Side-by-side distribution
Automotive Engineer
$170,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 57.5%
- Live roles
- 200
Mechanical Engineer
$150,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 46.6%
- Live roles
- 1,220
Highest-paying jobs
Staff Robotics Software Engineer, Air Vehicle Autonomy
Staff Robotics Software Engineer, Air Vehicle Autonomy
Staff Robotics Software Engineer, Air Vehicle Autonomy
Mission Software Engineer, Vehicle Software, Computer Vision
Principal Systems Engineer, Air Vehicle Software
Senior Robotics Software Engineer, Vehicle Software
Principal Systems Engineer, Air Vehicle Systems
Sr Staff Vehicle Controls Engineer
Senior Test Engineer (Arc Vehicle)
Senior Manufacturing Engineer (Arc Vehicle)
Highest-paying jobs
Data Center Research & Development Engineer, Mechanical - Industrial Compute
Mechanical Design Engineer
Staff Mechanical Engineer, Fluid Systems
Mechanical Engineer (Contract)
Mechanical Engineer, Sensing
Mechanical Design Engineer
Lead Mechanical Engineer, Data Center Design
Mechanical Engineer-Federal
Senior Mechanical engineer
Mechanical Engineer, Soft Goods Design
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$193,000 | 41 |
Relativity Space
|
$165,000 | 12 |
|
Inversion
|
$150,250 | 10 |
Scout Motors
|
$122,500 | 9 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$106,000 | 7 |
Applied Intuition
|
$175,000 | 5 |
|
ALSO
|
$265,000 | 3 |
Kodiak
|
$155,000 | 3 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$168,250 | 58 |
Syska Hennessy Group
|
$128,692 | 29 |
|
Relativity Space
|
$165,000 | 20 |
SpaceX
|
$108,750 | 15 |
| DG DLR Group | $120,000 | 13 |
|
Radiant Industries
|
$159,150 | 12 |
Figure
|
$185,000 | 11 |
Vast
|
$140,500 | 11 |
Automotive Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $193,000 | 8 |
| Boston | $193,000 | 5 |
| Los Angeles | $140,000 | 3 |
Mechanical Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | $182,000 | 16 |
| San Francisco | $170,000 | 53 |
| Seattle | $156,500 | 16 |
| Los Angeles | $150,000 | 54 |
| Boston | $138,238 | 14 |
| New York | $131,000 | 27 |
| Denver | $120,462 | 8 |
| Chicago | $115,923 | 11 |
| Atlanta | $105,000 | 3 |
Automotive Engineer vs Mechanical Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Automotive Engineer is $170,000 per year (typically $138,125–$194,325), versus $150,000 for Mechanical Engineer ($121,500–$172,500). That puts Automotive Engineer about 13% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Automotive Engineer and Mechanical 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.