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Software automation engineer salary
Average software automation engineer salary
$102,812
Average Software Automation Engineer Salary
The average salary for a Software Automation Engineer in the United States is approximately $102,812 per year, translating to around $49 per hour. This figure reflects the increasing importance of automation in various industries, driving companies to seek qualified engineers. Salaries can vary significantly based on several factors including location, experience, and sector.
Salary by State
In states like California and New York, Software Automation Engineers tend to earn higher salaries, often exceeding the national average. For instance, in California, the average salary can reach around $115,000, while New York offers competitive wages as well. Understanding regional variations is crucial for job seekers aiming to maximize their earning potential.
Job Opportunities
As organizations prioritize automation, numerous job opportunities arise in various sectors, including technology, finance, and manufacturing. Employers are looking for candidates with strong programming skills, problem-solving abilities, and experience with automation tools.
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Where can a Software Automation Engineer earn more?
Software automation engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average software automation engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for software automation engineers are California, Washington, and Oregon. The lowest average software automation engineer salary states are Tennessee, Kansas, and South Carolina.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for software automation engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $129,719 | $62.36 |
| 2 | Washington | $115,209 | $55.39 |
| 3 | Oregon | $112,194 | $53.94 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $106,466 | $51.19 |
| 5 | Wyoming | $94,409 | $45.39 |
| 6 | Delaware | $96,707 | $46.49 |
| 7 | Montana | $93,959 | $45.17 |
| 8 | Arizona | $95,757 | $46.04 |
| 9 | Nevada | $104,321 | $50.15 |
| 10 | Texas | $92,343 | $44.40 |
| 11 | Idaho | $94,597 | $45.48 |
| 12 | Massachusetts | $93,227 | $44.82 |
| 13 | District of Columbia | $95,294 | $45.81 |
| 14 | Maryland | $93,266 | $44.84 |
| 15 | South Dakota | $88,277 | $42.44 |
| 16 | New York | $93,243 | $44.83 |
| 17 | Alaska | $97,118 | $46.69 |
| 18 | Nebraska | $87,517 | $42.08 |
| 19 | Colorado | $90,296 | $43.41 |
| 20 | Maine | $91,464 | $43.97 |
| 21 | New Jersey | $92,115 | $44.29 |
| 22 | Utah | $84,828 | $40.78 |
| 23 | Alabama | $86,724 | $41.69 |
| 24 | Virginia | $89,002 | $42.79 |
| 25 | Minnesota | $86,541 | $41.61 |
| 26 | Connecticut | $90,890 | $43.70 |
| 27 | North Dakota | $85,425 | $41.07 |
| 28 | Pennsylvania | $85,800 | $41.25 |
| 29 | Michigan | $84,680 | $40.71 |
| 30 | Louisiana | $88,028 | $42.32 |
| 31 | Rhode Island | $81,980 | $39.41 |
| 32 | Iowa | $84,948 | $40.84 |
| 33 | North Carolina | $81,390 | $39.13 |
| 34 | Ohio | $83,494 | $40.14 |
| 35 | Georgia | $83,541 | $40.16 |
| 36 | Oklahoma | $83,778 | $40.28 |
| 37 | Indiana | $80,094 | $38.51 |
| 38 | Wisconsin | $80,457 | $38.68 |
| 39 | Vermont | $80,418 | $38.66 |
| 40 | Hawaii | $84,911 | $40.82 |
| 41 | Illinois | $81,139 | $39.01 |
| 42 | New Mexico | $80,883 | $38.89 |
| 43 | Arkansas | $76,356 | $36.71 |
| 44 | Missouri | $81,132 | $39.01 |
| 45 | Kansas | $77,378 | $37.20 |
| 46 | Florida | $81,256 | $39.07 |
| 47 | Mississippi | $79,686 | $38.31 |
| 48 | Tennessee | $77,442 | $37.23 |
| 49 | Kentucky | $76,456 | $36.76 |
| 50 | West Virginia | $75,019 | $36.07 |
| 51 | South Carolina | $76,766 | $36.91 |
Highest paying cities for software automation engineers
The highest-paying cities for software automation engineers are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Hillsboro, OR.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $142,702 | $68.61 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $116,032 | $55.78 |
| 3 | Hillsboro, OR | $112,257 | $53.97 |
| 4 | Phoenix, AZ | $96,058 | $46.18 |
| 5 | San Antonio, TX | $93,610 | $45.00 |
| 6 | New York, NY | $93,342 | $44.88 |
| 7 | Boston, MA | $93,299 | $44.86 |
| 8 | Boulder, CO | $90,572 | $43.54 |
| 9 | Arlington, VA | $89,842 | $43.19 |
| 10 | Minneapolis, MN | $86,577 | $41.62 |
| 11 | Philadelphia, PA | $86,404 | $41.54 |
| 12 | Warren, MI | $84,783 | $40.76 |
| 13 | Atlanta, GA | $83,464 | $40.13 |
| 14 | Columbus, OH | $83,072 | $39.94 |
| 15 | Chicago, IL | $81,348 | $39.11 |
| 16 | Jacksonville, FL | $81,321 | $39.10 |
| 17 | Charlotte, NC | $80,901 | $38.89 |
Software automation engineer salary details
A software automation engineer's salary ranges from $76,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $138,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a software automation engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $138,000 | $11,500 | $66 |
| 75th Percentile | $120,000 | $10,000 | $58 |
| Average | $102,812 | $8,568 | $49 |
| 25th Percentile | $87,000 | $7,250 | $42 |
| 10th Percentile | $76,000 | $6,333 | $37 |
Highest paying software automation engineer jobs
The highest paying types of software automation engineers are staff software engineer, principal software engineer, and software engineer lead.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test Engineer | $79,832 | $6,653 | $38.38 | 228,974 |
| Software Analyst | $78,400 | $6,533 | $37.69 | 274,053 |
| Software Developer | $87,521 | $7,293 | $42.08 | 294,329 |
| Software Tester | $78,580 | $6,548 | $37.78 | 208,853 |
| Software Engineer-Consultant | $113,987 | $9,499 | $54.80 | 317,033 |
| Principal Software Engineer | $134,230 | $11,186 | $64.53 | 345,893 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for software automation engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Michael Rudisill
Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University
Top companies hiring software automation engineers now:
Which companies pay software automation engineers the most?
Software automation engineer salaries at Netflix and Meta are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average software automation engineer salary at companies like Roku and Apple are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netflix | $156,778 | $75.37 |
| 2 | Meta | $153,753 | $73.92 |
| 3 | Roku | $148,874 | $71.57 |
| 4 | Apple | $147,802 | $71.06 |
| 5 | $145,516 | $69.96 | |
| 6 | NVIDIA | $139,740 | $67.18 |
| 7 | Zoox | $137,388 | $66.05 |
| 8 | Asana | $137,195 | $65.96 |
| 9 | $135,922 | $65.35 | |
| 10 | Chewy | $134,578 | $64.70 |
| 11 | Avid | $133,909 | $64.38 |
| 12 | Hotel Tonight, Inc. | $133,157 | $64.02 |
| 13 | Microsoft | $132,622 | $63.76 |
| 14 | Amazon | $130,263 | $62.63 |
| 15 | Snowflake Computing | $130,109 | $62.55 |
| 16 | AppDynamics | $128,355 | $61.71 |
| 17 | Grubhub | $128,294 | $61.68 |
| 18 | CME Group | $127,974 | $61.53 |
| 19 | Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky | $126,565 | $60.85 |
| 20 | Cisco | $126,314 | $60.73 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Software automation engineer salary trends
The average software automation engineer salary has risen by $16,829 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average software automation engineer earned $85,983 annually, but today, they earn $102,812 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for software automation engineers over the last decade.
Compare software automation engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average software automation engineer salary over time
Compare software automation engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Software automation engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $103,000 | $49.43 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $99,400 | $47.80 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $97,200 | $46.72 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | $95,300 | $45.81 | +2.3% |
| 2021 | $93,100 | $44.77 | +1.5% |
Recently added software automation engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomenergy | Rmcc Software Automation Engineer (NCG) | San Jose, CA | 06/30/2025 | $82,000 |
| Space Exploration Technologies | Software Engineer, Hardware Test & Automation (Optical Payloads) | Redmond, WA | 06/28/2025 | $140,000 |
| Medtronic | Senior Software Automation Engineer | Fridley, MN | 06/27/2025 | $122,400 |
| Zoox | Software Engineer, Metrics Tooling and Automation | Foster City, CA | 06/27/2025 | $210,000 |
| Joby Aviation | Software Engineer, Manufacturing Test Automation | San Carlos, CA | 06/19/2025 | $86,800 |
| In-Depth Engineering Corporation | Software Engineer-Test Automation | Huntsville, AL | 06/17/2025 | $91,000 |
| Bank of America | Senior Software and Network Automation Engineer | Jersey City, NJ | 06/11/2025 | $102,900 |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | Senior Test Software Automation Engineer | Liverpool, NY | 06/11/2025 | $98,300 |
| Culture Biosciences | Software Engineer II-Hardware Automation | South San Francisco, CA | 06/11/2025 | $130,000 |
| Capstone Investment Advisors | Python Process Software Automation Engineer | New York, NY | 06/11/2025 | $130,000 |
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