Side-by-side distribution
Controls Engineer
$165,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 45%
- Live roles
- 422
Hardware Engineer
$172,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 49.2%
- Live roles
- 500
Highest-paying jobs
Staff+ Software Engineer, Identity & Access Controls
Software Engineer, API Enterprise Controls
Software Engineer, Codex -Enterprise Controls
Senior/Staff Controls Engineer
Software Engineer: Robotics Controls
Staff Software Engineer - Humanoid Controls
Data Center Controls Network Engineer
IT Controls Data Engineer
Controls Engineer
Principal Operations Engineer, Controls
Highest-paying jobs
Hardware / Software CoDesign Engineer - 3P
Principal Engineer, SoC Emulation - Hardware Emulation Infrastructure
Software Engineer, Fleet Hardware Health
Software Engineer, Hardware
Hardware Tools Engineer
Software Engineer, Hardware Health
Research Engineer - Robotic Hardware, Simulation and Data
Offensive Hardware Security Engineer, Platform Security
Manufacturing Engineer - Data Center Hardware
Hardware Engineer, PCB
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 20 |
|
Fluidstack
|
$197,000 | 11 |
Zone 5 Technologies
|
$192,500 | 8 |
Vast
|
$150,960 | 6 |
SpaceX
|
$120,000 | 6 |
Kodiak
|
$225,000 | 5 |
Crusoe
|
$159,000 | 5 |
|
OpenAI
|
$308,250 | 4 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
SpaceX
|
$122,500 | 21 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 14 |
Relativity Space
|
$185,000 | 10 |
Freeform
|
$170,000 | 10 |
|
Applied Intuition
|
$159,500 | 9 |
|
OpenAI
|
$337,500 | 8 |
Everpure
|
$219,000 | 8 |
Astranis
|
$182,500 | 6 |
Controls Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $212,500 | 25 |
| Seattle | $192,750 | 14 |
| New York | $186,750 | 14 |
| Austin | $185,000 | 14 |
| Denver | $159,000 | 5 |
| Los Angeles | $157,500 | 12 |
| Chicago | $125,908 | 4 |
Hardware Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $362,500 | 3 |
| New York | $300,000 | 8 |
| London | $300,000 | 4 |
| Chicago | $200,000 | 6 |
| San Francisco | $195,000 | 31 |
| Boston | $170,000 | 6 |
| Los Angeles | $162,500 | 20 |
Controls Engineer vs Hardware Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Controls Engineer is $165,000 per year (typically $132,000–$197,939), versus $172,500 for Hardware Engineer ($135,000–$200,000). That puts Hardware Engineer about 5% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Controls Engineer and Hardware 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.