Side-by-side distribution
Assembler
$49,920
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 28.7%
- Live roles
- 181
Manufacturing Engineer
$150,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 52.8%
- Live roles
- 905
Highest-paying jobs
Custom Door Assembler
R&D Assembly Technician
Assembly Technician
Assembly Technician - Engines (Andromeda)
Technician: Assembly, Integration & Test
Technician: Assembly, Integration & Test (2nd Shift)
R&D Technician (electrical assembly)
Electronics Assembly Technician (Vendor)
Assembly, Integration & Test (AI&T) Technician
Assembly and Test Technician
Highest-paying jobs
Research Engineer, Production Model Post-Training
Software Engineer, Production Engineering
Manufacturing Test Engineer, AI Compute Infrastructure - Stargate
Principal Production Engineer
Software Engineer, Production Engineering
Staff Site Reliability Engineer, Production Engineering
Production Engineer, Compute (GPU)
Manufacturing Electrical Test Engineer
Manufacturing Design Engineer (NPI & Robotics)
Production Engineer, IaaS
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Trexon
|
$43,420 | 6 |
Unusual Machines
|
$54,912 | 5 |
New Flyer
|
$54,912 | 3 |
|
Crusoe
|
$53,040 | 3 |
SpaceX
|
$52,000 | 3 |
AST SpaceMobile
|
$41,600 | 3 |
|
Apex Technology, Inc.
|
$87,360 | 2 |
Parallel Employment
|
$41,080 | 2 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 127 |
Relativity Space
|
$152,000 | 25 |
Archer
|
$170,870 | 16 |
Hadrian Automation
|
$165,000 | 12 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$133,750 | 10 |
mthree Recruiting Portal
|
$54,000 | 9 |
Databricks
|
$214,508 | 7 |
|
Crusoe
|
$190,500 | 7 |
Assembler salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | $80,080 | 4 |
| New York | $43,659 | 3 |
Manufacturing Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $237,500 | 7 |
| Austin | $211,000 | 6 |
| Chicago | $181,250 | 8 |
| San Francisco | $175,500 | 25 |
| New York | $171,500 | 17 |
| Boston | $158,500 | 8 |
| Atlanta | $146,500 | 6 |
| Los Angeles | $146,250 | 36 |
| Denver | $135,000 | 4 |
Assembler vs Manufacturing Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Assembler is $49,920 per year (typically $42,770–$57,876), versus $150,000 for Manufacturing Engineer ($125,750–$170,000). That puts Manufacturing Engineer about 200% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Assembler and Manufacturing 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.