Side-by-side distribution
Automotive Engineer
$157,250
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 46.7%
- Live roles
- 375
Industrial Engineer
$111,863
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 30%
- Live roles
- 557
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Engineer, Embedded Vehicle Software
Senior Manufacturing Engineer (Arc Vehicle)
Staff Robotics Software Engineer, Air Vehicle Autonomy
Staff Robotics Software Engineer, Air Vehicle Autonomy
Staff Robotics Software Engineer, Air Vehicle Autonomy
Site Reliability Engineering Manager, Vehicle Software
Automotive System Engineer
Chief Engineer, Space Vehicle Autonomy
Chief Engineer, Software-Defined Vehicle Platform
Principal Systems Engineer, Air Vehicle Software
Highest-paying jobs
Data Center Design Engineer, Electrical - Industrial Compute
Sr. Solutions Engineer - Public Sector (Defense Industrial Base)
Sr. Staff Engineer Industrial
Industrial Engineer
Staff Facilities Industrial Engineer
System Safety Engineer, Mining/Industrial
Industrial Robotics Engineer
Staff Industrial Engineer, Supply Chain Material Flow
Principal Test Engineer – Industrial Automation & SCADA
Senior Solution Engineer - Defense Industrial Base (DIB)
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$193,000 | 37 |
|
Northrop Grumman
|
$142,500 | 16 |
Relativity Space
|
$144,000 | 14 |
Scout Motors
|
$122,500 | 10 |
The Aerospace Corporation
|
$172,100 | 9 |
General Motors
|
$150,210 | 9 |
|
Inversion
|
$130,500 | 9 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$122,500 | 8 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Northrop Grumman
|
$104,300 | 27 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 12 |
Intel
|
$145,745 | 5 |
Applied Materials
|
$131,250 | 5 |
Gotion, Inc.
|
$100,000 | 5 |
| BO Boeing | $98,000 | 5 |
Jabil
|
$103,350 | 4 |
|
Blue Origin
|
$100,284 | 4 |
Automotive Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Denver | $219,831 | 3 |
| Seattle | $193,000 | 10 |
| Boston | $193,000 | 5 |
| Los Angeles | $155,000 | 9 |
Automotive Engineer vs Industrial Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Automotive Engineer is $157,250 per year (typically $130,000–$193,000), versus $111,863 for Industrial Engineer ($95,138–$138,853). That puts Automotive Engineer about 41% 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.