Control systems salary: $178K median
The median advertised Control systems salary is $178K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $146K to $221K: counted from 954 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range: about $85 an hour or $14,792 a month. A tenth of the postings offer $256K or more. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.
Check an offer against these figuresAll Control systems jobs
$178Kmedian advertised salary
$146K – $221Kmiddle half of roles
$185Kaverage advertised salary
954roles counted
Control systems salary by level
Lead roles advertise a median of $223K, 18% more than senior roles ($190K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.
| Level | Median salary | Middle half | Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | $190K | $171K–$221K | 312 |
| Lead and above | $223K | $195K–$256K | 182 |
| No level in the title | $150K | $129K–$185K | 447 |
Control systems salary by location
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸San Francisco Bay Area | $224K | 164 |
| 🇺🇸New York, NY | $210K | 18 |
| 🇺🇸Denver, CO | $192K | 35 |
| 🇺🇸California | $185K | 601 |
| 🇺🇸Boston, MA | $182K | 21 |
| 🇺🇸United States | $178K | 920 |
| 🇺🇸Seattle, WA | $170K | 44 |
| 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA | $160K | 126 |
| 🇺🇸Chicago, IL | $132K | 19 |
Skills that pay more for Control systems roles
| Skill | Median with it | Above the median | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machine Learning | $221K | +$44K | 103 |
| Sensor fusion | $194K | +$17K | 313 |
| C++ | $194K | +$16K | 339 |
| Computer Vision | $193K | +$16K | 299 |
| Simulink | $192K | +$15K | 103 |
Top-paying companies
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | $362K | 10 |
| Roblox | $318K | 5 |
| OpenAI | $293K | 6 |
| Wayve | $285K | 7 |
| Apptronik | $251K | 4 |
| May Mobility | $248K | 6 |
| Nuro | $242K | 9 |
| Lightmatter | $234K | 5 |
| Agility Robotics | $231K | 10 |
| 1X | $230K | 14 |
| Kodiak | $228K | 5 |
| Waymo | $227K | 14 |
| Skydio | $224K | 6 |
| Reliable Robotics | $220K | 12 |
| 1 Arc Power | $220K | 3 |
| Shield AI | $218K | 22 |
| Zoox | $217K | 11 |
| CoreWeave | $212K | 3 |
| Labelbox | $210K | 9 |
| Meade | $208K | 3 |
| Astera Labs | $205K | 3 |
| Lucid Motors | $203K | 7 |
| Figure | $200K | 5 |
| Applied | $200K | 14 |
| Helion | $198K | 6 |
Highest-paying open Control systems roles
All Control systems jobs- Researcher, Recursive Self-Improvement SafetyOpenAI · 🇺🇸San Francisco$380K - $500KControl systems
- Software Engineer, Applied AI - SystemsMercor · 🇺🇸San Francisco$220K - $500KTerraformLLMGraphQL
- Staff+ Software Engineer, Access ProgramsAnthropic · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA | New York City, NY | Seattle, WA$320K - $485KLead and aboveThreat intelligenceKYCControl systems
- Staff+ Software Engineer, Data InfrastructureAnthropic · 🇺🇸Remote-Friendly (Travel-Required) | San Francisco, CA | S…$405K - $485KRemoteLead and aboveGoPythonJava
- Control Systems Software Engineer, RoboticsOpenAI · 🇺🇸San Francisco$380K - $460KRustC++Machine Learning
- Machine Learning Research Engineer/ScientistSunday · 🇺🇸Redwood City, CA$200K - $450KPythonMachine LearningLLM
- Staff Machine Learning Engineer, RoboticsWayve · 🇺🇸Sunnyvale, California USA$370K - $420KHybridLead and abovePythonC++Machine Learning
- State Estimation Engineer (R4602)Shield AI · 🇺🇸Dallas, TX, US$275K - $412KC++LinuxCUDA
- State Estimation Engineer (R4783)Shield AI · 🇺🇸Dallas, TX, US$275K - $412KC++LinuxCUDA
- Staff / Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer - Collision Avoidance SystemZoox · 🇺🇸Foster City, CA$291K - $409KLead and abovePythonC++Machine Learning
- Vice President & Chief Financial OfficerWellPower - All Jobs · 🇺🇸Denver$255K - $408KLead and aboveAgileCPAGAAP
- Helix AI Engineer, Localization and MappingFigure · 🇺🇸San Jose, CA$200K - $400KC++AIComputer Vision
- Engineering Manager, InfrastructureSentry · 🇺🇸San Francisco, California$220K - $400KHybridRustGoPython
- Research ScientistDyna Robotics · 🇺🇸Redwood City, CA$200K - $400KPythonPyTorchGenerative AI
- Senior Network EngineerLambda · 🇺🇸San Francisco Office (Fremont St)$250K - $370KHybridSeniorPythonTerraformGCP
- Staff Software Engineer - Humanoid ControlsApptronik · 🇺🇸Sunnyvale, CA$300K - $350KLead and abovePythonC++Reinforcement learning
- VP of HardwareParallel Systems · 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA$250K - $350KLead and aboveControl systemsAnalog design
- Principal Software Engineer - Content LifecycleRoblox · 🇺🇸San Mateo, CA, United States$295K - $345KLead and aboveC++Network engineeringControl systems
- Principal Software Engineer - StreamingRoblox · 🇺🇸San Mateo, CA, United States$295K - $345KLead and aboveC++LinuxControl systems
- Principal Propulsion Engineer, Air Vehicles (Air Breathing Engine Integration)Anduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$260K - $345KLead and abovePythonMATLABComputer Vision
Questions about Control systems pay
- What is the average Control systems salary?
- $185K a year on average and $178K at the median, across 954 open Control systems postings at companies that state pay (November 2026). The median is the better guide: a few very high offers pull the average up.
- What is the typical range?
- The middle half of the postings offer $146K to $221K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
- Which companies advertise the highest Control systems pay?
- Anthropic ($362K), Roblox ($318K), OpenAI ($293K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
- Is a control systems a high-paying job?
- The median Control systems posting advertises $178K a year, more than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 2% above the middle of the market.
- How much can you earn as a control systems?
- A tenth of the postings offer $256K a year or more; the highest open Control systems role advertises up to $500K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
- What is the Control systems salary per hour and per month?
- The median of $178K a year is about $85 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $14,792 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $70 to $106 an hour.
- Which skills pay more for Control systems roles?
- Postings that ask for Machine Learning (+$44K, 103 postings), Sensor fusion (+$17K, 313 postings), C++ (+$16K, 339 postings) advertise more than the $178K median of all Control systems postings with pay.
- What does an entry-level control systems make?
- 13 junior and intern Control systems postings state pay, with a median of $101K a year ($49 an hour).
- Where do these figures come from?
- From the pay ranges employers print in their own job postings, read from their careers pages every hour. The midpoint of each range is counted. These are advertised ranges for open roles, mostly in the United States and in US dollars, not what people are actually paid.
Writing about this? A sentence you can quote
The median advertised salary for Control systems roles at companies is $178K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $146K to $221K. Counted from 954 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Jobs Every Hour, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/control-systems/
Free to use with the link.