Drone Engineer and Operator salary: $172K median
The median advertised Drone Engineer and Operator salary is $172K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $154K to $194K: counted from 95 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range: about $82 an hour or $14,292 a month. A tenth of the postings offer $256K or more. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.
Check an offer against these figuresAll drone engineer and operator jobs
$172Kmedian advertised salary
$154K – $194Kmiddle half of roles
$178Kaverage advertised salary
95roles counted
Drone Engineer and Operator salary by level
Lead roles advertise a median of $222K, 29% more than senior roles ($172K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.
| Level | Median salary | Middle half | Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | $172K | $172K–$194K | 29 |
| Lead and above | $222K | $195K–$256K | 23 |
| No level in the title | $154K | $130K–$156K | 43 |
Drone Engineer and Operator salary by location
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸United States | $172K | 92 |
| 🇺🇸California | $172K | 77 |
Skills that pay more for Drone Engineer and Operator roles
| Skill | Median with it | Above the median | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control systems | $194K | +$23K | 12 |
| MATLAB | $182K | +$11K | 24 |
Top-paying companies
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| Applied | $186K | 14 |
| Anduril Industries | $172K | 66 |
| Neros Technologies | $117K | 3 |
| Seneca | $105K | 3 |
Highest-paying open Drone Engineer and Operator roles
All drone engineer and operator jobs- Head of Drone HardwareApplied · 🇺🇸Sunnyvale$270K - $355KLead and aboveHardware testingPCB designRoot cause analysis
- Principal Propulsion Engineer, Air Vehicles (Air Breathing Engine Integration)Anduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$260K - $345KLead and abovePythonMATLABComputer Vision
- Principal Propulsion Engineer, Air Vehicles (Solid Rocket Motor Integration)Anduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$260K - $345KLead and abovePythonMATLABComputer Vision
- Senior Manager, Electrical Engineering - DroneApplied · 🇺🇸Sunnyvale$258K - $316KSeniorTest equipmentHardware interfacesPCB design
- Principal TPM, Drone & Autonomy SoftwareBrinc · 🇺🇸Seattle, WA$145K - $245KLead and aboveLinuxCI/CD
- Staff Engineering Program Manager, UAS ProgramsArcher · 🇺🇸San Jose, California, United States$173K - $228KLead and aboveWorkforce planningAviation
- UAS Pilot/Flight Test & Mission OperatorCHAOS Industries · 🇺🇸El Segundo, California, United States$130K - $180KGoPythonJira
- Senior Hardware Systems Engineer – Counter-UAS (Onsite)Axon · 🇺🇸Sterling, Virginia, United States$109K - $174KSenior
- UAS / Drone Integration LeadNeros Technologies · 🇺🇸Torrance, California, United States$112K - $158KLead and above
- Senior V-BAT Air Vehicle Operator, Demonstration (R5505)Shield AI · 🇺🇸Dallas, TX, US$100K - $150KSeniorSecurity clearanceControl systemsAviation
- V-BAT Air Vehicle Operator, Deployed OperationsShield AI · 🇺🇸Dallas, TX, US$100K - $150KSecurity clearanceAviationRisk management
- UAV Test Engineer (Systems/Mechatronics)Seneca · Sausalito$110K - $150KROS
- Drone Platform Integration & Network Support EngineerSkydio · 🇺🇸US Remote$103K - $145KRemotePythonPHPLLM
- UAS / Drone Integration SpecialistNeros Technologies · 🇺🇸Torrance, California, United States$98K - $136K
- Drone Operator and EngineerSentradel · 🇺🇸Nevada Office$80K - $130KPythonC++Firmware
- UAS Flight Test TechnicianSeneca · Sausalito$80K - $130K
- Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) R&D TechnicianMORSE Corp · 🇺🇸Cambridge, MA$60K - $90K
Questions about Drone Engineer and Operator pay
- What is the average Drone Engineer and Operator salary?
- $178K a year on average and $172K at the median, across 95 open Drone Engineer and Operator 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 $154K to $194K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
- Which companies advertise the highest Drone Engineer and Operator pay?
- Applied ($186K), Anduril Industries ($172K), Neros Technologies ($117K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
- Is a drone engineer and operator a high-paying job?
- The median Drone Engineer and Operator posting advertises $172K a year, less than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 1% below the middle of the market.
- How much can you earn as a drone engineer and operator?
- A tenth of the postings offer $256K a year or more; the highest open Drone Engineer and Operator role advertises up to $355K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
- What is the Drone Engineer and Operator salary per hour and per month?
- The median of $172K a year is about $82 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $14,292 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $74 to $94 an hour.
- Which skills pay more for Drone Engineer and Operator roles?
- Postings that ask for Control systems (+$23K, 12 postings), MATLAB (+$11K, 24 postings) advertise more than the $172K median of all Drone Engineer and Operator 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 Drone Engineer and Operator roles at companies is $172K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $154K to $194K. Counted from 95 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Jobs Every Hour, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/drone/
Free to use with the link.