Side-by-side distribution
Automotive Engineer
$160,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 48.1%
- Live roles
- 387
Nuclear Engineer
$130,625
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 59.3%
- Live roles
- 135
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
Chief Engineer, Space Vehicle Autonomy
Staff Software Engineer, Vehicle Software, C++
Principal Systems Engineer, Air Vehicle Software
Principal Systems Engineer, Air Vehicle Systems
Mission Software Engineer, Vehicle Software, Computer Vision
Senior Robotics Software Engineer, Vehicle Software
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Nuclear Materials Engineer
Staff Nuclear Hardness and Survivability Engineer
Principal Nuclear Engineer
Sentinel - Sr Staff Nuclear Hardness Survivability Engineer - 19988
Senior/Staff Nuclear Safety Analysis Engineer
Engineer IV - VI, Nuclear Safety Analysis
Sentinel - Nuclear Surety - Staff Systems Engineer - 20390
Staff Nuclear Hardness & Survivability Systems Engineer
Staff Systems Engineer - Nuclear Hardness & Survivability -18271
Nuclear Licensing Engineer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$194,500 | 31 |
Relativity Space
|
$136,000 | 16 |
|
Northrop Grumman
|
$148,000 | 14 |
|
General Motors
|
$150,210 | 13 |
The Aerospace Corporation
|
$155,100 | 12 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$127,500 | 9 |
SpaceX
|
$142,500 | 8 |
Motional
|
$159,875 | 6 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Northrop Grumman
|
$123,000 | 14 |
|
Radiant Industries
|
$169,838 | 10 |
General Matter
|
$125,000 | 6 |
| GV GE Vernova | $162,200 | 5 |
|
Amentum
|
$115,000 | 5 |
|
The Aerospace Corporation
|
$167,850 | 4 |
|
Antares
|
$167,500 | 4 |
AtkinsRéalis
|
$98,675 | 4 |
Automotive Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $240,000 | 7 |
| Boston | $193,000 | 7 |
| San Francisco | $167,500 | 4 |
| Austin | $167,500 | 3 |
| Los Angeles | $159,550 | 4 |
Nuclear Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | $147,500 | 9 |
Automotive Engineer vs Nuclear Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Automotive Engineer is $160,000 per year (typically $130,250–$193,250), versus $130,625 for Nuclear Engineer ($110,675–$169,838). That puts Automotive Engineer about 22% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Automotive Engineer and Nuclear 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.