Side-by-side distribution
Automotive Engineer
$160,250
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 50.6%
- Live roles
- 405
Industrial Engineer
$100,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 31.5%
- Live roles
- 604
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Software Engineer – Core OS, Vehicle Compute
Principal Software Engineer - Vehicle AI
Staff Robotics Software Engineer, Air Vehicle Autonomy
Staff Robotics Software Engineer, Air Vehicle Autonomy
Staff Robotics Software Engineer, Air Vehicle Autonomy
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
Chief Engineer, Software-Defined Vehicle Platform
Highest-paying jobs
Sr. Solutions Engineer - Public Sector (Defense Industrial Base)
Principal Engineer – Industrial
Sr. Staff Engineer Industrial
Senior Industrial Engineer
Industrial Engineer
Staff Engineer Industrial
Staff Facilities Industrial Engineer
System Safety Engineer, Mining/Industrial
Industrial Robotics Engineer
Staff Industrial Engineer, Supply Chain Material Flow
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$222,000 | 42 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Northrop Grumman
|
$104,300 | 30 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 18 |
Leonardo
|
$34,976 | 14 |
Applied Materials
|
$131,250 | 9 |
| BO Boeing | $118,000 | 5 |
Gotion, Inc.
|
$100,000 | 5 |
GlobalFoundries
|
$110,711 | 4 |
|
Blue Origin
|
$100,284 | 4 |
Automotive Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $193,000 | 11 |
| Boston | $193,000 | 9 |
| Austin | $158,263 | 4 |
| San Francisco | $157,500 | 5 |
| Los Angeles | $144,750 | 6 |
Automotive Engineer vs Industrial Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Automotive Engineer is $160,250 per year (typically $129,875–$193,000), versus $100,000 for Industrial Engineer ($85,000–$127,150). That puts Automotive Engineer about 60% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Automotive Engineer and Industrial 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.