Controls and PLC Engineer salary: $164K median
The median advertised Controls and PLC Engineer salary is $164K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $142K to $192K: counted from 157 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range: about $79 an hour or $13,708 a month. A tenth of the postings offer $232K or more. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.
Check an offer against these figuresAll controls and PLC engineer jobs
$164Kmedian advertised salary
$142K – $192Kmiddle half of roles
$173Kaverage advertised salary
157roles counted
Controls and PLC Engineer salary by level
Lead roles advertise a median of $197K, 16% more than senior roles ($170K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.
| Level | Median salary | Middle half | Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | $170K | $148K–$186K | 53 |
| Lead and above | $197K | $175K–$234K | 36 |
| No level in the title | $152K | $119K–$181K | 67 |
Controls and PLC Engineer salary by location
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸San Francisco Bay Area | $204K | 18 |
| 🇺🇸California | $175K | 81 |
| 🇺🇸United States | $160K | 148 |
| 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA | $158K | 20 |
Skills that pay more for Controls and PLC Engineer roles
| Skill | Median with it | Above the median | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| MATLAB | $185K | +$20K | 27 |
| Simulink | $184K | +$19K | 16 |
| C++ | $180K | +$15K | 28 |
| Mechatronics | $175K | +$10K | 41 |
| Hardware testing | $174K | +$10K | 20 |
Top-paying companies
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | $362K | 3 |
| Astera | $250K | 3 |
| Fluidstack | $220K | 8 |
| Valar Atomics | $192K | 12 |
| ATOMS | $188K | 3 |
| Marianaminerals | $175K | 3 |
| Crusoe | $159K | 6 |
| K2 Space | $158K | 3 |
| Relativity Space | $155K | 5 |
| Anduril Industries | $154K | 23 |
| General Matter | $150K | 3 |
| Oklo | $130K | 3 |
| Petra Funds Group | $128K | 6 |
| SpaceX | $118K | 9 |
| Gotion | $100K | 3 |
Highest-paying open Controls and PLC Engineer roles
All controls and PLC engineer jobs- Data Center Controls EngineerAnthropic · 🇺🇸Remote-Friendly (Travel Required) | San Francisco, CA$320K - $405KRemotePythonSQLPostgreSQL
- Reporting and Controls Lead, Data Center Capacity DeliveryAnthropic · 🇺🇸Remote-Friendly, United States$320K - $405KRemoteLead and abovePower BIMS ProjectSpreadsheets
- Principal Hardware Engineer, Precision InstrumentationAstera · Emeryville HQ$250K - $400KLead and above
- Senior/Staff Controls Engineer, Core DevelopmentNuro · 🇺🇸Mountain View, California (HQ)$194K - $352KLead and aboveC++Machine LearningEmbedded C
- Senior Mechanical Controls EngineerLambda · 🇺🇸San Francisco Office (Fremont St)$230K - $340KHybridSeniorMachine LearningDesign systemsControl systems
- Principal Robotic Controls EngineerClera · Los Lunas$250K - $315KLead and abovePythonC++MATLAB
- Director Instrumentation, Control, and Electrical – Power ConversionValar Atomics · 🇺🇸Torrance, California, United States$225K - $300KLead and abovePE licenseData qualityControl systems
- Hardware Engineer, Precision InstrumentationAstera · Emeryville HQ$200K - $300K
- Controls EngineerWayve · 🇺🇸Sunnyvale, California USA$210K - $294KHybridC++Machine LearningControl systems
- Principal Power Controls EngineerAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$220K - $292KLead and aboveC++Computer VisionSecurity clearance
- Controls Engineer, BMS & EPMSOpenAI · 🇺🇸San Francisco$177K - $285KData qualityData centersControl systems
- Staff Vehicle Controls Engineer, SteeringWaymo · 🇺🇸Mountain View, Ca, USA;Novi, Mi, USA$230K - $284KLead and abovePythonC++MATLAB
- Staff Guidance Navigation And Controls EngineerShield AI · 🇺🇸Dallas, TX, US$188K - $281KLead and aboveRustC++C
- Resident Controls Engineer (PHX)Fluidstack · 🇺🇸Phoenix, AZ$164K - $264K
- Principal Guidance-Navigation-Controls EngineerGRVTY · 🇺🇸Ventura, California, United States$235K - $260KLead and aboveMATLAB
- Controls Engineer, ThermofluidsFluidstack · 🇺🇸Austin, TX$210K - $260KHybrid
- Head of Manufacturing Engineering Automation & ControlsSkydio · 🇺🇸Hayward, California, United States$196K - $257KLead and aboveControl systemsMechatronicsAviation
- Sr. Automation Controls Specialist, Operations TeamTwelve · 🇺🇸Moses Lake, WA$204K - $255KSeniorNetwork engineeringFirewallsControl systems
- Senior Motor Controls EngineerAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$191K - $253KSeniorMATLABComputer VisionControl systems
- Power Electronics Controls Engineer, Energy StorageRedwood Materials · 🇺🇸San Francisco, California, United States$160K - $252KPythonMATLAB
Questions about Controls and PLC Engineer pay
- What is the average Controls and PLC Engineer salary?
- $173K a year on average and $164K at the median, across 157 open Controls and PLC Engineer 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 $142K to $192K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
- Which companies advertise the highest Controls and PLC Engineer pay?
- Anthropic ($362K), Astera ($250K), Fluidstack ($220K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
- Is a controls and plc engineer a high-paying job?
- The median Controls and PLC Engineer posting advertises $164K a year, less than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 5% below the middle of the market.
- How much can you earn as a controls and plc engineer?
- A tenth of the postings offer $232K a year or more; the highest open Controls and PLC Engineer role advertises up to $405K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
- What is the Controls and PLC Engineer salary per hour and per month?
- The median of $164K a year is about $79 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $13,708 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $68 to $92 an hour.
- Which skills pay more for Controls and PLC Engineer roles?
- Postings that ask for MATLAB (+$20K, 27 postings), Simulink (+$19K, 16 postings), C++ (+$15K, 28 postings) advertise more than the $164K median of all Controls and PLC Engineer postings with pay.
- 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 Controls and PLC Engineer roles at companies is $164K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $142K to $192K. Counted from 157 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Jobs Every Hour, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/controls-engineer/
Free to use with the link.