Side-by-side distribution
Materials Engineer
$161,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 52.7%
- Live roles
- 93
Structural Engineer
$127,740
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 31.7%
- Live roles
- 268
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
Resident Structural Engineer (PHX)
Senior Spacecraft Structural Analysis Engineer II - TS/SCI Clearance
Structural Design Engineer (SE) - Los Angeles
CNC / Structural Steel Processing Engineer
Structural Engineer
Structural Engineer, Modular R&D
Structural Engineer, Capacity Delivery
Lead Structural Engineer - Building Design
Senior Engineer - Structural - Mi-Tech Services, Inc.
Senior Spacecraft Structural Analysis Engineer I - TS/SCI Clearance
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 |
|---|---|---|
| MC Michels Corporation | $147,500 | 11 |
| DG DLR Group | $116,650 | 8 |
Entuitive
|
$86,500 | 7 |
|
Fluidstack
|
$185,000 | 5 |
LaBella Associates
|
$83,500 | 5 |
|
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$164,775 | 3 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$150,000 | 3 |
Brindleyengineering
|
$130,000 | 3 |
Materials Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | $163,750 | 8 |
| San Francisco | $140,500 | 4 |
Structural Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $185,000 | 7 |
| Seattle | $185,000 | 6 |
| Austin | $185,000 | 5 |
| New York | $145,000 | 8 |
| Los Angeles | $132,358 | 6 |
| Chicago | $114,565 | 5 |
| Toronto | $98,250 | 4 |
Materials Engineer vs Structural Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Materials Engineer is $161,000 per year (typically $125,000–$183,500), versus $127,740 for Structural Engineer ($109,688–$155,000). That puts Materials Engineer about 26% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Materials Engineer and Structural 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.