Industrial automation salary: $160K median
The median advertised Industrial automation salary is $160K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $132K to $200K: counted from 287 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range: about $77 an hour or $13,333 a month. A tenth of the postings offer $230K or more. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.
Check an offer against these figuresAll Industrial automation jobs
$160Kmedian advertised salary
$132K – $200Kmiddle half of roles
$170Kaverage advertised salary
287roles counted
Industrial automation salary by level
Lead roles advertise a median of $206K, 20% 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 | $158K–$200K | 79 |
| Lead and above | $206K | $182K–$226K | 55 |
| No level in the title | $143K | $115K–$170K | 148 |
Industrial automation salary by location
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸San Francisco Bay Area | $200K | 44 |
| 🇺🇸California | $172K | 175 |
| 🇺🇸United States | $160K | 284 |
| 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA | $156K | 36 |
Skills that pay more for Industrial automation roles
Top-paying companies
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | $360K | 5 |
| OpenAI | $273K | 4 |
| Waymo | $269K | 3 |
| Zoox | $249K | 4 |
| Figure | $200K | 6 |
| Helion | $198K | 3 |
| Valar Atomics | $192K | 12 |
| Applied | $178K | 3 |
| Agility Robotics | $172K | 7 |
| Anduril Industries | $172K | 70 |
| Lucid Motors | $171K | 4 |
| PsiQuantum | $171K | 3 |
| Muon Space | $165K | 4 |
| Crusoe | $159K | 12 |
| General Matter | $158K | 10 |
| K2 Space | $158K | 5 |
| Rocket Lab | $148K | 6 |
| Formic | $135K | 14 |
| Re:Build Manufacturing | $134K | 15 |
| SpaceX | $122K | 20 |
| ARCO/Murray National Construction | $112K | 4 |
| ALTEN Technology USA | $106K | 4 |
| McMaster-Carr | $106K | 3 |
| Gotion | $100K | 8 |
| LG Electronics | $98K | 3 |
Highest-paying open Industrial automation roles
All Industrial automation jobs- Control Systems Software Engineer, RoboticsOpenAI · 🇺🇸San Francisco$380K - $460KRustC++Machine Learning
- Data Center Controls EngineerAnthropic · 🇺🇸Remote-Friendly (Travel Required) | San Francisco, CA$320K - $405KRemotePythonSQLPostgreSQL
- Data Center Engineer, Reliability & Infrastructure Management – Compute SupplyAnthropic · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA | New York City, NY$320K - $405KData qualityData centersControl systems
- Director, Systems Integration, DiagnosticsWaymo · 🇺🇸Mountain View, CA, USA$323K - $399KLead and aboveHardware testingIndustrial automation
- Staff/Senior Staff Software Engineer - Product SecurityZoox · 🇺🇸Foster City, CA$292K - $375KLead and aboveAWSInfrastructure as codeApplication security
- Director of Engineering, Fleet ApplicationsAgility Robotics · 🇺🇸Hybrid- Any Office (Fremont, CA, Salem, OR, or Pittsburgh…$236K - $369KHybridLead and aboveCI/CDSOC 2Industrial automation
- Staff Software Engineer - Humanoid ControlsApptronik · 🇺🇸Sunnyvale, CA$300K - $350KLead and abovePythonC++Reinforcement learning
- Staff Software Systems Engineer - Advanced Autonomy Systems Engineering LeadLatitude AI · 🇺🇸Pittsburgh, PA, Palo Alto, CA, Detroit, MI$224K - $336KLead and abovePythonC++Machine Learning
- Principal Embedded Systems Security EngineerTrue Anomaly · 🇺🇸Denver, CO; Long Beach, CA$225K - $330KLead and aboveC++LinuxEmbedded C
- Robotics Software EngineerOpenAI · 🇺🇸San Francisco$255K - $325KRustC++Robotics
- Manufacturing Software Test EngineerFigure · 🇺🇸San Jose, CA$130K - $300KPythonC++Linux
- Director Instrumentation, Control, and Electrical – Power ConversionValar Atomics · 🇺🇸Torrance, California, United States$225K - $300KLead and abovePE licenseData qualityControl systems
- Senior Product Manager, Fleet ResilienceWaymo · 🇺🇸Mountain View, CA, US; San Francisco, CA, US$241K - $297KSeniorPythonSQLIndustrial automation
- 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
- Senior/Staff Systems Engineer, Platform SystemsNuro · 🇺🇸Mountain View, California (HQ)$160K - $291KLead and abovePythonC++MATLAB
- General Manager, Re:Build AppliedLogixRe:Build Manufacturing · 🇺🇸United States$192K - $288KLinuxFinancial modelingPerformance management
- Manager, Technical Product Management – Autonomy IntegrationZoox · 🇺🇸Foster City, CA$231K - $281KGoComputer VisionUser research
- Senior Manager, Release and Issue ManagementAgility Robotics · 🇺🇸Hybrid- Fremont, CA$217K - $281KHybridSeniorPRDsIndustrial automationRoot cause analysis
- Technical Specialist, Motion Controls ArchitectureLucid Motors · 🇺🇸Newark, CA$179K - $263KPythonC++Jira
Questions about Industrial automation pay
- What is the average Industrial automation salary?
- $170K a year on average and $160K at the median, across 287 open Industrial automation 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 $132K to $200K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
- Which companies advertise the highest Industrial automation pay?
- Anthropic ($360K), OpenAI ($273K), Waymo ($269K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
- Is an industrial automation a high-paying job?
- The median Industrial automation posting advertises $160K a year, less than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 8% below the middle of the market.
- How much can you earn as an industrial automation?
- A tenth of the postings offer $230K a year or more; the highest open Industrial automation role advertises up to $460K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
- What is the Industrial automation salary per hour and per month?
- The median of $160K a year is about $77 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $13,333 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $64 to $96 an hour.
- Which skills pay more for Industrial automation roles?
- Postings that ask for Linux (+$34K, 30 postings), C++ (+$34K, 49 postings), MATLAB (+$34K, 38 postings) advertise more than the $160K median of all Industrial automation postings with pay.
- What does an entry-level industrial automation make?
- 5 junior and intern Industrial automation postings state pay, with a median of $68K a year ($32 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 Industrial automation roles at companies is $160K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $132K to $200K. Counted from 287 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Jobs Every Hour, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/industrial-automation/
Free to use with the link.