Mechanical Design Engineer salary: $162K median
The median advertised Mechanical Design Engineer salary is $162K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $138K to $185K: counted from 154 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range: about $78 an hour or $13,542 a month. A tenth of the postings offer $210K or more. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.
Check an offer against these figuresAll mechanical design engineer jobs
$162Kmedian advertised salary
$138K – $185Kmiddle half of roles
$162Kaverage advertised salary
154roles counted
Mechanical Design Engineer salary by level
Lead roles advertise a median of $205K, 25% more than senior roles ($164K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.
| Level | Median salary | Middle half | Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | $164K | $158K–$175K | 56 |
| Lead and above | $205K | $188K–$215K | 21 |
| No level in the title | $148K | $120K–$171K | 74 |
Mechanical Design Engineer salary by location
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸San Francisco Bay Area | $186K | 36 |
| 🇺🇸California | $165K | 109 |
| 🇺🇸United States | $162K | 149 |
| 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA | $155K | 36 |
Skills that pay more for Mechanical Design Engineer roles
| Skill | Median with it | Above the median | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Siemens NX | $165K | +$2K | 37 |
| Creo | $165K | +$2K | 19 |
| CNC machining | $165K | +$2K | 25 |
| CATIA | $165K | +$2K | 18 |
Top-paying companies
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| Radiant Industries | $208K | 4 |
| Valar Atomics | $192K | 3 |
| Skydio | $190K | 3 |
| Vast | $171K | 4 |
| Anduril Industries | $170K | 5 |
| Cowboyspace | $165K | 6 |
| Relativity Space | $165K | 7 |
| Formenergy | $161K | 5 |
| Varda Space Industries | $160K | 4 |
| K2 Space | $158K | 7 |
| Antares | $151K | 6 |
| ALTEN Technology USA | $131K | 6 |
| BETA Technologies | $125K | 4 |
| SpaceX | $115K | 11 |
| Quest Defense Systems & Solutions, Inc. | $78K | 4 |
Highest-paying open Mechanical Design Engineer roles
All mechanical design engineer jobs- Mechanical Design Engineer, Motor Design & PrototypingOpenAI · 🇺🇸San Francisco$225K - $318KHybridMechatronicsCADCNC machining
- Principal Mechanical Design Engineer, TurbomachineryRadiant Industries · 🇺🇸El Segundo, CA$200K - $314KLead and above
- Staff Mechanical Design Engineer, TurbomachineryRadiant Industries · 🇺🇸El Segundo, CA$200K - $314KLead and above
- Product Design EngineerHark · 🇺🇸San Jose$120K - $300K
- Product Design Engineer, FEAHark · 🇺🇸San Jose$120K - $300K
- Lead Mechanical Designer, TurbomachineryValar Atomics · 🇺🇸Torrance, California, United States$200K - $295KLead and aboveCADGD&TSiemens NX
- Senior Actuator Engineer (Hands Team)Rhoda Ai · 🇺🇸Mountain View$175K - $280KSenior
- Principal Mechanical Design & Analysis Engineer, ToolingRelativity Space · 🇺🇸Long Beach, California$185K - $277KLead and aboveRails
- Staff Product Design EngineerSamsara · 🇺🇸San Francisco - SF9$220K - $275KLead and aboveMechatronicsRF engineeringCAD
- Senior Product Design EngineerSkydio · 🇺🇸San Mateo, California, United States$196K - $270KSeniorMechatronicsRF engineeringCAD
- Senior Staff Mechanical Design EngineerFormenergy · 🇺🇸Berkeley, CA$170K - $255KLead and above
- Mechanical Design Engineer - Hands Thermal Systems1X · 🇺🇸San Carlos, CA$176K - $253KFirmwareMechatronicsCAD
- Senior Product Design EngineerFormlabs · 🇺🇸Boston, MA$130K - $250KSenior
- Mechanical Design EngineerSkild AI · San Mateo$100K - $250KMachine Learning
- Senior Mechanical Design EngineerRhoda Ai · 🇺🇸Mountain View$175K - $250KSenior
- Product Design EngineerPlayerzero · 🇺🇸San Francisco$210K - $250KHybrid
- Staff Mechanical Design & Analysis Engineer - Launch & Recovery Vehicle (LRV)Shield AI · 🇺🇸Seattle, WA, US$166K - $249KLead and aboveAgileSecurity clearance3D modeling
- Staff Mechanisms EngineerRelativity Space · 🇺🇸Long Beach, California, United States$164K - $246KLead and abovePythonMATLAB
- Mechanical Design Engineer, Structures & MechanismsZipline · 🇺🇸South San Francisco, California, USA$125K - $240K
- Senior Mechanical Design EngineerMaticRobots · 🇺🇸Menlo Park, CA$160K - $240KSenior
Questions about Mechanical Design Engineer pay
- What is the average Mechanical Design Engineer salary?
- $162K a year on average and $162K at the median, across 154 open Mechanical Design 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 $138K to $185K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
- Which companies advertise the highest Mechanical Design Engineer pay?
- Radiant Industries ($208K), Valar Atomics ($192K), Skydio ($190K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
- Is a mechanical design engineer a high-paying job?
- The median Mechanical Design Engineer posting advertises $162K a year, less than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 7% below the middle of the market.
- How much can you earn as a mechanical design engineer?
- A tenth of the postings offer $210K a year or more; the highest open Mechanical Design Engineer role advertises up to $318K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
- What is the Mechanical Design Engineer salary per hour and per month?
- The median of $162K a year is about $78 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $13,542 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $66 to $89 an hour.
- Which skills pay more for Mechanical Design Engineer roles?
- Postings that ask for Siemens NX (+$2K, 37 postings), Creo (+$2K, 19 postings), CNC machining (+$2K, 25 postings) advertise more than the $162K median of all Mechanical Design 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 Mechanical Design Engineer roles at companies is $162K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $138K to $185K. Counted from 154 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Jobs Every Hour, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/mechanical-design/
Free to use with the link.