24 of the Highest Paying Engineer Jobs in 2026

The best Engineer jobs can pay up to $253,000 per year.

High Paying Engineer Jobs

• Director of Engineering

  Salary range: $141,500 - $253,000

  A director of engineering is the head of the engineering team or department. This is a leadership position in upper management, but unlike other director roles, the director or engineering plays an active part in the development of a project. They work with their team of engineers to set goals, plan projects, build a timeline, and stay within budget. Their duties and responsibilities also include project management, hiring new team members, presenting budgets and plans to other departments, and meeting with upper-level management.

• Vice President of Engineering

  Salary range: $180,000 - $232,000

  As a vice president of engineering, your duties and responsibilities are to plan, implement, and oversee engineering strategies, procedures, and goals for your employer. You are responsible for ensuring that the daily and long-term operations of the engineering department are smooth. You collaborate with other executives on the promotion of growth within the company, the development of new design or project standards, and technical training for employees. You can find vice presidents of engineering positions in many different industries, including software development and civil, mechanical, electrical, and aerospace engineering.

• Engineering Manager

  Salary range: $116,500 - $173,000

  Engineering managers supervise teams of engineers and other professionals whose jobs are to collaborate on designing and developing products ranging from medical equipment to computer hardware to electrical components. Your job duties are to coordinate with teams and departments, help engineers troubleshoot and problem-solve, and make sure everyone stays on schedule to meet design and production deadlines. You need strong project management skills, extensive engineering knowledge, and excellent communication and leadership skills to succeed as an engineering manager.

• Senior Engineer

  Salary range: $104,500 - $143,500

  Senior engineers develop and design software programs and applications, but are designated senior because they have more extensive knowledge and years of experience than other engineers on their team. As a senior engineer, you work closely with company managers to ensure the software is created to the required specifications and must troubleshoot issues with applications when they arise. Most senior engineers have mastered a specific set of programming languages, databases, and operating systems.

• Photonics Engineer

  Salary range: $76,000 - $132,500

  As a photonics engineer, you work with photo energy and technology to create new products and improve existing goods, such as barcode scanners, lasers, and fiber optics. Research and development are your primary responsibilities, but your other job duties include creating design plans for product innovations, testing and revising prototypes, determining solutions for existing issues, and seeking cost-effective alternatives for current technology. You need strong scientific and mathematical reasoning along with computer skills to perform well as a photonics engineer.

• Engineering Project Manager

  Salary range: $90,500 - $130,500

  An engineering project manager is in charge of ensuring the successful completion of a project by managing the team and all equipment. As an engineering project manager, you work closely with the clients to design and develop a detailed plan for the project. Your job duties include creating cost proposals, ensuring all safety regulations are met, and maintaining financial records. You are often involved in the entire product development process. The exact job responsibilities depend on the specifics of the project.

• Robotics Engineer

  Salary range: $83,500 - $127,000

  A robotics engineer designs and often builds robots from their plans and ensures the correct processes are in place for the robot to run properly. They work with their clients to determine costs and design specifications, then they design software systems to control robotic systems; build, configure, and test robots; and automate processes to increase production and precision. Once the robotic system is in place, the robotics engineer helps troubleshoot any problems the clients have with the system.

• Staff Engineer

  Salary range: $69,000 - $125,000

  A staff engineer is a general title for an on-staff engineer in any number of industries. You can find these positions in fields including software development, the aerospace industry, civil engineering, and medical science. In this career, your job duties vary significantly depending on your industry. Generally, you work with a number of other developers and engineers to develop new systems or products or improve existing materials or processes. The qualifications needed for a career as a staff engineer include a bachelor’s degree in an engineering field relevant to your industry. Common degrees include electrical and mechanical engineering. While some employers prefer staff engineers with experience, you can secure an entry-level position with just the skills learned in your degree program.

• Division Engineer

  Salary range: $12,500 - $120,000

  The majority of Division Engineer salaries across the United States currently range between $12,500 (25th percentile) and $120,000 (75th percentile) annually. This large range of salary potential suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay depending on skill level, location and years of experience. Based on recent job posting activity on ZipRecruiter, the Division Engineer job market in the United States is not very active as few companies are currently hiring for this role. You can try exploring related titles to find jobs with more active opportunities.

• Vibration Engineer

  Salary range: $90,000 - $115,000

  Vibration engineers typically work in the construction and transportation industries. Your responsibilities include using specialized equipment to measure acoustics and vibrations within a structure, product, or transport system. You analyze that measurement data to understand how to reduce noise, increase structural integrity, and create technical solutions to problems. A vibration engineer’s work and duties proactively control vibrations and acoustics within projects to improve safety and decrease noise pollution. Engineers must achieve these goals while keeping sight of budget constraints, material costs, and regulatory requirements.

• Engineering Consultant

  Salary range: $61,500 - $114,500

  An engineering consultant provides businesses or government agencies with expert opinion, technical support, and solutions for engineering or science-related projects. The reasons for hiring a consulting engineer are varied, so it is common for engineering consultants to c from Fortune 500 companies to the FBI. Their duties and responsibilities may include overseeing the completion of a project, performing an audit of current systems or equipment, and suggesting improvements. Engineers are usually hired on a short-term basis and often travel to meet with different clients.

• Professional Engineer

  Salary range: $82,500 - $110,000

  A professional engineer uses mathematics and science to create safe and efficient buildings, machines, and applications. Engineers typically specialize in a particular field, such as aerospace, mechanical, or structural engineering. Your job duties vary depending on your area of expertise and employer but may include creating plans, designing machinery, or building skyscrapers. This career often involves a combination of office and field work. Frequent travel is an additional job requirement for many professional engineering jobs. Long hours and overtime work are also expected to meet deadlines.

• Certification Engineer

  Salary range: $88,000 - $110,000

  The majority of Certification Engineer salaries across the United States currently range between $88,000 (25th percentile) and $110,000 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job posting activity on ZipRecruiter, the Certification Engineer job market in the United States is not very active as few companies are currently hiring for this role. You can try exploring related titles to find jobs with more active opportunities.

• Assistant Engineer

  Salary range: $70,500 - $104,500

  An assistant engineer works alongside a senior engineer throughout a project. The job is often used to gain work experience by recent college graduates at the beginning of their career. Your duties vary, depending on the type of engineering and industry you work in, but may include managing equipment, performing inspections, reviewing blueprints, and coordinating among departments. Typical qualifications for an assistant engineer position include at least an associate or bachelor’s degree in an engineering field, strong communication skills, and the ability to carefully follow directions.

• Assistant Project Engineer

  Salary range: $66,500 - $101,000

  The majority of Assistant Project Engineer salaries across the United States currently range between $66,500 (25th percentile) and $101,000 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job posting activity on ZipRecruiter, the Assistant Project Engineer job market in the United States is not very active as few companies are currently hiring for this role. You can try exploring related titles to find jobs with more active opportunities.

• Shift Engineer

  Salary range: $52,000 - $92,000

  Shift engineers oversee the production and maintenance operations during work shifts. You primarily find shift engineers in the manufacturing and hotel industries. In manufacturing factories, you monitor employees to ensure staff work efficiently and meet production quotas while adhering to safety regulations and procedures. Shift engineers may also collaborate with the design of the equipment and organize layout within the facility. Hotels hire shift engineers to respond to repair requests from staff and patrons and ensure all electrical and mechanical systems, such as the sprinkler systems, are set up and work properly. Some shift engineer positions only require candidates to hold a high school diploma, while others prefer candidates with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in engineering.

• Field Engineer

  Salary range: $50,000 - $85,000

  As a field engineer, your main responsibilities include the installation, operation, repair, and maintenance of equipment, machinery, or facilities in a number of industries. Field engineers can work in the construction, telecommunication, energy, oil and gas, and manufacturing industries, to name just a few. Your specific duties depend on the field in which you work, but you typically must travel to a work site to inspect it before they install a machine or piece of equipment and travel whenever equipment is experiencing technical issues.

• Graduate Engineer

  Salary range: $45,000 - $83,000

  A graduate engineer may find employment in a variety of industries depending on their background, engineering specialty, and training. As a graduate engineer in the field of civil engineering, for instance, you work on scientific projects as part of a team, design civil grading, and prepare reports. In a graduate mechanical engineering role, you are involved in preparing building models, coordinating technical project components, and participating in team meetings. Regardless of your specialty, as a graduate engineer, you get to build work experience in lower level roles while working with veterans in your chosen field.

• Junior Engineer

  Salary range: $48,500 - $80,000

  A junior engineer is an entry-level engineering professional who reports to and learns from a senior engineer. You can find junior engineering jobs in every subset of the engineering field: industrial engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, materials engineering, and computer engineering. As a junior engineer, your job duties include testing project components, identifying problems and discovering solutions, working on ongoing projects based on specifications or drawings, and collaborating with teams of other engineers.

• RF Technician

  Salary range: $52,500 - $79,500

  The majority of RF Technician salaries across the United States currently range between $52,500 (25th percentile) and $79,500 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job postings on ZipRecruiter, the RF Technician job market in the United States is active, with some companies hiring.

• Entry Engineer

  Salary range: $51,500 - $78,500

  The majority of Entry Engineer salaries across the United States currently range between $51,500 (25th percentile) and $78,500 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job posting activity on ZipRecruiter, the Entry Engineer job market in the United States is not very active as few companies are currently hiring for this role. You can try exploring related titles to find jobs with more active opportunities.

• Training Engineer

  Salary range: $52,000 - $74,500

  The majority of Training Engineer salaries across the United States currently range between $52,000 (25th percentile) and $74,500 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job posting activity on ZipRecruiter, the Training Engineer job market in the United States is not very active as few companies are currently hiring for this role. You can try exploring related titles to find jobs with more active opportunities.

• Engineering Technician

  Salary range: $47,000 - $72,000

  As an engineering technician, your job is to perform the labor requested by senior engineers. To do this, you may help with the construction of various devices, provide input on mechanical design, and ensure that the labs have the necessary supplies. Depending on the needs of the project, you may also develop how-to guides for getting the job done, perform quality control measures, and test your results to ensure everything meets the intended standards. Most engineering technicians specialize in a particular field, such as chemical, biomedical, or civil engineering. Expect to frequently use computer-aided design software, perform mathematical calculations, and write reports that summarize your collected data.

• Engineering Intern

  Salary range: $33,500 - $43,500

  An engineering intern is a student or recent graduate of an engineering program who is gaining hands-on experience in their field through an internship program. Interns in most fields, including engineering, are paid very little and sometimes work only for academic credit. The value is in the experience gained working alongside experienced professionals. In engineering, interns will find that they have an opportunity begin to specialize their skills in an otherwise broad field. They will conduct basic engineering tasks, under supervision, as well as various administrative duties.