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What is a senior instrumentation engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted expert
Edoardo Sarda Ph.D.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a senior instrumentation engineer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $43.89 an hour? That's $91,301 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 9,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a senior instrumentation engineer?

Edoardo Sarda Ph.D.Edoardo Sarda Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Assistant Professor, Robotics Engineering, Lake Superior State University

Flexibility has become a key asset for new graduates, due to the current COVID19 pandemic. Fortunately, engineers are still in high demand. Even fresh graduates may need to seek opportunities and accept positions working in areas that were not exactly what they had in mind while in college. Besides, the pandemic has created a reality where specific industries are struggling while others are booming. That will undoubtedly impact the demand for new engineers. Lastly, since the United States took a non-uniform approach to fight the pandemic, where every state is independently deciding how to reopen, leading to some states being stricter than others, in addition to new epicenters forming in different areas of the country at different times, new grads may not necessarily end up in the geographical location they may have originally planned.
ScoreSenior Instrumentation EngineerUS Average
Salary
7.1

Avg. Salary $91,301

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
5.7

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
6.1
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.18%

Asian 16.63%

Black or African American 4.88%

Hispanic or Latino 11.37%

Unknown 4.72%

White 62.21%

Gender

female 6.35%

male 93.65%

Age - 44
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44
Stress level
5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Senior instrumentation engineer career paths

Key steps to become a senior instrumentation engineer

  1. Explore senior instrumentation engineer education requirements

    Most common senior instrumentation engineer degrees

    Bachelor's

    78.1 %

    Master's

    9.0 %

    Associate

    8.4 %
  2. Start to develop specific senior instrumentation engineer skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Data Acquisition9.36%
    PLC8.22%
    Capital Projects6.05%
    CAD5.07%
    Technical Support4.98%
  3. Complete relevant senior instrumentation engineer training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior instrumentation engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a senior instrumentation engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior instrumentation engineer resumes.
  4. Research senior instrumentation engineer duties and responsibilities

    • Lead support of PLC base control systems.
    • Manage and perform verification activities to insure device meet all safety and EMC requirements.
    • Project involve reprogramming PLC codes to capture abnormal and alarming situation causing excessive line downtime.
    • Perform system design/validation; ensure conformity to UL requirements.
  5. Get senior instrumentation engineer experience

    Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a senior instrumentation engineer. The most common roles before becoming a senior instrumentation engineer include instrumentation engineer, control systems engineer team lead and engineer.
  6. Prepare your senior instrumentation engineer resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior instrumentation engineer resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a senior instrumentation engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable senior instrumentation engineer resume templates

    Build a professional senior instrumentation engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior instrumentation engineer resume.
    Senior Instrumentation Engineer Resume
    Senior Instrumentation Engineer Resume
    Senior Instrumentation Engineer Resume
    Senior Instrumentation Engineer Resume
    Senior Instrumentation Engineer Resume
    Senior Instrumentation Engineer Resume
    Senior Instrumentation Engineer Resume
    Senior Instrumentation Engineer Resume
    Senior Instrumentation Engineer Resume
  7. Apply for senior instrumentation engineer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a senior instrumentation engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first senior instrumentation engineer job

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Average senior instrumentation engineer salary

The average senior instrumentation engineer salary in the United States is $91,301 per year or $44 per hour. Senior instrumentation engineer salaries range between $72,000 and $115,000 per year.

Average senior instrumentation engineer salary
$91,301 Yearly
$43.89 hourly

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Senior instrumentation engineer reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2023
Pros

Great pay and work conditions for this position.

Cons

Some travel is typically required at every job.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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