Pilot Engineer

Pilot Engineer Salary

$49.5K

$143.5K

$201.5K

$130,916

/year

$62.94

/hour

Pilot Engineer Salary Comparison by Location

Nationwide

United States

$130,916

Columbus

Ohio

$126,452

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    How much does a Pilot Engineer make?

    As of Jul 27, 2026, the average annual pay for a Pilot Engineer in the United States is $130,916 a year.

    Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $62.94 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,517/week or $10,909/month.

    While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $201,500 and as low as $49,500, the majority of Pilot Engineer salaries currently range between $100,000 (25th percentile) to $155,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $175,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Pilot Engineer varies little (about 55000), which suggests that regardless of location, there are not many opportunities for increased pay or advancement, even with several years of experience.

    A Pilot Engineer in your area makes on average $126,452 per year, or $4,464 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $130,916. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Pilot Engineer salaries.

    To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Pilot Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.

    Find your next high paying job as a Pilot Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.

    What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Pilot Engineer Jobs

    We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Pilot Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Two Rivers, WI, , with Barrow, AK, and Nome, AK, close behind in the second and third positions. Nome, AK, beats the national average by $31,485 (24.0%), and Two Rivers, WI, furthers that trend with another $45,736 (34.9%) above the $130,916 average.

    With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Pilot Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.

    Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 13% between Two Rivers, WI, and Sunnyvale, 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 a Pilot Engineer role.

    City

    Annual Salary

    Hourly Wage

    Two Rivers, WI

    $176,652

    $84.93

    Barrow, AK

    $163,092

    $78.41

    Nome, AK

    $162,401

    $78.08

    Berkeley, CA

    $160,299

    $77.07

    Aspen, CO

    $158,240

    $76.08

    Wyoming, WY

    $156,134

    $75.06

    Justin, TX

    $154,609

    $74.33

    San Francisco, CA

    $154,242

    $74.15

    Santa Clara, CA

    $153,753

    $73.92

    Sunnyvale, CA

    $153,650

    $73.87

    What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Pilot Engineer Jobs in the U.S.

    Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Pilot Engineer job category, we found that Senior Performance Engineer jobs have average salaries similar than Pilot Engineer jobs.

    Job Title

    Annual Salary

    Hourly Wage

    Senior Performance Engineer

    $126,557

    $60.84

    Database Application Developer

    $110,489

    $53.12

    Intermediate Engineer

    $106,386

    $51.15

    Race Car Design Engineer

    $88,150

    $42.38

    Llm Trainer

    $76,772

    $36.91

    About Our Data

    ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.

    Infographic detailing Pilot Engineer salary across the United States as of July 2026. Displays a bar chart with salary percentiles, a national average salary of $130,916 per year or $62.94 an hour, and a color-coded map showing state-by-state salary variations.