Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Senior development engineer salary
Average senior development engineer salary
$113,763
Understanding the Senior Development Engineer Salary
The salary for a Senior Development Engineer averages around $113,763 annually. This figure reflects the base pay and can vary significantly based on several factors including geographic location, years of experience, and the specific industry. For instance, engineers in technology sectors often earn higher salaries due to increased demand for innovation.
In states like California and New York, salaries can be considerably higher than the national average, with top earners making significantly more. Additionally, industries such as software development and aerospace tend to offer higher compensation packages for experienced engineers.
Key Opportunities
Many companies are actively seeking Senior Development Engineers, particularly in burgeoning fields like artificial intelligence and robotics, which promise lucrative career paths. Prospective engineers should consider various roles and industries to maximize their earning potential.
To make informed decisions about your career, explore job listings in your desired geographic area and industry to find opportunities that align with your salary expectations.
Let Zippia find your next senior development engineer job
Let Zippia find your next senior development engineer job
Where can a Senior Development Engineer earn more?
Senior development engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average senior development engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for senior development engineers are California, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. The lowest average senior development engineer salary states are Indiana, Iowa, and South Dakota.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for senior development engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | $150,220 | $72.22 |
| 2 | New Hampshire | $124,944 | $60.07 |
| 3 | California | $133,786 | $64.32 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $125,608 | $60.39 |
| 5 | Rhode Island | $128,869 | $61.96 |
| 6 | Arizona | $113,086 | $54.37 |
| 7 | Delaware | $123,449 | $59.35 |
| 8 | Idaho | $125,163 | $60.17 |
| 9 | Oregon | $111,483 | $53.60 |
| 10 | Maryland | $116,505 | $56.01 |
| 11 | Virginia | $112,313 | $54.00 |
| 12 | Nevada | $109,920 | $52.85 |
| 13 | Washington | $107,895 | $51.87 |
| 14 | West Virginia | $110,693 | $53.22 |
| 15 | Pennsylvania | $106,332 | $51.12 |
| 16 | Tennessee | $110,748 | $53.24 |
| 17 | New Mexico | $107,065 | $51.47 |
| 18 | Utah | $106,066 | $50.99 |
| 19 | Texas | $109,897 | $52.84 |
| 20 | Connecticut | $112,122 | $53.90 |
| 21 | New Jersey | $116,786 | $56.15 |
| 22 | New York | $114,338 | $54.97 |
| 23 | Alaska | $105,391 | $50.67 |
| 24 | Michigan | $101,778 | $48.93 |
| 25 | Georgia | $102,499 | $49.28 |
| 26 | Vermont | $104,502 | $50.24 |
| 27 | Colorado | $104,286 | $50.14 |
| 28 | North Carolina | $99,030 | $47.61 |
| 29 | Louisiana | $107,033 | $51.46 |
| 30 | Illinois | $107,805 | $51.83 |
| 31 | Florida | $101,788 | $48.94 |
| 32 | Alabama | $97,044 | $46.66 |
| 33 | Maine | $103,284 | $49.66 |
| 34 | Ohio | $95,686 | $46.00 |
| 35 | Wisconsin | $96,220 | $46.26 |
| 36 | Hawaii | $95,124 | $45.73 |
| 37 | Montana | $90,479 | $43.50 |
| 38 | North Dakota | $87,298 | $41.97 |
| 39 | Oklahoma | $96,251 | $46.27 |
| 40 | Wyoming | $93,809 | $45.10 |
| 41 | Minnesota | $94,793 | $45.57 |
| 42 | South Carolina | $93,533 | $44.97 |
| 43 | Indiana | $87,235 | $41.94 |
| 44 | Missouri | $92,105 | $44.28 |
| 45 | Kentucky | $91,110 | $43.80 |
| 46 | Arkansas | $80,305 | $38.61 |
| 47 | Kansas | $84,843 | $40.79 |
| 48 | Iowa | $86,379 | $41.53 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $89,983 | $43.26 |
| 50 | South Dakota | $85,288 | $41.00 |
| 51 | Nebraska | $81,700 | $39.28 |
Highest paying cities for senior development engineers
The highest-paying cities for senior development engineers are San Francisco, CA, Woonsocket, RI, and Boston, MA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $142,160 | $68.35 |
| 2 | Woonsocket, RI | $128,695 | $61.87 |
| 3 | Boston, MA | $125,674 | $60.42 |
| 4 | New York, NY | $114,586 | $55.09 |
| 5 | Phoenix, AZ | $113,340 | $54.49 |
| 6 | Manassas, VA | $113,031 | $54.34 |
| 7 | Hillsboro, OR | $111,294 | $53.51 |
| 8 | Austin, TX | $111,270 | $53.50 |
| 9 | Seattle, WA | $108,578 | $52.20 |
| 10 | Chicago, IL | $108,028 | $51.94 |
| 11 | Salt Lake City, UT | $105,331 | $50.64 |
| 12 | Boulder, CO | $104,449 | $50.22 |
| 13 | Atlanta, GA | $102,238 | $49.15 |
| 14 | Raleigh, NC | $100,336 | $48.24 |
| 15 | Madison, WI | $95,723 | $46.02 |
| 16 | Columbus, OH | $94,950 | $45.65 |
| 17 | Minneapolis, MN | $94,813 | $45.58 |
| 18 | Anderson, SC | $92,716 | $44.58 |
| 19 | Saint Louis, MO | $92,416 | $44.43 |
| 20 | Columbus, IN | $86,941 | $41.80 |
Senior development engineer salary details
A senior development engineer's salary ranges from $87,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $148,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a senior development engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $148,000 | $12,333 | $71 |
| 75th Percentile | $130,000 | $10,833 | $63 |
| Average | $113,763 | $9,480 | $55 |
| 25th Percentile | $99,000 | $8,250 | $48 |
| 10th Percentile | $87,000 | $7,250 | $42 |
Highest paying senior development engineer jobs
The highest paying types of senior development engineers are senior staff engineer, senior principal engineer, and principal engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead Engineer | $84,927 | $7,077 | $40.83 | 301,777 |
| Principal Engineer | $130,213 | $10,851 | $62.60 | 312,683 |
| Team Lead Engineer | $114,867 | $9,572 | $55.22 | 235,155 |
| Staff Engineer | $107,530 | $8,961 | $51.70 | 277,011 |
| Research And Development Engineer | $100,169 | $8,347 | $48.16 | 187,910 |
| Product Development Engineer | $86,075 | $7,173 | $41.38 | 202,155 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for senior development engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Michael Rudisill
Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University
Top companies hiring senior development engineers now:
Which companies pay senior development engineers the most?
Senior development engineer salaries at Netflix and Reddit are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average senior development engineer salary at companies like eBay and CrowdStrike are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netflix | $150,413 | $72.31 |
| 2 | $149,275 | $71.77 | |
| 3 | eBay | $148,363 | $71.33 |
| 4 | CrowdStrike | $147,486 | $70.91 |
| 5 | Apple | $146,521 | $70.44 |
| 6 | Anaplan | $144,390 | $69.42 |
| 7 | Gap Inc. | $140,958 | $67.77 |
| 8 | Microsoft | $140,069 | $67.34 |
| 9 | Algolia | $139,953 | $67.29 |
| 10 | Vonage | $138,768 | $66.72 |
| 11 | NVIDIA | $137,933 | $66.31 |
| 12 | New Relic | $137,785 | $66.24 |
| 13 | Rivian | $137,350 | $66.03 |
| 14 | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC | $136,778 | $65.76 |
| 15 | The Walt Disney Company | $136,389 | $65.57 |
| 16 | Adobe | $135,745 | $65.26 |
| 17 | RingCentral | $134,795 | $64.81 |
| 18 | Macy's | $134,587 | $64.71 |
| 19 | Amazon | $133,890 | $64.37 |
| 20 | Cantaloupe | $133,349 | $64.11 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Senior Development Engineer salary by industry
The average senior development engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average senior development engineer salary in the professional industry is $118,024, the highest of any industry.
- The average senior development engineer salary in the finance industry is $115,014.
- Senior development engineers in the technology industry earn an average salary of $105,743, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for senior development engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Professional | $118,024 | $56.74 |
| 2 | Start-up | $115,014 | $55.30 |
| 3 | Manufacturing | $108,420 | $52.13 |
| 4 | Automotive | $106,783 | $51.34 |
| 5 | Technology | $105,743 | $50.84 |
High paying senior development engineer jobs
Senior development engineer salary trends
The average senior development engineer salary has risen by $13,791 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average senior development engineer earned $99,972 annually, but today, they earn $113,763 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for senior development engineers over the last decade.
Compare senior development engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average senior development engineer salary over time
Compare senior development engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Senior development engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $114,000 | $54.69 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | $112,000 | $53.64 | +1.2% |
| 2023 | $110,000 | $53.00 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $108,000 | $52.10 | +2.0% |
| 2021 | $106,000 | $51.07 | +0.7% |
Recently added senior development engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeppesen | Senior Technology Development Lead Engineer | El Segundo, CA | 06/30/2025 | $126,650 |
| Zoom Video Communications | Senior SDK Development Engineer | San Jose, CA | 06/30/2025 | $162,500 |
| Varda Co | Senior Propulsion Development Engineer | El Segundo, CA | 06/29/2025 | $125,000 |
| London Stock Exchange Group | SR. Developer Platforms Engineer | New York, NY | 06/29/2025 | $125,900 |
| Amazon | Senior Solutions Developer, Prototyping & Customer Engineering | Atlanta, GA | 06/28/2025 | $138,200 |
| Amazon | Senior Solutions Developer, Prototyping & Customer Engineering | Chicago, IL | 06/28/2025 | $138,200 |
| Amazon | Senior Solutions Developer, Prototyping & Customer Engineering | New York, NY | 06/28/2025 | $138,200 |
| Amazon | Senior Solutions Developer, Prototyping & Customer Engineering | Mountain View, CA | 06/28/2025 | $138,200 |
| Amazon | Senior Solutions Developer, Prototyping & Customer Engineering | Seattle, WA | 06/28/2025 | $138,200 |
| Jpmorgan Chase | Senior AI Developer-Lead Software Engineer | Jersey City, NJ | 06/28/2025 | $152,000 |
Senior development engineer salary FAQs
Search for senior development engineer jobs