Side-by-side distribution
Embedded Engineer
$155,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 46.6%
- Live roles
- 1,117
Staff Engineer
$210,200
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 50.8%
- Live roles
- 7,406
Highest-paying jobs
AI Support Engineer – Embedded Systems
Principal Engineer, Embedded Vehicle Software
Embedded software engineer
Principal Software Engineer - Embedded Platform Software Development
Principal Software Engineer, Embedded (RIS)
Principal Software Engineer - Embedded (RIS)
Principal Embedded Software Engineer
Principal Embedded Software Engineer
Staff Embedded Security Engineer
Embedded SW Engineer
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Staff Full Stack Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Senior Staff React Native Engineer ($500k - 1.5m salary)
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Senior/Staff Full Stack Engineer, Applied AI
Staff Research Engineer, Discovery Team
Staff+ Research Engineer, RL Data Platform
Staff Software Engineer, Kubernetes Platform
Staff Software Engineer, Node Infra
Staff Infrastructure Engineer, Cluster Infrastructure
Staff Software Engineer, Code RL
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Northrop Grumman
|
$142,500 | 82 |
Anduril Industries
|
$201,250 | 22 |
|
Blue Origin
|
$181,117 | 14 |
SpaceX
|
$145,000 | 13 |
Leidos
|
$122,275 | 13 |
Abbott
|
$171,000 | 11 |
Motorola Solutions
|
$121,750 | 11 |
Silvus Technologies
|
$170,000 | 9 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Northrop Grumman
|
$210,200 | 260 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$222,000 | 106 |
|
Anthropic
|
$425,000 | 80 |
Databricks
|
$226,000 | 76 |
General Motors
|
$239,650 | 53 |
Crusoe
|
$232,500 | 49 |
GEICO
|
$172,500 | 49 |
| AD Analog Devices | $160,697 | 41 |
Embedded Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $188,750 | 20 |
| Seattle | $185,150 | 22 |
| Denver | $181,117 | 13 |
| Los Angeles | $180,000 | 25 |
| New York | $178,800 | 5 |
| Toronto | $163,554 | 4 |
| Boston | $157,500 | 6 |
| Austin | $155,934 | 6 |
| Chicago | $153,000 | 3 |
Staff Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| London | $263,000 | 52 |
| Seattle | $253,250 | 227 |
| New York | $248,050 | 527 |
| San Francisco | $245,650 | 690 |
| Los Angeles | $223,000 | 81 |
| Boston | $219,366 | 90 |
| Austin | $210,135 | 108 |
| Denver | $210,000 | 65 |
| Singapore | $195,465 | 3 |
| Toronto | $193,250 | 166 |
Embedded Engineer vs Staff Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Embedded Engineer is $155,000 per year (typically $128,075–$193,000), versus $210,200 for Staff Engineer ($176,260–$244,475). That puts Staff Engineer about 36% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Embedded Engineer and Staff 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.