Senior Systems Engineer
Senior Systems Engineer Salary
$56K - $67K
1% of jobs
$67K - $78K
3% of jobs
$78K - $89K
7% of jobs
$89K - $100K
9% of jobs
$104.7K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$100K - $111K
15% of jobs
$111K - $122K
16% of jobs
The median wage is $122.2K / yr.
$122K - $133K
16% of jobs
$140.6K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$133K - $144K
13% of jobs
$144K - $155K
10% of jobs
$155K - $166K
7% of jobs
$166K - $177K
5% of jobs
$56K
$123K
$176K
$124,732
/year
$59.97
/hour
Senior Systems Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$124,732
Columbus
Ohio
$120,478
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How much does a Senior Systems Engineer make?
As of Aug 12, 2026, the average annual pay for a Senior Systems Engineer in the United States is $124,732 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $59.97 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,398/week or $10,394/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $176,000 and as low as $56,000, the majority of Senior Systems Engineer salaries currently range between $104,500 (25th percentile) to $143,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $164,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Senior Systems Engineer varies greatly (by as much as 38500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Senior Systems Engineer in your area makes on average $120,478 per year, or $4,254 (3.411%) less than the national average annual salary of $124,732. Ohio ranks number 31 out of 50 states nationwide for Senior Systems Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Senior Systems Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Senior Systems Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Senior Systems Engineer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Senior Systems Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Mineral, VA, , with Menlo Park, CA, and Alameda, CA, close behind in the second and third positions. Alameda, CA, beats the national average by $41,926 (33.6%), and Mineral, VA, furthers that trend with another $56,550 (45.3%) above the $124,732 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Senior Systems Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 16% between Mineral, VA, and California City, 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 Senior Systems Engineer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Mineral, VA | $181,282 | $87.15 |
Menlo Park, CA | $173,694 | $83.51 |
Alameda, CA | $166,658 | $80.12 |
Severn, MD | $165,209 | $79.43 |
Scotts Valley, CA | $161,415 | $77.60 |
Barrow, AK | $155,388 | $74.71 |
Nome, AK | $154,729 | $74.39 |
Limington, ME | $153,955 | $74.02 |
Cupertino, CA | $153,887 | $73.98 |
California City, CA | $152,977 | $73.55 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Senior Systems Engineer Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Senior Systems Engineer category.
For example Amazon Embedded Software Engineer jobs pay as much as $28,651 (23.0%) more than the average Senior Systems Engineer salary of $124,732. If you're qualified, finding work as a Amazon Embedded Software Engineer may help you make more money than that of the average Senior Systems Engineer position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Amazon Embedded Software Engineer | $153,383 | $73.74 |
Virtual Reality Software Engineer | $147,524 | $70.92 |
Formal Verification Engineer | $142,619 | $68.57 |
Junior Site Reliability Engineer | $132,583 | $63.74 |
Power Systems Engineer | $117,702 | $56.59 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
