Side-by-side distribution
Materials Engineer
$133,125
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 45%
- Live roles
- 291
Mechanical Engineer
$132,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 43.1%
- Live roles
- 3,607
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Nuclear Materials Engineer
Materials Research and Development Engineer
Electro-Optics Materials and Device Engineer
Quantum Superconducting Materials Engineer
Principal TPS Materials Engineer
Staff Materials Engineer (Level 5)
Senior Data Engineer, Bioinformatics, Cheminformatics, Materials
Principal Propulsion Engineer - Materials and Processes
Senior Materials Engineer, Material Health Monitoring
Senior Electrical Engineer – Dielectric Materials Development
Highest-paying jobs
Staff Mechanical Engineer
Staff Mechanical Engineer - Data Center Cooling
Mechanical Engineer, Hardware Systems
Mechanical Engineer, PCBA Test Infrastructure, Robotics
Data Center Mechanical Engineer
Distinguished Technologist Mechanical Engineer (Network Infrastructure)
Senior Mechanical Controls Engineer
Staff Mechanical Engineer
Staff Mechanical Engineer
Mechanical Design Engineer, Motor Design & Prototyping
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Blue Origin
|
$119,041 | 21 |
Mitsubishi Chemical Group
|
$98,800 | 8 |
|
Helion
|
$200,000 | 7 |
Relativity Space
|
$155,000 | 7 |
SpaceX
|
$115,000 | 7 |
|
Northrop Grumman
|
$145,550 | 6 |
Anduril Industries
|
$171,500 | 5 |
|
Penn State University
|
$170,079 | 4 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Northrop Grumman
|
$122,325 | 108 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 91 |
|
Blue Origin
|
$145,228 | 54 |
Mindrift
|
$76,960 | 46 |
Applied Materials
|
$147,500 | 43 |
Syska Hennessy Group
|
$123,612 | 33 |
KLA
|
$159,050 | 31 |
|
SpaceX
|
$115,000 | 29 |
Materials Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | $167,500 | 12 |
| San Francisco | $161,000 | 3 |
| Denver | $160,199 | 7 |
| Seattle | $119,041 | 21 |
Mechanical Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $162,275 | 76 |
| Austin | $161,700 | 29 |
| Los Angeles | $150,000 | 67 |
| Boston | $149,250 | 26 |
| Seattle | $145,228 | 66 |
| Denver | $133,125 | 31 |
| Atlanta | $126,725 | 7 |
| New York | $125,000 | 39 |
| Chicago | $122,642 | 18 |
| Paris | $104,000 | 3 |
Materials Engineer vs Mechanical Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Materials Engineer is $133,125 per year (typically $112,750–$170,744), versus $132,500 for Mechanical Engineer ($107,500–$162,500). That puts Materials Engineer about 0% 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.