Side-by-side distribution
Automotive Engineer
$153,600
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 49.1%
- Live roles
- 399
Chemical Engineer
$105,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 47.7%
- Live roles
- 132
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Software Engineer – Core OS, Vehicle Compute
Principal Software Engineer - Vehicle AI
Staff Software Engineer – Core OS, Vehicle Compute
Senior / Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Vehicle Dynamics
Space Vehicle Chief Engineer (Level 7)
Chief Engineer, Space Vehicle Autonomy
Principal Systems Engineer, Air Vehicle Software
Staff Software Engineer, Vehicle Software, C++
Principal Systems Engineer, Air Vehicle Systems
Mission Software Engineer, Vehicle Software, Computer Vision
Highest-paying jobs
Staff Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) Engineer
Staff Chemical Engineer
Mechanical Engineer IV - Wet Chemical Tool
Chemical/Mechanical Engineer
Staff Chemical Engineer - Engineering/Catalyst Development
Senior Chemical Process Engineer
Senior Chemical Propulsion Engineer
Senior Chemical Engineer – Process Development
Chemical Delivery/Flow Control Device Quality Engineer E4
Chemical Process Engineer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$194,500 | 31 |
Relativity Space
|
$136,000 | 17 |
|
Northrop Grumman
|
$148,000 | 16 |
|
General Motors
|
$149,618 | 14 |
The Aerospace Corporation
|
$155,100 | 12 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$127,500 | 9 |
SpaceX
|
$142,500 | 7 |
|
Inversion
|
$130,500 | 7 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Mitsubishi Chemical Group
|
$98,800 | 10 |
Barr Engineering
|
$78,000 | 8 |
Samsung
|
$109,000 | 4 |
Solenis
|
$95,296 | 4 |
KLA
|
$82,883 | 4 |
|
Applied Materials
|
$166,625 | 2 |
|
Apex Technology, Inc.
|
$155,000 | 2 |
|
Leidos
|
$116,344 | 2 |
Automotive Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $242,650 | 6 |
| Boston | $193,000 | 7 |
| Austin | $158,263 | 4 |
| San Francisco | $157,500 | 5 |
| Los Angeles | $144,750 | 6 |
Automotive Engineer vs Chemical Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Automotive Engineer is $153,600 per year (typically $129,500–$193,000), versus $105,000 for Chemical Engineer ($87,607–$130,900). That puts Automotive Engineer about 46% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Automotive Engineer and Chemical 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.