RTOS salary: $196K median
The median advertised RTOS salary is $196K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $160K to $224K: counted from 249 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range: about $94 an hour or $16,292 a month. A tenth of the postings offer $256K or more. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.
Check an offer against these figuresAll RTOS jobs
$196Kmedian advertised salary
$160K – $224Kmiddle half of roles
$201Kaverage advertised salary
249roles counted
RTOS salary by level
Lead roles advertise a median of $226K, 12% more than senior roles ($202K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.
| Level | Median salary | Middle half | Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | $202K | $172K–$222K | 90 |
| Lead and above | $226K | $213K–$256K | 47 |
| No level in the title | $172K | $146K–$222K | 109 |
RTOS salary by location
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸San Francisco Bay Area | $220K | 73 |
| 🇺🇸California | $214K | 172 |
| 🇺🇸United States | $200K | 245 |
| 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA | $180K | 23 |
Skills that pay more for RTOS roles
| Skill | Median with it | Above the median | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robotics | $222K | +$27K | 24 |
| Sensor fusion | $222K | +$26K | 67 |
| Computer Vision | $222K | +$26K | 56 |
| Compilers | $222K | +$26K | 29 |
| Operating systems | $220K | +$24K | 29 |
Top-paying companies
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | $362K | 5 |
| OpenAI | $356K | 5 |
| Wayve | $285K | 8 |
| Latitude AI | $227K | 4 |
| Samsara | $226K | 3 |
| Muon Space | $225K | 5 |
| 1X | $222K | 4 |
| Apptronik | $222K | 3 |
| Anduril Industries | $222K | 56 |
| Agility Robotics | $220K | 5 |
| Zoox | $218K | 3 |
| True Anomaly | $218K | 10 |
| Apex Technology | $218K | 5 |
| Astranis | $208K | 3 |
| Lunar Energy | $205K | 4 |
| Applied | $200K | 15 |
| Astera Labs | $184K | 3 |
| Whoop | $182K | 4 |
| Rocket Lab | $177K | 6 |
| Hermeus | $172K | 4 |
| K2 Space | $172K | 14 |
| Re:Build Manufacturing | $164K | 4 |
| Cowboyspace | $158K | 3 |
| SharkNinja | $155K | 4 |
| ALTEN Technology USA | $155K | 4 |
Highest-paying open RTOS roles
All RTOS jobs- Data Center Energy LeadAnthropic · 🇺🇸Remote-Friendly (Travel-Required) | San Francisco, CA | S…$405K - $485KRemoteLead and aboveRegulatory complianceHigh-performance computingRTOS
- Principal System ArchitectWayve · 🇺🇸Sunnyvale, California USA$348K - $458KHybridLead and aboveLinuxHardware testingAUTOSAR
- ASIC Firmware Engineer, ModelingOpenAI · 🇺🇸San Francisco$226K - $445KRustC++C
- Systems Software Engineer, BMC & Management PlaneOpenAI · 🇺🇸San Francisco$266K - $445KHybridRustC++Linux
- Energy Special ProjectsAnthropic · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA | New York City, NY$320K - $406KData centersRTOS
- Lead Firmware EngineerSabi · 🇺🇸San Francisco$300K - $400KHybridLead and aboveFirmwareHardware testingTest equipment
- Hardware Engineer - ElectricalRai · 🇺🇸Cambridge, MA$126K - $358KRustWi-FiFirmware
- Software Engineering Manager - FirmwareApplied · 🇺🇸Sunnyvale$280K - $355KC++LinuxEmbedded C
- Staff Software Engineer, GhostAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$253K - $336KLead and aboveRustGoPython
- Principal Embedded Systems Security EngineerTrue Anomaly · 🇺🇸Denver, CO; Long Beach, CA$225K - $330KLead and aboveC++LinuxEmbedded C
- Systems Architect - POSIXApplied · 🇺🇸Sunnyvale$204K - $318KLinuxgRPCAUTOSAR
- Senior Software Engineer - Pipeline Infrastructure & IntegrationZoox · 🇺🇸Foster City, CA$219K - $315KSeniorPythonTypeScriptReact
- Principal GNC EngineerTrue Anomaly · 🇺🇸Denver, CO; Long Beach, CA$220K - $315KLead and abovePythonC++Security clearance
- Engineering Manager, Embedded Automotive PlatformsWayve · 🇺🇸Sunnyvale, California USA$280K - $305KHybridRustC++Linux
- Staff Firmware Engineer - Motor Controls1X · 🇺🇸San Carlos, CA$200K - $300KLead and abovePythonC++MATLAB
- Embedded Software EngineerSunday · 🇺🇸Redwood City, CA$200K - $300KRustPythonC++
- Software Engineer, Embedded Applications (R5068)Shield AI · 🇺🇸Dallas, TX, US$198K - $296KC++VerilogSecurity clearance
- Mission Autonomy Lead - ThunderAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$220K - $292KLead and abovePythonC++Docker
- Staff or Senior Firmware EngineerSamsara · 🇺🇸Remote - SF Bay Area$162K - $290KRemoteLead and aboveGoLinuxAWS
- Staff or Senior Firmware EngineerSamsara · 🇺🇸Remote - SF Bay Area$162K - $290KRemoteLead and aboveGoLinuxAWS
Questions about RTOS pay
- What is the average RTOS salary?
- $201K a year on average and $196K at the median, across 249 open RTOS 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 $160K to $224K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
- Which companies advertise the highest RTOS pay?
- Anthropic ($362K), OpenAI ($356K), Wayve ($285K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
- Is a rtos a high-paying job?
- The median RTOS posting advertises $196K a year, more than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 12% above the middle of the market.
- How much can you earn as a rtos?
- A tenth of the postings offer $256K a year or more; the highest open RTOS role advertises up to $485K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
- What is the RTOS salary per hour and per month?
- The median of $196K a year is about $94 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $16,292 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $77 to $108 an hour.
- Which skills pay more for RTOS roles?
- Postings that ask for Robotics (+$27K, 24 postings), Sensor fusion (+$26K, 67 postings), Computer Vision (+$26K, 56 postings) advertise more than the $196K median of all RTOS 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 RTOS roles at companies is $196K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $160K to $224K. Counted from 249 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Jobs Every Hour, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/rtos/
Free to use with the link.