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System hardware engineer salary
Average system hardware engineer salary
$117,196
Understanding System Hardware Engineer Salaries
As of October 2025, the average salary for a System Hardware Engineer stands at $117,196 per year, translating to approximately $56 per hour. The compensation varies significantly based on factors such as experience, location, and the specific industry.
Salary by Experience Level
Entry-level engineers can expect to earn less than their more experienced counterparts. For instance, engineers with less than two years of experience typically earn around $85,000, while those with over ten years can make upwards of $150,000.
Geographic Impact on Earnings
Salaries for System Hardware Engineers also differ by location. States such as California, Washington, and New York often provide the highest compensation packages. Cities like San Francisco and Seattle are particularly lucrative, reflecting the demand for skilled professionals in tech hubs.
Opportunities for Advancement
As technological advancements continue, the need for skilled System Hardware Engineers will only grow. This field offers not only strong salaries but also a clear path for career progression, making it an appealing option for aspiring engineers.
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Where can a System Hardware Engineer earn more?
System hardware engineer salaries by experience level
Average system hardware engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for system hardware engineers are Washington, California, and Maine. The lowest average system hardware engineer salary states are Wisconsin, Michigan, and Florida.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for system hardware engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $141,507 | $68.03 |
| 2 | California | $130,968 | $62.97 |
| 3 | Vermont | $110,177 | $52.97 |
| 4 | New Mexico | $107,323 | $51.60 |
| 5 | Arizona | $105,755 | $50.84 |
| 6 | Oregon | $107,131 | $51.51 |
| 7 | Connecticut | $110,970 | $53.35 |
| 8 | Massachusetts | $105,553 | $50.75 |
| 9 | Texas | $104,140 | $50.07 |
| 10 | Virginia | $104,252 | $50.12 |
| 11 | Maine | $119,822 | $57.61 |
| 12 | Utah | $97,948 | $47.09 |
| 13 | Idaho | $105,295 | $50.62 |
| 14 | North Dakota | $106,385 | $51.15 |
| 15 | Alaska | $106,010 | $50.97 |
| 16 | New York | $104,478 | $50.23 |
| 17 | Kansas | $102,721 | $49.39 |
| 18 | Maryland | $100,413 | $48.28 |
| 19 | West Virginia | $99,672 | $47.92 |
| 20 | Rhode Island | $95,538 | $45.93 |
| 21 | Alabama | $91,025 | $43.76 |
| 22 | New Jersey | $101,149 | $48.63 |
| 23 | New Hampshire | $92,939 | $44.68 |
| 24 | Delaware | $93,819 | $45.11 |
| 25 | Colorado | $92,990 | $44.71 |
| 26 | Montana | $99,553 | $47.86 |
| 27 | Arkansas | $95,912 | $46.11 |
| 28 | District of Columbia | $92,741 | $44.59 |
| 29 | Illinois | $93,353 | $44.88 |
| 30 | Pennsylvania | $91,923 | $44.19 |
| 31 | Wyoming | $87,890 | $42.25 |
| 32 | South Dakota | $89,455 | $43.01 |
| 33 | North Carolina | $85,249 | $40.99 |
| 34 | Georgia | $86,758 | $41.71 |
| 35 | Oklahoma | $89,501 | $43.03 |
| 36 | South Carolina | $86,788 | $41.73 |
| 37 | Minnesota | $84,965 | $40.85 |
| 38 | Louisiana | $88,354 | $42.48 |
| 39 | Iowa | $84,447 | $40.60 |
| 40 | Hawaii | $82,892 | $39.85 |
| 41 | Missouri | $85,871 | $41.28 |
| 42 | Michigan | $76,922 | $36.98 |
| 43 | Nevada | $82,301 | $39.57 |
| 44 | Ohio | $79,754 | $38.34 |
| 45 | Nebraska | $82,523 | $39.67 |
| 46 | Florida | $75,325 | $36.21 |
| 47 | Wisconsin | $79,675 | $38.31 |
| 48 | Mississippi | $81,921 | $39.39 |
| 49 | Indiana | $73,613 | $35.39 |
| 50 | Tennessee | $69,559 | $33.44 |
| 51 | Kentucky | $62,467 | $30.03 |
Highest paying cities for system hardware engineers
The highest-paying cities for system hardware engineers are San Francisco, CA, Kirkland, WA, and Hillsboro, OR.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $142,853 | $68.68 |
| 2 | Kirkland, WA | $142,525 | $68.52 |
| 3 | Hillsboro, OR | $106,753 | $51.32 |
| 4 | Danvers, MA | $105,507 | $50.72 |
| 5 | White Plains, NY | $104,801 | $50.39 |
| 6 | Newport News, VA | $104,330 | $50.16 |
| 7 | Austin, TX | $104,325 | $50.16 |
| 8 | Germantown, MD | $100,135 | $48.14 |
| 9 | Colorado Springs, CO | $92,915 | $44.67 |
| 10 | Washington, DC | $92,755 | $44.59 |
| 11 | Allentown, PA | $92,442 | $44.44 |
| 12 | Oklahoma City, OK | $89,894 | $43.22 |
| 13 | Atlanta, GA | $86,773 | $41.72 |
| 14 | Ann Arbor, MI | $76,560 | $36.81 |
| 15 | Cincinnati, OH | $76,390 | $36.73 |
| 16 | Sunrise, FL | $73,528 | $35.35 |
| 17 | Columbus, IN | $72,899 | $35.05 |
System hardware engineer salary details
A system hardware engineer's salary ranges from $81,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $167,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a system hardware engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $167,000 | $13,917 | $80 |
| 75th Percentile | $141,000 | $11,750 | $68 |
| Average | $117,196 | $9,766 | $56 |
| 25th Percentile | $97,000 | $8,083 | $47 |
| 10th Percentile | $81,000 | $6,750 | $39 |
Highest paying system hardware engineer jobs
The highest paying types of system hardware engineers are hardware manager, senior staff engineer, and principal engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design Verification Engineer | $117,277 | $9,773 | $56.38 | 65,429 |
| Verification Engineer | $104,158 | $8,680 | $50.08 | 38,261 |
| Electronics Engineer | $93,985 | $7,832 | $45.19 | 83,870 |
| Principal Engineer | $130,213 | $10,851 | $62.60 | 312,683 |
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
| Electrical Engineer | $81,026 | $6,752 | $38.95 | 68,536 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for system hardware engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Michael Rudisill
Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University
Top companies hiring system hardware engineers now:
Which companies pay system hardware engineers the most?
System hardware engineer salaries at Meta and Apple are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average system hardware engineer salary at companies like Google and Microsoft are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $160,312 | $77.07 |
| 2 | Apple | $149,431 | $71.84 |
| 3 | $148,866 | $71.57 | |
| 4 | Microsoft | $145,656 | $70.03 |
| 5 | eBay | $144,526 | $69.48 |
| 6 | Cloudflare | $138,748 | $66.71 |
| 7 | Infinera | $127,309 | $61.21 |
| 8 | CNEX Labs | $126,108 | $60.63 |
| 9 | Randstad North America, Inc. | $125,432 | $60.30 |
| 10 | ALTEN Cresttek - An ALTEN Group | $125,241 | $60.21 |
| 11 | Amazon | $124,200 | $59.71 |
| 12 | Nuro | $123,534 | $59.39 |
| 13 | WorleyParsons | $122,272 | $58.78 |
| 14 | SiTime | $120,247 | $57.81 |
| 15 | Ford Motor | $118,764 | $57.10 |
| 16 | FCA US LLC | $118,148 | $56.80 |
| 17 | Keysight Technologies | $117,577 | $56.53 |
| 18 | Dell | $117,255 | $56.37 |
| 19 | HD Supply | $116,894 | $56.20 |
| 20 | Peraton | $113,625 | $54.63 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
System Hardware Engineer salary by industry
The average system hardware engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average system hardware engineer salary in the technology industry is $118,363, the highest of any industry.
- The average system hardware engineer salary in the finance industry is $115,494.
- System hardware engineers in the manufacturing industry earn an average salary of $97,435, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for system hardware engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology | $118,363 | $56.91 |
| 2 | Automotive | $115,494 | $55.53 |
| 3 | Telecommunication | $111,292 | $53.51 |
| 4 | Manufacturing | $97,435 | $46.84 |
High paying system hardware engineer jobs
System hardware engineer salary trends
The average system hardware engineer salary has risen by $20,536 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average system hardware engineer earned $96,660 annually, but today, they earn $117,196 a year. That works out to a 4% change in pay for system hardware engineers over the last decade.
Compare system hardware engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average system hardware engineer salary over time
Compare system hardware engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
System hardware engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $117,000 | $56.34 | +2.0% |
| 2024 | $115,000 | $55.24 | +2.2% |
| 2023 | $112,000 | $54.01 | -0.5% |
| 2022 | $113,000 | $54.25 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | $113,000 | $54.23 | +2.9% |
Recently added system hardware engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware Systems Engineer | Austin, TX | 06/29/2025 | $120,000 | |
| Lightmatter | Hardware Systems Engineer | Mountain View, CA | 06/26/2025 | $166,000 |
| Meta | Hardware Systems Engineer, AI Systems | Austin, TX | 06/25/2025 | $132,000 |
| Meta | Hardware Systems Engineer | San Diego, CA | 06/25/2025 | $204,000 |
| Meta | Hardware Systems Engineer | Seattle, WA | 06/25/2025 | $170,000 |
| Leidos | Voice Systems/Hardware Engineer-Ts/Sci With Poly | Colorado Springs, CO | 06/25/2025 | $67,600 |
| Qualcomm | Senior Video Systems/Hardware Architecture Engineer | San Diego, CA | 06/24/2025 | $122,500 |
| Apple | Hardware System EE-Beats | Los Angeles, CA | 06/19/2025 | $135,400 |
| Leidos Holdings Inc. | Voice and Hardware Systems Engineer-Ts/Sci With Poly | Lompoc, CA | 06/17/2025 | $85,150 |
| Amazon.com, Inc. | Systems Development ENG (AWS Generative AI & ML Servers), AWS Hardware Engineering Accelerators | Cupertino, CA | 06/15/2025 | $116,300 |
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