Side-by-side distribution
Assembler
$25.00/hr
per hour · USD
- Disclosing
- 39.3%
- Live roles
- 173
Manufacturing Engineer
$150,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 54.8%
- Live roles
- 1,008
Highest-paying jobs
R&D Assembly Technician
Assembly Technician
Production Optical Assembly Technician
Optical Assembly Technician
Optomechanical Assembly Technician
Electromechanical Assembly Technician
Mechanical Assembly Technician
Electromechanical Assembly Technician
Mechanical Assembly Technician
Electromechanical Assembly Technician
Highest-paying jobs
Research Engineer, Production Model Post-Training
Risk and Pnl Production Support Engineer
Production Support Engineer - Trading Systems
Product Engineer - Manufacturing Operations
Manufacturing Engineer - Data Center Hardware
Manufacturing Quality Engineer, Data Center Power & Cooling
Senior Manufacturing Engineer (Arc Vehicle)
Senior Manufacturing Engineer (Reentry)
Product Manufacturing Engineer - PCBA
Manufacturing Quality Engineer – Datacenter Infrastructure
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$89,492 | 8 |
Zone 5 Technologies
|
$53,560 | 8 |
SpaceX
|
$52,000 | 5 |
Stoke Space
|
$83,481 | 3 |
Thorlabs
|
$40,560 | 3 |
Apex Technology, Inc.
|
$86,840 | 2 |
GILLIG
|
$82,202 | 2 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$67,600 | 2 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$150,000 | 136 |
Relativity Space
|
$136,000 | 27 |
|
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$152,000 | 23 |
|
SpaceX
|
$115,000 | 23 |
Crusoe
|
$187,500 | 15 |
Fluidstack
|
$250,250 | 12 |
Hadrian Automation
|
$160,000 | 12 |
Vast
|
$165,000 | 11 |
Assembler salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | $86,320 | 3 |
| New York | $43,659 | 3 |
Manufacturing Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $226,000 | 31 |
| Seattle | $226,000 | 19 |
| Austin | $226,000 | 17 |
| San Francisco | $196,050 | 40 |
| Los Angeles | $152,500 | 41 |
| Boston | $150,000 | 7 |
| Chicago | $135,750 | 6 |
| Atlanta | $130,000 | 7 |
| Denver | $97,500 | 4 |
Assembler vs Manufacturing Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Assembler is $25.00/hr per year (typically $21.00/hr–$39.13/hr), versus $150,000 for Manufacturing Engineer ($125,000–$173,800). That puts Manufacturing Engineer about 188% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Assembler and Manufacturing Engineer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.