Optical Design Engineer Salary
$79.5K - $89.5K
13% of jobs
$89.5K - $99.5K
0% of jobs
$99.5K - $109.5K
0% of jobs
$109.5K - $119.5K
0% of jobs
$128.6K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$119.5K - $129.5K
13% of jobs
$129.5K - $139.5K
22% of jobs
The median wage is $140.3K / yr.
$139.5K - $149.5K
19% of jobs
$156.1K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$149.5K - $159.5K
11% of jobs
$159.5K - $169.5K
13% of jobs
$169.5K - $179.5K
4% of jobs
$179.5K - $189.5K
5% of jobs
$79.5K
$139K
$188K
$139,917
/year
$67.27
/hour
Optical Design Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$139,917
Columbus
Ohio
$135,145
Do you get a good deal as an Optical Design Engineer?
Take The Breakroom Quiz to find out if your job offers fair pay and conditions. The 3-minute quiz lets you compare your pay, hours, benefits, and more.
Take The Breakroom Quiz
How much does an Optical Design Engineer make?
As of Jul 16, 2026, the average annual pay for an Optical Design Engineer in the United States is $139,917 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $67.27 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,690/week or $11,659/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $188,000 and as low as $79,500, the majority of Optical Design Engineer salaries currently range between $129,000 (25th percentile) to $158,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $176,500 annually across the United States. The average pay range for an Optical Design Engineer varies greatly (by as much as 29500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
An Optical Design Engineer in your area makes on average $135,145 per year, or $4,772 (3.411%) less than the national average annual salary of $139,917. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Optical Design Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Optical Design Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as an Optical Design Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Optical Design Engineer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for an Optical Design Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Nome, AK, , with Cupertino, CA, and Berkeley, CA, close behind in the second and third positions. Berkeley, CA, beats the national average by $31,402 (22.4%), and Nome, AK, furthers that trend with another $33,649 (24.0%) above the $139,917 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as an Optical Design Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 5% between Nome, AK, and Santa Clara, CA, , reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for an Optical Design Engineer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Nome, AK | $173,566 | $83.45 |
Cupertino, CA | $172,621 | $82.99 |
Berkeley, CA | $171,319 | $82.36 |
Sitka, AK | $168,555 | $81.04 |
Fremont, CA | $165,806 | $79.71 |
San Francisco, CA | $164,846 | $79.25 |
Sunnyvale, CA | $164,715 | $79.19 |
Palo Alto, CA | $164,475 | $79.07 |
Stanford, CA | $164,396 | $79.04 |
Santa Clara, CA | $164,323 | $79.00 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Optical Design Engineer Jobs in the U.S.
Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Optical Design Engineer job category, we found that Certified Labview Architect jobs have average salaries similar than Optical Design Engineer jobs.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Certified Labview Architect | $128,756 | $61.90 |
Senior Sales Engineer | $122,776 | $59.03 |
Senior Design Verification Engineer | $121,466 | $58.40 |
Mass Properties Engineer | $106,386 | $51.15 |
Gd | $55,339 | $26.61 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
