Side-by-side distribution
Materials Engineer
$158,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 51.1%
- Live roles
- 90
Mechanical Engineer
$150,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 46.8%
- Live roles
- 1,339
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Nuclear Materials Engineer
Materials Scientist / Engineer
Materials Engineer (New Grad Summer 2027)
Materials Engineer (New Grad December 2026)
Principal TPS Materials Engineer
Senior Data Engineer, Bioinformatics, Cheminformatics, Materials
Senior Materials Engineer, Diagnostics
Senior Materials Engineer, Dielectrics
Senior Materials Engineer, Ceramic Fabrication
Staff Materials Engineer, Design Allowables & Materials Data
Highest-paying jobs
Data Center Mechanical Engineer
Mechanical Commissioning Project Engineer
Staff Mechanical Engineer, Fluid Systems
Mechanical Design Engineer
Mechanical Engineer
Mechanical Engineer, Robotics Hardware
Senior Mechanical engineer
Principal Mechanical Engineer, Space Special Programs
Principal Mechanical Engineer, Factory Automation
Principal Mechanical Design & Analysis Engineer, Tooling
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 7 |
|
Helion
|
$200,000 | 5 |
SpaceX
|
$111,875 | 4 |
|
Freeform
|
$249,600 | 3 |
|
Relativity Space
|
$155,000 | 2 |
General Matter
|
$145,000 | 2 |
Antares
|
$141,250 | 2 |
Neuralink
|
$116,900 | 2 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 68 |
|
SpaceX
|
$115,000 | 28 |
|
Relativity Space
|
$165,000 | 22 |
Syska Hennessy Group
|
$132,627 | 20 |
Vast
|
$147,213 | 16 |
| DG DLR Group | $114,565 | 16 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$139,750 | 14 |
ALTEN Technology USA
|
$111,433 | 12 |
Materials Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | $163,750 | 8 |
| San Francisco | $140,500 | 4 |
Mechanical Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $188,500 | 20 |
| San Francisco | $165,000 | 57 |
| Austin | $165,000 | 16 |
| Los Angeles | $150,000 | 55 |
| New York | $131,750 | 26 |
| Boston | $128,692 | 7 |
| Denver | $125,000 | 11 |
| Chicago | $114,565 | 10 |
| Atlanta | $102,500 | 4 |
Materials Engineer vs Mechanical Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Materials Engineer is $158,000 per year (typically $125,600–$184,625), versus $150,000 for Mechanical Engineer ($120,000–$171,500). That puts Materials Engineer about 5% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Materials Engineer and Mechanical 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.