Side-by-side distribution
Materials Engineer
$133,125
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 45%
- Live roles
- 291
Structural Engineer
$123,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 41.3%
- Live roles
- 842
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
Principal Structural Engineer – Tunnels and Complex Underground Structures – Senior Technical Advisor
Project Manager II - Structural Engineer Buildings
Sr Structural Engineer SME - Rail and Transit
Sr Structural Engineer SME - Rail and Transit
Senior Principal Structural Engineer - Data Center Infrastructure (FE)
Structural Engineer - Level 5
Mechanical Structural Engineer - Level 5 - Dulles
Resident Structural Engineer (PHX)
Principal Structural Design Engineer - Data Center Infrastructure
Structural Engineer, Thermofluids
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
|
$123,000 | 55 |
| PA Parsons | $121,550 | 28 |
|
Blue Origin
|
$145,228 | 26 |
Barr Engineering
|
$100,000 | 17 |
| BO Boeing | $122,000 | 12 |
|
HNTB
|
$178,700 | 10 |
AtkinsRéalis
|
$119,475 | 10 |
Amentum
|
$118,750 | 10 |
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 |
Structural Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | $185,000 | 9 |
| San Francisco | $157,288 | 6 |
| New York | $154,300 | 18 |
| Los Angeles | $154,200 | 25 |
| Seattle | $145,228 | 36 |
| Boston | $125,563 | 8 |
| Denver | $121,000 | 20 |
| Chicago | $102,556 | 12 |
| Atlanta | $97,056 | 6 |
| Toronto | $95,000 | 7 |
Materials Engineer vs Structural Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Materials Engineer is $133,125 per year (typically $112,750–$170,744), versus $123,000 for Structural Engineer ($103,761–$150,000). That puts Materials Engineer about 8% 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.