Side-by-side distribution
Firmware Engineer
$170,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 38.3%
- Live roles
- 564
Frontend Engineer
$162,812
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 31.8%
- Live roles
- 1,339
Highest-paying jobs
ASIC Firmware Engineer, Modeling
Networking Operating System Firmware Engineer
Firmware Engineer, RTOS, Consumer Devices
Senior Firmware Engineer- Terawave
Senior Firmware Engineer, Security
Principal Engineer, Firmware Security
MTS Firmware Engineer
Founding Firmware Engineer
Senior Embedded Engineer - Camera Firmware
Senior Firmware Engineer, Robotics
Highest-paying jobs
Staff Frontend Engineer ($400k - $500k salary)
Staff/Principal Frontend Software Engineer
Staff/Principal Frontend Software Engineer
Software Engineer, Frontend
Frontend Software Engineer, ChatGPT Space
Frontend Software Engineer, Codex App
Principal Frontend AI Engineer - Cortex Code
Senior / Staff Software Engineer, Frontend
Principal Frontend Software Engineer - Discovery
Staff Software Engineer, Frontend
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$193,000 | 25 |
| MT Micron Technology | $186,500 | 8 |
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
|
$125,800 | 6 |
Lunar Energy
|
$195,000 | 5 |
HP
|
$188,950 | 5 |
Leonardo
|
$84,366 | 5 |
Samsara
|
$226,200 | 4 |
ALSO
|
$223,750 | 4 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
CACI
|
$160,950 | 19 |
Air Apps
|
$58,701 | 11 |
Sift Stack, Inc.
|
$205,000 | 9 |
GDIT
|
$155,000 | 9 |
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$113,700 | 9 |
|
Harvey
|
$241,700 | 8 |
|
Roblox
|
$267,950 | 7 |
|
Verkada
|
$225,000 | 7 |
Firmware Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $230,461 | 5 |
| Austin | $219,000 | 3 |
| San Francisco | $207,000 | 20 |
| New York | $197,500 | 5 |
| Toronto | $80,924 | 3 |
Frontend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $208,750 | 68 |
| San Francisco | $205,000 | 69 |
| Seattle | $193,000 | 17 |
| Boston | $188,750 | 10 |
| Austin | $187,500 | 5 |
| Chicago | $155,600 | 8 |
| Los Angeles | $134,531 | 5 |
| London | $133,526 | 4 |
| Denver | $127,250 | 5 |
| Toronto | $117,119 | 22 |
Firmware Engineer vs Frontend Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Firmware Engineer is $170,000 per year (typically $130,000–$205,500), versus $162,812 for Frontend Engineer ($123,500–$202,500). That puts Firmware Engineer about 4% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Firmware Engineer and Frontend 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.