.63
11Apple$143,849$69.16
12First Republic Bank$142,365$68.44
13Sony Interactive Entertainment America$141,569$68.06
14NVIDIA$139,902$67.26
15PlayStation$137,944$66.32
16A+E Networks$137,530$66.12
17The Walt Disney Company$137,514$66.11
18Hulu$136,674$65.71
19Amazon$136,061$65.41
20Walmart$135,964$65.37

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$108,000$107,400$106,800$106,200$105,600$105,000
MaleFemale

Senior Applications Engineer salary by industry

The average senior applications engineer salary varies across industries:

  • The average senior applications engineer salary in the insurance industry is $111,125, the highest of any industry.
  • The average senior applications engineer salary in the finance industry is $106,449.
  • Senior applications engineers in the health care industry earn an average salary of $103,456, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for senior applications engineers

RankIndustryAverage salaryHourly rate
1Insurance$111,125$53.43
2Technology$106,449$51.18
3Manufacturing$104,882$50.42
4Health Care$103,456$49.74

High paying senior applications engineer jobs

Senior applications engineer salary trends

The average senior applications engineer salary has risen by $13,091 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average senior applications engineer earned $94,898 annually, but today, they earn $107,989 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for senior applications engineers over the last decade.

Compare senior applications engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average senior applications engineer salary over time

Compare senior applications engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Senior applications engineer salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$108,000$51.92+1.9%
2024$106,000$50.92+1.2%
2023$105,000$50.31+1.7%
2022$103,000$49.45+2.0%
2021$101,000$48.48+0.7%

Recently added senior applications engineer salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
Discover Financial ServicesSenior Associate Application Engineer (Multiple Openings)-IHMRiverwoods, IL06/30/2025$85,363
IntelSenior Foundry Applications Engineer (Analog Design)Phoenix, AZ06/30/2025$161,230
JeppesenSenior Application Deployment EngineerAustin, TX06/30/2025$120,700
NextrackerSR Applications EngineerSan Rafael, CA06/30/2025$115,000
NtrsSR Application Security EngineerChicago, IL06/30/2025$114,500
Lennox InternationalSR. Application Engineer (Refrigeration)Stone Mountain, GA06/29/2025$93,000
Federal Home Loan Bank IndianapolisSenior Application Security Engineer-HybridIndianapolis, IN06/29/2025$127,000
Anduril IndustriesSenior Enterprise Applications Engineer, Identity and Access ManagementCosta Mesa, CA06/29/2025$150,000
AmplitudeSenior Application Security Engineer (Graphql Focus)San Francisco, CA06/29/2025$161,000
BuildopsSenior Application EngineerLos Angeles, CA06/29/2025$135,000

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