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Senior staff systems engineer salary
Average senior staff systems engineer salary
$139,932
Understanding Senior Staff Systems Engineer Salaries
The salary for a Senior Staff Systems Engineer averages $139,932 per year in the United States. This figure reflects the expertise required in system design, integration, and project management. Salaries can vary significantly based on location, experience, and industry. For instance, states like California and New York often offer higher compensation due to the cost of living and demand for skilled engineers.
Job Opportunities
As technology evolves, the need for skilled systems engineers continues to grow. Positions are available in sectors such as aerospace, defense, and information technology. Many companies are seeking professionals who can manage complex systems and lead teams effectively.
Factors Influencing Salary
- Experience: More experienced engineers tend to earn higher salaries.
- Location: Salaries are generally higher in metropolitan areas with a robust tech presence.
- Industry: Certain industries, like aerospace, offer significantly higher salary ranges.
By understanding these factors, you can better navigate your career path in systems engineering.
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Where can a Senior Staff Systems Engineer earn more?
Senior staff systems engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average senior staff systems engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for senior staff systems engineers are Alaska, Washington, and Oregon. The lowest average senior staff systems engineer salary states are Connecticut, Mississippi, and Illinois.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for senior staff systems engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $152,541 | $73.34 |
| 2 | Oregon | $148,966 | $71.62 |
| 3 | Alaska | $155,188 | $74.61 |
| 4 | Pennsylvania | $136,251 | $65.51 |
| 5 | Vermont | $138,412 | $66.54 |
| 6 | California | $143,922 | $69.19 |
| 7 | Nevada | $136,209 | $65.49 |
| 8 | New York | $140,125 | $67.37 |
| 9 | New Mexico | $133,282 | $64.08 |
| 10 | Maine | $136,425 | $65.59 |
| 11 | Utah | $129,146 | $62.09 |
| 12 | Alabama | $133,318 | $64.10 |
| 13 | Idaho | $134,872 | $64.84 |
| 14 | District of Columbia | $137,318 | $66.02 |
| 15 | Florida | $134,972 | $64.89 |
| 16 | Massachusetts | $131,444 | $63.19 |
| 17 | North Carolina | $129,123 | $62.08 |
| 18 | Wyoming | $125,686 | $60.43 |
| 19 | Virginia | $128,310 | $61.69 |
| 20 | Arizona | $124,776 | $59.99 |
| 21 | Texas | $124,682 | $59.94 |
| 22 | Maryland | $129,325 | $62.18 |
| 23 | Iowa | $127,275 | $61.19 |
| 24 | Arkansas | $124,231 | $59.73 |
| 25 | New Jersey | $128,657 | $61.85 |
| 26 | New Hampshire | $121,208 | $58.27 |
| 27 | Michigan | $120,769 | $58.06 |
| 28 | Minnesota | $119,438 | $57.42 |
| 29 | Georgia | $122,571 | $58.93 |
| 30 | Indiana | $119,382 | $57.40 |
| 31 | Ohio | $117,091 | $56.29 |
| 32 | South Dakota | $118,496 | $56.97 |
| 33 | Tennessee | $118,585 | $57.01 |
| 34 | Delaware | $120,054 | $57.72 |
| 35 | Montana | $118,283 | $56.87 |
| 36 | North Dakota | $117,656 | $56.57 |
| 37 | West Virginia | $116,305 | $55.92 |
| 38 | Colorado | $115,095 | $55.33 |
| 39 | Rhode Island | $112,156 | $53.92 |
| 40 | Hawaii | $126,377 | $60.76 |
| 41 | Kansas | $115,324 | $55.44 |
| 42 | Wisconsin | $114,987 | $55.28 |
| 43 | Nebraska | $111,862 | $53.78 |
| 44 | Connecticut | $111,524 | $53.62 |
| 45 | Illinois | $110,512 | $53.13 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $113,231 | $54.44 |
| 47 | Louisiana | $111,657 | $53.68 |
| 48 | Mississippi | $111,488 | $53.60 |
| 49 | Missouri | $109,115 | $52.46 |
| 50 | South Carolina | $110,295 | $53.03 |
| 51 | Kentucky | $109,637 | $52.71 |
Highest paying cities for senior staff systems engineers
The highest-paying cities for senior staff systems engineers are Seattle, WA, Hercules, CA, and Huntsville, AL.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle, WA | $156,911 | $75.44 |
| 2 | Hercules, CA | $150,739 | $72.47 |
| 3 | Huntsville, AL | $132,764 | $63.83 |
| 4 | Bridgewater, MA | $131,577 | $63.26 |
| 5 | Baltimore, MD | $129,289 | $62.16 |
| 6 | Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ | $128,697 | $61.87 |
| 7 | Arlington, VA | $128,554 | $61.80 |
| 8 | Phoenix, AZ | $125,051 | $60.12 |
| 9 | Austin, TX | $124,970 | $60.08 |
| 10 | Duluth, GA | $122,663 | $58.97 |
| 11 | Dearborn, MI | $120,995 | $58.17 |
| 12 | Duluth, MN | $118,756 | $57.09 |
| 13 | Colorado Springs, CO | $115,361 | $55.46 |
Senior staff systems engineer salary details
A senior staff systems engineer's salary ranges from $108,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $181,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a senior staff systems engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $181,000 | $15,083 | $87 |
| 75th Percentile | $160,000 | $13,333 | $77 |
| Average | $139,932 | $11,661 | $67 |
| 25th Percentile | $122,000 | $10,167 | $59 |
| 10th Percentile | $108,000 | $9,000 | $52 |
Highest paying senior staff systems engineer jobs
The highest paying types of senior staff systems engineers are senior staff engineer, principal systems engineer, and senior principal engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
| Firmware Engineer | $97,183 | $8,099 | $46.72 | 99,014 |
| Principal Engineer | $130,213 | $10,851 | $62.60 | 312,683 |
| Lead Engineer | $84,927 | $7,077 | $40.83 | 301,777 |
| Systems Engineering Internship | $39,003 | $3,250 | $18.75 | 161,551 |
| Embedded Software Engineer | $102,143 | $8,512 | $49.11 | 171,613 |
Top companies hiring senior staff systems engineers now:
Which companies pay senior staff systems engineers the most?
Senior staff systems engineer salaries at Cheniere Energy and Google are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average senior staff systems engineer salary at companies like Theranos and NIO are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cheniere Energy | $184,966 | $88.93 |
| 2 | $163,153 | $78.44 | |
| 3 | Theranos | $160,618 | $77.22 |
| 4 | NIO | $148,330 | $71.31 |
| 5 | SolarWinds | $147,849 | $71.08 |
| 6 | $144,876 | $69.65 | |
| 7 | Tesla | $144,587 | $69.51 |
| 8 | Cadence Design Systems | $143,752 | $69.11 |
| 9 | Motion Recruitment | $142,301 | $68.41 |
| 10 | Samsung Electronics Device Solutions (Semiconductor & Display) | $142,155 | $68.34 |
| 11 | Synaptics | $141,325 | $67.94 |
| 12 | Qualcomm | $141,262 | $67.91 |
| 13 | Cohere Technologies | $140,854 | $67.72 |
| 14 | Xilinx | $140,810 | $67.70 |
| 15 | Tarana Wireless | $140,538 | $67.57 |
| 16 | Blackhawk Network | $140,533 | $67.56 |
| 17 | Samsung Telecommunications America General LLC | $140,437 | $67.52 |
| 18 | NextNav | $140,437 | $67.52 |
| 19 | Element Biosciences | $140,088 | $67.35 |
| 20 | Renesas Electronics | $139,884 | $67.25 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Senior Staff Systems Engineer salary by industry
The average senior staff systems engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average senior staff systems engineer salary in the telecommunication industry is $136,634, the highest of any industry.
- The average senior staff systems engineer salary in the finance industry is $126,982.
- Senior staff systems engineers in the finance industry earn an average salary of $98,857, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for senior staff systems engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Telecommunication | $136,634 | $65.69 |
| 2 | Technology | $126,982 | $61.05 |
| 3 | Manufacturing | $123,931 | $59.58 |
| 4 | Finance | $98,857 | $47.53 |
High paying senior staff systems engineer jobs
Senior staff systems engineer salary trends
The average senior staff systems engineer salary has risen by $23,786 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average senior staff systems engineer earned $116,146 annually, but today, they earn $139,932 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for senior staff systems engineers over the last decade.
Compare senior staff systems engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average senior staff systems engineer salary over time
Compare senior staff systems engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Senior staff systems engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $140,000 | $67.27 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $135,000 | $65.06 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $132,000 | $63.59 | +2.2% |
| 2022 | $129,000 | $62.20 | +0.7% |
| 2021 | $128,000 | $61.77 | +1.2% |
Recently added senior staff systems engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northrop Grumman | Sentinel SR. Staff Systems SW Safety Engineer 15009 | Huntsville, AL | 06/28/2025 | $142,500 |
| Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. | SR. Staff Systems Engineer | Carlsbad, CA | 06/28/2025 | $110,500 |
| Motorola Solutions | SR. Staff Engineer-Systems Design and Implementation | Chicago, IL | 06/25/2025 | $97,406 |
| The TJX Companies, Inc. | Senior Staff Engineer-Merchandising Systems | Framingham, MA | 06/25/2025 | $124,800 |
| Zoox | Senior/Staff Motion Control Systems Engineer | Foster City, CA | 06/24/2025 | $190,000 |
| Northrop Grumman | SR Staff Systems Engineer (AHT) | Los Angeles, CA | 06/20/2025 | $162,500 |
| Northrop Grumman | SR Staff Mechanical Systems Engineer-Tactical Space Systems | Dulles Town Center, VA | 06/20/2025 | $188,200 |
| Northrop Grumman | SR Staff Systems Engineer (AHT) | Tucson, AZ | 06/20/2025 | $162,500 |
| Northrop Grumman | Sentinel SR. Staff Systems Safety Engineer Mbse 15060 | Roy, UT | 06/18/2025 | $142,500 |
| Nuro | Senior/Staff Systems Engineer, Autonomy Sensing and Perception | Mountain View, CA | 06/18/2025 | $167,200 |
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