Embedded Linux salary: $211K median
The median advertised Embedded Linux salary is $211K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $168K to $240K: counted from 348 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range: about $102 an hour or $17,604 a month. A tenth of the postings offer $286K or more. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.
Check an offer against these figuresAll Embedded Linux jobs
$211Kmedian advertised salary
$168K – $240Kmiddle half of roles
$212Kaverage advertised salary
348roles counted
Embedded Linux salary by level
Lead roles advertise a median of $256K, 18% more than senior roles ($218K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.
| Level | Median salary | Middle half | Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | $218K | $188K–$222K | 114 |
| Lead and above | $256K | $222K–$280K | 63 |
| No level in the title | $186K | $150K–$222K | 162 |
Embedded Linux salary by location
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸San Francisco Bay Area | $222K | 137 |
| 🇺🇸California | $215K | 255 |
| 🇺🇸United States | $210K | 342 |
| 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA | $179K | 34 |
| 🇺🇸Seattle, WA | $160K | 24 |
Skills that pay more for Embedded Linux roles
| Skill | Median with it | Above the median | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-performance computing | $250K | +$39K | 34 |
| Machine Learning | $238K | +$27K | 46 |
| Operating systems | $238K | +$26K | 67 |
| Go | $230K | +$19K | 35 |
| Sensor fusion | $222K | +$11K | 87 |
Top-paying companies
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | $402K | 3 |
| OpenAI | $356K | 13 |
| Lambda | $330K | 3 |
| Wayve | $284K | 6 |
| 1X | $275K | 4 |
| Crusoe | $268K | 11 |
| Modal | $268K | 8 |
| xAI | $255K | 5 |
| Sunday | $250K | 3 |
| Baseten | $245K | 3 |
| Zoox | $242K | 7 |
| Waymo | $238K | 5 |
| Pure Storage | $225K | 3 |
| Anduril Industries | $222K | 79 |
| Anyscale | $220K | 3 |
| Nuro | $220K | 13 |
| CoreWeave | $212K | 3 |
| Astranis | $208K | 3 |
| General Matter | $205K | 3 |
| True Anomaly | $204K | 8 |
| Muon Space | $202K | 11 |
| Apex Technology | $199K | 10 |
| Lightmatter | $197K | 3 |
| Vast | $190K | 3 |
| Sciforium | $185K | 3 |
Highest-paying open Embedded Linux roles
All Embedded Linux jobs- Engineering Manager, Hardware Platform SecurityAnthropic · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA$485K - $625KGoLinuxVulnerability management
- Software Engineer, Compute Foundations SystemsOpenAI · 🇺🇸San Francisco$230K - $490KLinuxLinux administrationFirmware
- Software Engineer, SandboxingAnthropic · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA | New York City, NY | Seattle, WA$320K - $485KRustC++GCP
- Staff Software Engineer - ComputeLambda · Bellevue Office$314K - $465KHybridLead and aboveRustGoPython
- Software Engineer, Manufacturing InfrastructureOpenAI · 🇺🇸San Francisco$310K - $460KHybridRustPythonC++
- Systems Software EngineerSunday · 🇺🇸Redwood City, CA$200K - $400KRustC++Linux
- Senior Software Engineer - Storage Control PlaneLambda · 🇺🇸San Francisco Office (Fremont St)$266K - $395KHybridSeniorGoPythonC++
- Principal Software Engineer, Onboard InfrastructureNuro · 🇺🇸Mountain View, California (HQ)$258K - $387KLead and aboveC++Machine LearningLinux
- Principal Software Engineer, PerformanceNuro · 🇺🇸Mountain View, California (HQ)$258K - $387KLead and aboveC++Machine LearningLinux
- Infrastructure LeadIntelligence Security Laboratories · 🇺🇸Washington, D.C.$205K - $375KHybridLead and aboveDockerLinuxCI/CD
- Principal Machine Learning Engineer- LLM Fine-tuning and OptimizationAirbnb · 🇺🇸United States$292K - $365KLead and abovePythonMachine LearningLLM
- Sr. Software Engineer, Kernels/CUDA (C++)xAI · 🇺🇸Palo Alto, CA$220K - $357KSeniorC++LinuxCUDA
- Software Engineering Manager - FirmwareApplied · 🇺🇸Sunnyvale$280K - $355KC++LinuxEmbedded C
- Machine Learning Infrastructure EngineerCharacter.AI · 🇺🇸Redwood City, CA$150K - $350KHybridMachine LearningLLMPyTorch
- Member of Technical Staff - ML PerformanceModal · 🇺🇸New York$200K - $350KLinuxCUDAFine-tuning
- Inference Engineering and Product LeadModal · 🇺🇸San Francisco$300K - $350KLead and aboveLLMLinuxFine-tuning
- AI Researcher1X · 🇺🇸San Carlos, CA$250K - $350KPythonMachine LearningPyTorch
- Member of Technical Staff - Research Engineer, RL EnvironmentsPreference Model · 🇺🇸San Francisco$200K - $350KPythonMachine LearningLLM
- Principal Embedded Engineer, EWAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$260K - $345KLead and aboveRustLinuxComputer Vision
- Principal Systems Software ArchitectCrusoe · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA - US$260K - $340KLead and aboveGCPAzureLLM
Questions about Embedded Linux pay
- What is the average Embedded Linux salary?
- $212K a year on average and $211K at the median, across 348 open Embedded Linux 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 $168K to $240K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
- Which companies advertise the highest Embedded Linux pay?
- Anthropic ($402K), OpenAI ($356K), Lambda ($330K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
- Is an embedded linux a high-paying job?
- The median Embedded Linux posting advertises $211K a year, more than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 21% above the middle of the market.
- How much can you earn as an embedded linux?
- A tenth of the postings offer $286K a year or more; the highest open Embedded Linux role advertises up to $625K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
- What is the Embedded Linux salary per hour and per month?
- The median of $211K a year is about $102 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $17,604 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $81 to $115 an hour.
- Which skills pay more for Embedded Linux roles?
- Postings that ask for High-performance computing (+$39K, 34 postings), Machine Learning (+$27K, 46 postings), Operating systems (+$26K, 67 postings) advertise more than the $211K median of all Embedded Linux postings with pay.
- What does an entry-level embedded linux make?
- 9 junior and intern Embedded Linux postings state pay, with a median of $102K 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 Embedded Linux roles at companies is $211K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $168K to $240K. Counted from 348 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Jobs Every Hour, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/embedded-linux/
Free to use with the link.