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Job outlook for senior mechanical engineers in the United States
Senior mechanical engineer job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected senior mechanical engineer job growth rate is 2% from 2018-2028.
About 6,400 new jobs for senior mechanical engineers are projected over the next decade.
Senior mechanical engineer salaries have increased 7% for senior mechanical engineers in the last 5 years.
There are over 73,314 senior mechanical engineers currently employed in the United States.
There are 98,063 active senior mechanical engineer job openings in the US.
The average senior mechanical engineer salary is $103,836.
Are senior mechanical engineer jobs in demand?
Senior mechanical engineer job and salary trends over time
Senior mechanical engineer jobs over time
Senior mechanical engineer job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 73,314 | 0.02% |
| 2020 | 77,438 | 0.02% |
| 2019 | 80,763 | 0.02% |
| 2018 | 79,790 | 0.02% |
| 2017 | 76,587 | 0.02% |
Average senior mechanical engineer salary over time
Senior mechanical engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $103,836 | $49.92 | +2.0% |
| 2024 | $101,844 | $48.96 | +1.2% |
| 2023 | $100,623 | $48.38 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $98,907 | $47.55 | +2.0% |
| 2021 | $96,961 | $46.62 | +0.7% |
Senior mechanical engineer jobs by state
Most common states for senior mechanical engineers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 439 | 63% |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,791 | 26% |
| 3 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,976 | 23% |
| 4 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 950 | 23% |
| 5 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 313 | 23% |
| 6 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,627 | 22% |
| 7 | California | 39,536,653 | 8,168 | 21% |
| 8 | Vermont | 623,657 | 128 | 21% |
| 9 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 1,188 | 20% |
| 10 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 1,147 | 20% |
| 11 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 608 | 20% |
| 12 | Delaware | 961,939 | 196 | 20% |
| 13 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,087 | 19% |
| 14 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 189 | 18% |
| 15 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 565 | 16% |
| 16 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 1,060 | 15% |
| 17 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 144 | 14% |
| 18 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 104 | 14% |
| 19 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 1,316 | 13% |
| 20 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 253 | 13% |
Most common cities for senior mechanical engineers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cambridge | 5 | 5% | $109,296 |
| 2 | Dearborn | 4 | 4% | $93,107 |
| 3 | Cedar Rapids | 4 | 3% | $81,319 |
| 4 | Davenport | 3 | 3% | $81,416 |
| 5 | Atlanta | 10 | 2% | $90,393 |
| 6 | Irvine | 5 | 2% | $121,271 |
| 7 | Grand Rapids | 4 | 2% | $92,111 |
| 8 | Phoenix | 12 | 1% | $107,121 |
| 9 | Boston | 8 | 1% | $109,362 |
| 10 | Denver | 8 | 1% | $98,319 |
| 11 | Indianapolis | 6 | 1% | $82,119 |
| 12 | Baltimore | 5 | 1% | $103,509 |
| 13 | San Francisco | 5 | 1% | $135,334 |
| 14 | Orlando | 4 | 1% | $91,007 |
| 15 | Washington | 4 | 1% | $116,501 |
| 16 | Birmingham | 3 | 1% | $92,887 |
| 17 | Chicago | 9 | 0% | $93,422 |
| 18 | Los Angeles | 5 | 0% | $122,795 |
| 19 | San Diego | 5 | 0% | $119,658 |
Senior Mechanical Engineer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of senior mechanical engineer experts
San Jose State University
Seattle University
University of Minnesota - Duluth
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Wilkes University
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Bellingham Technical College
Duke University
Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology - Okmulgee
Arizona State University at the Polytechnic Campus
What general advice would you give to a Senior Mechanical Engineer?
Tzuyang Yu Ph.D.: Employee must add value to the company by improving efficiency, reducing cost, and ensuring safety. Being able to bring value to the company leads to a salary raise and a promotion.
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Tzuyang Yu Ph.D.: Improve communication skills, develop organization skills, continue learning new knowledge in the areas related to work, expand connections by learning what other people do, identify one or two mentors as role models for long-term career development.
What will help Senior Mechanical Engineers increase their earning potential?
Tzuyang Yu Ph.D.: A few tips to share with junior engineers are listed below. Be eager to learn from peers and other senior engineers, be open-minded to make friends, be adaptive to different cultures in the work environment, be professional (e.g., be punctual at deadlines, be mindful in appearance), be empathetic (focus on people, not mobile devices).
What general advice would you give to a Senior Mechanical Engineer?
Kambiz Farahmand Ph.D., P.E.: After you proved yourself to your peers and supervisors, you can always ask your price. Otherwise, there are a lot of other companies that will meet your ask and value your abilities.
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Kambiz Farahmand Ph.D., P.E.: Hit the ground running. If you are asked to put in 40 hours work 50 hours. Prove yourself and always take on new challenges since that is how you grow.
What will help Senior Mechanical Engineers increase their earning potential?
Kambiz Farahmand Ph.D., P.E.: All engineering and technical skills will be in need. People who are capable to use technology will be in high demand. Project management skills. Ability to use various software and be able to do some coding. Understanding of AI and how it applies to the specific work that you do.
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Julie Brandis: The nation needs engineers across many disciplines. There isn’t one skill that is needed. Honesty and integrity (do what’s right, be honest and be dependable) Leadership - ability to meet deadlines, resolve conflict, balance competing demands, communicate in groups and influence peers, manage budgets
What will help Senior Mechanical Engineers increase their earning potential?
Julie Brandis: Engineering is a highly transferable degree – so take the time to visit with many employers. At Oregon State University we provide those opportunities beyond traditional career fairs. Companies are seeking students who do well in the classroom as well as students who engage in other activities and clubs – that can be sports, a student club or community organization.
What general advice would you give to a Senior Mechanical Engineer?
Davide Masato: The high demand for plastics engineers facilitates maximizing starting salaries. Graduates with co-op experience enjoy a competitive edge. To grow both as engineers and team members, young professionals should actively seek professional development opportunities. Continuous learning and seeking advancement within the organization or externally are key. Pursuing advanced degrees or certifications, even remotely, enhances qualifications and marketability.
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Davide Masato: As a graduate entering the field of plastics engineering, I recommend focusing on continuous learning, staying updated on industry trends, and seeking mentorship through participation in professional societies. Embrace challenges as opportunities for growth, and don't hesitate to network within the industry. Developing strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail will set a solid foundation for your career.
Christopher Misorski FASM
Brunswick Technical Fellow-Materials Product Development & EngineeringWhat general advice would you give to a Senior Mechanical Engineer?
Christopher Misorski FASM: My first thoughts on beginning in any field or with any company is “be a sponge” about what the company is doing and what they want you to work on. Do way more listening and observing than talking. Learn the processes used AND the pitfalls/challenges of those processes. It is highly valuable to spend many hours “watching production” to gather first-hand knowledge of what is going on. Ask questions and don’t be quick to criticize a production employees’ explanation of the problem, even if you are quite sure technically that it is not fully correct. Their explanation fits the issues they see with their learned knowledge over time. There are valuable insights there. Also, just because you graduated with a degree, that doesn’t mean your education is finished. Continue to learn by attending relevant conferences for your field, attending training classes, watching webinars, attending local professional society technical meetings and talking to other experts in the field at these meetings. There is a LOT of knowledge out there and many methods of learning more.
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Christopher Misorski FASM: While it is tough to predict the future with any accuracy, the best skill-set(s) for succeeding revolve around continuing education and learning what is possible with future materials or future manufacturing methods. Just remember, what you may learn at a conference or meeting may not be immediately relevant to your job, but down the road it could provide valuable solutions or insights into new problems that require “fixing”. In addition to continuing education in your field of interest, improving communication skills, both oral and written are important. Having the solution to a problem is useless unless the ideas can be communicated effectively and clearly to the audience that needs to hear the message. Remember, many in the audience are probably not materials engineers or any type of engineer potentially, so communicate at the appropriate level.
What will help Senior Mechanical Engineers increase their earning potential?
Christopher Misorski FASM: Maximizing salary potential at the start of your career is not a clear pathway generally. One way that you can be considered more valuable, and hence worth a better salary, is to have participated in a co-op or internship program with a company in your field. This experience gives employers some confidence that you were able to carry out assignments and thrive in a workplace environment. The employer that you worked for may be inclined to offer you a position upon graduation and you are now worth more because you have already proven to them your abilities. Even if they don’t offer you a job (no appropriate open position may be available) your ability to discuss your experiences with the HR recruiter or hiring manager at another company can instill confidence in your selection as a hire. Just remember, if you tell them you did a project, be prepared to explain it so it doesn’t appear you were just in the background of this project, just going along for the ride.
Professor Winncy Du
Professor, PhD, PE, ASME FellowSan Jose State University
Mechanical Engineering
What will help Senior Mechanical Engineers increase their earning potential?
Professor Winncy Du: Be a 'star' engineer and establish track records at work. Earn new skills. Many companies offer continuous education programs through training, certificate programs, and joint degrees with universities. You can maximize your salary through joining these programs while you are working. Become a leader, such as a project manager or supervisor can boost your salary. Get recognitions, such as becoming a fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers, filing patterns, having publications, receiving engineer awards. Have great communication skills and get along with people well.
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Thomas Congedo PhD: That comes from your ability to focus on technical product of the highest quality, always seeking to truly understand the customer’s needs. For example, often a customer will phrase a problem by stating the solution he or she assumes. Taking the time to respectfully draw out the thinking further can make you the customer’s hero, and this makes you the person likely to be selected for the challenging and most rewarded assignments.
Jhon Smith
Associate Professor and Director of MS in Structural EngineeringSeattle University
Civil Engineering
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Jhon Smith: Expand your network, join professional organizations and committees, become valuable in whatever company you work for, never stop learning, seek for opportunities for professional work, get your PE license. After these you will become more valuable naturally and could comfortably ask for a promotion or a salary increase because you’d know you deserve it.
What will help Senior Mechanical Engineers increase their earning potential?
Jhon Smith: Professional skills such as being able to communicate clearly, being flexible, open-minded, eager to take on challenges, adept and working with others and taking ownership of the projects tasks given to you. Staying grounded to the fundamental concepts you learn in school so every time you run a sophisticated piece of software to do design you must be able to use those fundamentals to check the results.
Jiayue Shen
Mechanical Engineering Technology Program CoordinatorWhat general advice would you give to a Senior Mechanical Engineer?
Jiayue Shen: To maximize your salary potential when starting your career in Mechanical Engineering Technology, contemplate acquiring certifications like the FE or PE license, or additional training in high-demand specialized areas such as semiconductors. Moreover, gaining practical experience through academic clubs, undergraduate research, internships, or co-op programs can increase your appeal to employers, potentially resulting in higher salary offers.
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Jiayue Shen: It's essential to stay curious and eager to learn, as the field is continually evolving. Keeping abreast of the latest technologies and trends through seeking out learning opportunities and maintaining a curiosity about new developments is crucial. Additionally, building a robust professional network and seeking mentorship can offer valuable insights and guidance. Embracing interdisciplinary projects is also key, as the field is expanding beyond purely mechanical aspects. Being dynamic and proactive in interacting with individuals from diverse backgrounds will be beneficial, as collaboration across disciplines is increasingly important in this field.
What will help Senior Mechanical Engineers increase their earning potential?
Jiayue Shen: In the next 3-5 years, skills such as electronic control, basic programming, and critical thinking will become increasingly important in the field of Mechanical Engineering Technology. As industries like robotics, automation, and semiconductors continue to grow, professionals will need to be well-versed in these areas to stay competitive. Additionally, skills such as collaboration and effective oral and written communication will be crucial for advancing in one's career.
What will help Senior Mechanical Engineers increase their earning potential?
Richard Davis: Engineering offers career opportunities across various industries, from technology and healthcare to infrastructure and environmental sustainability. With technological advancements and the increasing complexity of global challenges, such as climate change, food and clean water, and urbanization, engineers are in high demand to develop innovative solutions. For example, environmental engineers are crucial in developing sustainable solutions to reduce pollution and conserve resources. Engineering provides opportunities for creativity and problem-solving, making it a rewarding career choice for those who enjoy tackling complex problems. The global focus on sustainability and renewable energy presents exciting prospects for engineers to contribute to meaningful projects that positively impact society and the environment.
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Mishah Salman Ph.D.: To maximize salary potential, I recommend growing your professional network and being flexible within your career. Attending professional gatherings and rubbing shoulders goes a very long way. It’s amazing how you can casually bump into some well-respected team leader that’s trying to fill an opening or glean information about a new project that needs fresh talent. Network with people in diverse fields and roles. You never know who knows who. Making a positive impression and having someone recognize your name down the line can go a very long way!
What will help Senior Mechanical Engineers increase their earning potential?
Mishah Salman Ph.D.: My advice to recent graduates is to be open to non-conventional roles. Taking on responsibilities beyond one’s official discipline provides broader value to employers. Many students that graduate with degrees in mechanical engineering (or similar disciplines) find great success by stepping outside of their expected job title. Sometimes exploring roles with titles like “analyst” or “manager” or “designer” can provide interesting opportunities to apply one’s engineering skillset in an alternate context. The real strength of your degree is the transferable skillset that you developed along your educational journey. Keep your options open!
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Mansooreh Mollaghasemi Ph.D.: Concurrent with building technical skills, they must build soft skills such as communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and leadership. These skills are often the differentiators between good and great engineers.
What general advice would you give to a Senior Mechanical Engineer?
Michael Denn: 1. Become the expert in whatever you do. 2. Understand how your work fits into the bigger picture and keep that in mind when you do your work. 3. Keep learning! Your engineering degree is not the end of your education! 4. Take stretch assignments and opportunities whenever you can.
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Michael Denn: 1. The time needed to progress from an idea to a quality prototype is continually decreasing. That trend will likely continue. Skills that support short development times, such as computer modeling, simulations and rapid prototyping, will continue to be valued. 2. One skill that will always be valuable is the ability to acquire new knowledge and apply it to the task at hand.
What will help Senior Mechanical Engineers increase their earning potential?
Michael Denn: The answers to this question are largely the same as the answer to question 1. However, here are some additional points: 1. Excel in your job. Become the person everyone goes to for whatever type of work you do. 2. Develop and maintain a career plan. Make sure your assignments and tasks align with your plan. When you have the opportunity to change positions, keep you plan in mind.
What general advice would you give to a Senior Mechanical Engineer?
Marleen Troy Ph.D., P.E., BCEE: Plan to get your PE license. Take advantage of every opportunity to learn and become proficient with a new skill or a new area of expertise. Continue to develop both your technical and leadership skills.
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Marleen Troy Ph.D., P.E., BCEE: Technical, management, leadership, and organizational skills will always be important. Becoming proficient in new areas such as AI (artificial intelligence) best practices will be needed.
What will help Senior Mechanical Engineers increase their earning potential?
Marleen Troy Ph.D., P.E., BCEE: It is an exciting time to be an engineer – there are a lot of challenges as well as a lot of opportunities to make a difference. I would suggest thinking about where you want your career to be in five and ten years and determine what steps you need to get there. Join and become active in a professional society such as the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) to develop your leadership skills. Plan out the steps you need to take to become a licensed professional engineer (PE). Also determine what you enjoy and how you can successfully balance your work / home-life schedule. Take advantage of every opportunity to try something new or develop a new skill, even if it is out of your comfort zone.
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Elizabeth Adams PhD, PE: Understanding how technology can make jobsites more efficient is going to continue to grow in importance, from software that manages RFIs and submittal documents to keeping digital records of project progress and milestones to utilizing fully autonomous heavy machinery to accomplish large portions of the work. Develop skills and knowledge around industry technology and be proactive about staying up to date on what your company is using, what is available, and what is coming down the line in the near future.
What will help Senior Mechanical Engineers increase their earning potential?
Dr. Elizabeth Adams PhD, PE: My personal recommendation for maximizing your salary potential is to play the long game. Focus on learning and becoming an expert in your field – find the area you enjoy working in and get really good at it. Maybe it’s bridge construction, maybe it’s electrical infrastructure, maybe it’s project management. Internships and co-op experiences during your college years are invaluable as they are excellent resume boosters and networking opportunities, and they can help you differentiate between areas you are more and less interested in.
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Kelvin Erickson: Your performance on your first project will be extremely important. Do your “dead-level” best to exceed your supervisor’s expectations. For my first project, I was taking over a project from an engineer that left the company. One of the more experienced engineers spent a couple of days getting me started on it and outlined the remaining tasks. I took it from there, working with the other engineers on similar projects. The company was developing an entire new line of process control equipment, of which my project was one of the devices. Because of the unanticipated change in the project personnel, my manager expected a few months delay, but I completed the project by the original deadline. After that, there were other projects that I did not do so well on. But because I had succeeded so well in the beginning, it was not viewed negatively.
What will help Senior Mechanical Engineers increase their earning potential?
Dr. Kelvin Erickson: a. Artificial Intelligence - The use of artificial intelligence as a tool in engineering has been around for awhile, but there have not been many successes. There is a lot more interest now, which I expect will eventually find some uses. Programming - The programming may not be in the “traditional” language sense. But, one will be faced with an occasional programming task like writing an Excel macro, or a JavaScript or Python script.
Kyle Miller
Welding Technologies instructor - Pipe TradesBellingham Technical College
Precision Metal Working
What general advice would you give to a Senior Mechanical Engineer?
Kyle Miller: The advice I feel the most compelled to offer, based on personal experience, is to embrace the first few years in the field as a nebulous growth period. There is often a rush for graduates to 'realize their identity' in the field, at the risk of narrowing their potential in the trades. The first year or two is a great time to shake every hand and make every acquaintance possible. A lot of those interactions can help guide a trades-person along a pathway they didn't realize was possible upon their first steps into the working world.
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Kyle Miller: The world of CAD models, Automation, and A.I. assisted tools are outrunning a lot of peoples current understanding of the field. I think that it will be important in the coming years to become familiar with these concepts and how they can assist in fabrication/installation/inspection. I don’t think every trades-person needs to be proficient in every emerging tech, but understanding how these tools can benefit our current practices will make their inevitable implementation all the smoother.
What will help Senior Mechanical Engineers increase their earning potential?
Kyle Miller: Certifications and Qualifications. A worker can only build experience at a somewhat fixed rate based off of time in the field. Certifications however are a way for people on nearly all trades to augment their earning potential. I have often seen instances where the person who was the most willing to pursue a needed certification quickly became an indispensable asset amongst the crew/staff.
What general advice would you give to a Senior Mechanical Engineer?
Dr. Jimmie Lenz D.B.A.: A primary reason is the value placed on the quantitative nature of an engineering degree and the fact that this is primarily applied learning and skills, as opposed to the theoretical nature of some other areas of quantitative study. Being able to start working as soon as they start is very attractive to employers, as well as the broad knowledge of software, artificial intelligence, and data science that most engineers leave school with.
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Jimmie Lenz D.B.A.: Engineering encompasses so many areas of modern life that it’s impossible to provide a comprehensive answer here. The training that engineers receive, both the technical and the applied nature, make these individuals quite attractive to all types of industries. Perhaps the most surprising to many people are the significant number of engineers employed in financial services.
What will help Senior Mechanical Engineers increase their earning potential?
Dr. Jimmie Lenz D.B.A.: I believe it’s the old notion of what an engineer is, and being pigeonholed. This notion, even among legacy institutions, is fading quite quickly as engineers move into all types of businesses and roles.
Jim Gordon
Faculty- Construction ManagementOklahoma State University Institute of Technology - Okmulgee
Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Jim Gordon: First, always be learning, the more you know the more value you have as an employee. Show up on time ready to work and always give your best effort.
Jerry Gintz CMfgE
Teaching ProfessorArizona State University at the Polytechnic Campus
Manufacturing Engineering
What Senior Mechanical Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Jerry Gintz CMfgE: From a manufacturing engineering perspective, the most important skills an engineer will need is the ability to understand, design, assemble, and deploy production capable systems. This includes an expertise with computer-aided engineering tools to assist in the design and verification of engineered systems before a company expends capital on the equipment.
What will help Senior Mechanical Engineers increase their earning potential?
Jerry Gintz CMfgE: From a manufacturing engineering perspective, compensation is normally tied to capability so the more relevant skills a candidate has entering the workforce the higher compensation they can expect to receive. This is especially true in manufacturing given the shortage of qualified engineering talent available for hire. Additionally, consider focusing on industrial automation as a resource to aid efficient production. Manufacturing is always looking to increase efficiency and a foundational knowledge of industrial automation systems will serve you well as you build a career in manufacturing engineering.