Structural Engineer salary: $162K median
The median advertised Structural Engineer salary is $162K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $130K to $185K: counted from 156 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range: about $78 an hour or $13,542 a month. A tenth of the postings offer $218K or more. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.
Check an offer against these figuresAll structural engineer jobs
$162Kmedian advertised salary
$130K – $185Kmiddle half of roles
$160Kaverage advertised salary
156roles counted
Structural Engineer salary by level
Lead roles advertise a median of $206K, 25% more than senior roles ($165K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.
| Level | Median salary | Middle half | Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | $165K | $160K–$172K | 49 |
| Lead and above | $206K | $182K–$230K | 24 |
| No level in the title | $131K | $115K–$168K | 82 |
Structural Engineer salary by location
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸California | $163K | 88 |
| 🇺🇸United States | $162K | 149 |
| 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA | $144K | 25 |
Skills that pay more for Structural Engineer roles
| Skill | Median with it | Above the median | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aviation | $208K | +$45K | 15 |
| GD&T | $187K | +$24K | 17 |
| SolidWorks | $186K | +$24K | 17 |
| Siemens NX | $172K | +$9K | 33 |
| Sensor fusion | $172K | +$9K | 15 |
Top-paying companies
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| Fluidstack | $235K | 5 |
| Archer | $233K | 3 |
| Shield AI | $218K | 11 |
| Vast | $202K | 3 |
| Swarmaero | $198K | 3 |
| Portal Space Systems | $175K | 4 |
| Radiant Industries | $174K | 6 |
| Anduril Industries | $172K | 15 |
| Antares | $165K | 3 |
| Stoke Space | $162K | 3 |
| Relativity Space | $155K | 19 |
| Hermeus | $140K | 3 |
| BETA Technologies | $135K | 9 |
| Ursa Major | $130K | 7 |
| Rocket Lab | $128K | 4 |
| SpaceX | $115K | 7 |
| Morrison-Maierle | $112K | 5 |
| Lpadesignstudios | $84K | 4 |
Highest-paying open Structural Engineer roles
All structural engineer jobs- Senior Staff Engineer, Structural Analysis - Ranger (R6300)Shield AI · 🇺🇸Seattle, WA, US$217K - $325KLead and aboveSecurity clearanceCADFEA
- Senior Staff Engineer, Structural Analysis - Ranger (R6369)Shield AI · 🇺🇸Seattle, WA, US$217K - $325KLead and aboveSecurity clearanceCADFEA
- Director, Structures EngineeringArcher · 🇺🇸San Jose, California, United States$249K - $311KLead and aboveWorkforce planningAviation
- Lead Structures Design EngineerSwarmaero · Oxnard$180K - $300KLead and aboveCADGD&TFEA
- Loads & Dynamics EngineerRadiant Industries · 🇺🇸El Segundo, CA$182K - $293K
- Structural Engineer, R&DFluidstack · 🇺🇸Austin, TX$237K - $283K
- Senior Staff Structural Analyst - Spacecraft EngineeringIonQ · 🇺🇸San Francisco, California, United States$193K - $277KLead and abovePythonMATLABFinancial modeling
- Senior Structures EngineerPacific Fusion · 🇺🇸San Leandro, CA$176K - $266KSenior
- Propulsion Structures EngineerVast · 🇺🇸Long Beach, California, United States$138K - $265KTest planningCADGD&T
- Structures Design Reliability EngineerVast · 🇺🇸Long Beach, California, United States$162K - $265KPythonTableauMATLAB
- Resident Structural Engineer (PHX)Fluidstack · 🇺🇸Phoenix, AZ$208K - $263KAWS
- Senior Manager, Loads & DynamicsArcher · 🇺🇸San Jose, California, United States$207K - $259KSeniorPythonMATLABAviation
- Staff Structural Analysis EngineerAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$191K - $254KLead and abovePythonMATLABComputer Vision
- Staff Engineer, Loads & Dynamics1X · 🇺🇸San Carlos, CA$207K - $253KLead and aboveMechatronicsHardware testingFEA
- Senior Structures Design EngineerStoke Space · 🇺🇸Kent, Washington$151K - $252KSenior
- Senior Structural EngineerPanthalassa · 🇺🇸Portland, OR$150K - $250KSeniorPython
- Staff Structures EngineerRelativity Space · 🇺🇸Long Beach, California$164K - $246KLead and above
- Staff Structures Engineer (Vehicle)Relativity Space · 🇺🇸Long Beach, California, United States$164K - $246KLead and above
- Structures Design Engineer, AirframeSwarmaero · Oxnard$155K - $240KAgileCADFEA
- Structural Design Engineer (SE) - Los AngelesGeneral Matter · 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA$170K - $230KConstruction managementAutoCADRevit
Questions about Structural Engineer pay
- What is the average Structural Engineer salary?
- $160K a year on average and $162K at the median, across 156 open Structural 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 $130K to $185K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
- Which companies advertise the highest Structural Engineer pay?
- Fluidstack ($235K), Archer ($233K), Shield AI ($218K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
- Is a structural engineer a high-paying job?
- The median Structural 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 structural engineer?
- A tenth of the postings offer $218K a year or more; the highest open Structural Engineer role advertises up to $325K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
- What is the Structural 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: $62 to $89 an hour.
- Which skills pay more for Structural Engineer roles?
- Postings that ask for Aviation (+$45K, 15 postings), GD&T (+$24K, 17 postings), SolidWorks (+$24K, 17 postings) advertise more than the $162K median of all Structural 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 Structural Engineer roles at companies is $162K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $130K to $185K. Counted from 156 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Jobs Every Hour, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/structural-engineer/
Free to use with the link.