Thermal and Fluids Engineer salary: $167K median
The median advertised Thermal and Fluids Engineer salary is $167K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $142K to $188K: counted from 174 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range: about $80 an hour or $13,917 a month. A tenth of the postings offer $222K or more. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.
Check an offer against these figuresAll thermal and fluids engineer jobs
$167Kmedian advertised salary
$142K – $188Kmiddle half of roles
$171Kaverage advertised salary
174roles counted
Thermal and Fluids Engineer salary by level
Lead roles advertise a median of $212K, 25% more than senior roles ($170K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.
| Level | Median salary | Middle half | Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | $170K | $165K–$186K | 56 |
| Lead and above | $212K | $188K–$238K | 36 |
| No level in the title | $142K | $124K–$162K | 82 |
Thermal and Fluids Engineer salary by location
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸San Francisco Bay Area | $174K | 21 |
| 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA | $170K | 41 |
| 🇺🇸United States | $167K | 172 |
| 🇺🇸California | $167K | 134 |
Skills that pay more for Thermal and Fluids Engineer roles
| Skill | Median with it | Above the median | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security clearance | $172K | +$4K | 29 |
| Test planning | $170K | +$4K | 20 |
| Siemens NX | $170K | +$3K | 47 |
| Python | $170K | +$3K | 68 |
| MATLAB | $170K | +$3K | 61 |
Top-paying companies
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| Shield AI | $235K | 10 |
| Radiant Industries | $188K | 9 |
| Panthalassa | $180K | 3 |
| K2 Space | $171K | 6 |
| Anduril Industries | $168K | 21 |
| Vast | $167K | 14 |
| Inversion | $165K | 5 |
| Varda Space Industries | $160K | 8 |
| Formenergy | $153K | 4 |
| PsiQuantum | $150K | 8 |
| Cowboyspace | $149K | 4 |
| Electric Hydrogen | $142K | 3 |
| Relativity Space | $142K | 14 |
| SpaceX | $115K | 7 |
Highest-paying open Thermal and Fluids Engineer roles
All thermal and fluids engineer jobs- Thermal EngineerOpenAI · 🇺🇸San Francisco$266K - $445KData centersLoad testingControl systems
- Principal Thermal Engineer - Aircraft Avionics & Thermal Systems (R3930)Shield AI · 🇺🇸Seattle, WA, US$267K - $400KLead and aboveSecurity clearanceCADAviation
- Principal Engineer, Fluid & Thermal Systems (R5620)Shield AI · 🇺🇸Seattle, WA, US$251K - $377KLead and abovePythonMATLABSecurity clearance
- Computational Scientist, Structural & ThermalPeriodic Labs · 🇺🇸Menlo Park, CA$250K - $350KPythonC++Machine Learning
- Staff Mechanical Engineer, Fluid SystemsRadiant Industries · 🇺🇸El Segundo, CA$200K - $314KLead and abovePythonMATLAB
- Principal Thermal Design EngineerK2 Space · 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA$175K - $295KLead and abovePythonC++MATLAB
- Principal Thermal Modeling EngineerRadiant Industries · 🇺🇸El Segundo, CA$182K - $293KLead and above
- Thermal Engineer (Senior or Staff)True Anomaly · 🇺🇸Denver, CO; Long Beach, CA$160K - $285KLead and aboveMechanical assemblySolidWorks
- Staff Thermal Systems Integration EngineerRhoda Ai · 🇺🇸Mountain View$225K - $280KLead and abovePythonMATLAB
- Staff Thermal EngineerCoreWeave · 🇺🇸New York, NY$188K - $275KLead and aboveData centersHVAC
- Mechanical and Thermal Engineer, Power ElectronicsFluidstack · 🇺🇸Austin, TX$210K - $270K
- Thermal Fluids Design Reliability EngineerVast · 🇺🇸Long Beach, California, United States$162K - $265KPythonTableauMATLAB
- Sr. Staff Thermal Design EngineerD Matrix · 🇺🇸Santa Clara$175K - $265KHybridLead and aboveAirflow
- Principal Manufacturing Engineer (Thermal Protection Systems)Varda Space Industries · 🇺🇸El Segundo, California, United States$182K - $263KLead and aboveGD&TBlueprint readingComposites
- Staff Thermal Engineer, Hypersonic Air VehiclesAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$191K - $254KLead and abovePythonMATLABComputer Vision
- Staff Thermal Engineer, SpaceAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$191K - $254KLead and abovePythonMATLABComputer Vision
- Mechanical Design Engineer - Hands Thermal Systems1X · 🇺🇸San Carlos, CA$176K - $253KFirmwareMechatronicsCAD
- Senior Thermal Design EngineerK2 Space · 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA$140K - $250KSeniorTest planningControl systemsHardware testing
- Senior Thermal Engineer, LunarVast · 🇺🇸Long Beach, California, United States$147K - $249KSenior
- Manager, Cryogenic Process & Distribution EngineeringPsiQuantum · 🇺🇸Milpitas, California$146K - $245KLoad testingOpticsHydraulics
Questions about Thermal and Fluids Engineer pay
- What is the average Thermal and Fluids Engineer salary?
- $171K a year on average and $167K at the median, across 174 open Thermal and Fluids 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 $142K to $188K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
- Which companies advertise the highest Thermal and Fluids Engineer pay?
- Shield AI ($235K), Radiant Industries ($188K), Panthalassa ($180K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
- Is a thermal and fluids engineer a high-paying job?
- The median Thermal and Fluids Engineer posting advertises $167K a year, less than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 4% below the middle of the market.
- How much can you earn as a thermal and fluids engineer?
- A tenth of the postings offer $222K a year or more; the highest open Thermal and Fluids Engineer role advertises up to $445K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
- What is the Thermal and Fluids Engineer salary per hour and per month?
- The median of $167K a year is about $80 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $13,917 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $69 to $91 an hour.
- Which skills pay more for Thermal and Fluids Engineer roles?
- Postings that ask for Security clearance (+$4K, 29 postings), Test planning (+$4K, 20 postings), Siemens NX (+$3K, 47 postings) advertise more than the $167K median of all Thermal and Fluids 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 Thermal and Fluids Engineer roles at companies is $167K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $142K to $188K. Counted from 174 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Jobs Every Hour, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/thermal-engineer/
Free to use with the link.