Side-by-side distribution
Electrical Engineer
$156,242
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 48.7%
- Live roles
- 1,235
Hardware Engineer
$175,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 51.5%
- Live roles
- 460
Highest-paying jobs
Electrical Engineer
Data Center Design Engineer, Electrical - Industrial Compute
Electrical Engineer, Robotics
Principal Electrical Engineer
Principal, Electrical Engineer
Principal Electrical Engineer - Compute and Sensing
Data Center Infrastructure Electrical Engineer
Senior Electrical Engineer (High Speed Digital)
Principal Electrical Engineer, Integration & Test
Electrical Engineer (Contract)
Highest-paying jobs
Hardware / Software CoDesign Engineer - 3P
Hardware Engineer
SOC Emulation Engineer - Hardware Emulation Infrastructure
Software Engineer, Hardware
ML Research Engineer - Hardware Codesign
Software Engineer, Hardware Health
Hardware Tools Engineer
Research Engineer - Robotic Hardware, Simulation and Data
Offensive Hardware Security Engineer, Platform Security
Systems Software Engineer, Security, First Party Hardware
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 92 |
Syska Hennessy Group
|
$128,692 | 35 |
Helion
|
$220,000 | 14 |
SpaceX
|
$108,750 | 13 |
Fluidstack
|
$200,000 | 11 |
ALTEN Technology USA
|
$122,500 | 11 |
Crusoe
|
$159,500 | 9 |
Nexamp
|
$136,250 | 8 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
SpaceX
|
$113,750 | 15 |
Relativity Space
|
$185,000 | 12 |
Freeform
|
$170,000 | 10 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$191,500 | 9 |
|
OpenAI
|
$335,000 | 7 |
|
Applied Intuition
|
$159,500 | 7 |
Nebius
|
$152,500 | 7 |
Everpure
|
$203,000 | 6 |
Electrical Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $182,000 | 50 |
| Seattle | $182,000 | 19 |
| Austin | $182,000 | 18 |
| Denver | $160,000 | 17 |
| New York | $157,845 | 28 |
| Los Angeles | $155,000 | 39 |
| Toronto | $145,910 | 4 |
| Boston | $142,500 | 25 |
| Chicago | $114,565 | 21 |
| Atlanta | $100,000 | 4 |
Hardware Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| London | $242,500 | 3 |
| New York | $240,000 | 9 |
| Seattle | $220,000 | 5 |
| San Francisco | $206,000 | 29 |
| Chicago | $200,000 | 6 |
| Los Angeles | $160,000 | 17 |
| Boston | $155,000 | 7 |
Electrical Engineer vs Hardware Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Electrical Engineer is $156,242 per year (typically $127,500–$185,000), versus $175,000 for Hardware Engineer ($140,000–$207,750). That puts Hardware Engineer about 12% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Electrical 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.