Side-by-side distribution
Embedded Engineer
$185,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 52.3%
- Live roles
- 442
Software Engineer
$191,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 43.5%
- Live roles
- 15,390
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Embedded Security Engineer
Software Engineer, Embedded Agentic AI
Staff Embedded Firmware Engineer
Principal Embedded Software Engineer
Embedded Software Engineer / Tech lead, Onboard Test Automation
Embedded SW Engineer
Staff Embedded Linux Engineer
Embedded Systems Engineer-Federal
Lead Embedded Linux Engineer - Intercom
Senior Embedded Systems Engineer
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Software Engineer, Growth
Intermediate Backend Software Engineer
Lead Software Engineer (Backend)
Lead Software Engineer, Generative AI
Staff Software Engineer (Backend)
Senior Software Engineer, Generative AI
Senior Software Engineer, Machine Learning (Audio)
Software Engineer - EVM
Software Engineer - Compliance
Software Engineer - Stellar
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$199,500 | 23 |
Silvus Technologies
|
$170,000 | 10 |
SpaceX
|
$142,500 | 8 |
| AX Axon | $183,300 | 7 |
|
Verkada
|
$245,000 | 6 |
TP-Link Systems Inc.
|
$140,000 | 6 |
STR
|
$130,500 | 6 |
Applied Intuition
|
$200,000 | 5 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$222,000 | 293 |
OpenAI
|
$308,750 | 106 |
Speechify
|
$170,000 | 102 |
Databricks
|
$214,700 | 92 |
Roblox
|
$268,610 | 84 |
|
Applied Intuition
|
$176,750 | 78 |
Palantir
|
$167,500 | 74 |
|
SpaceX
|
$137,500 | 64 |
Embedded Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto | $195,500 | 4 |
| San Francisco | $195,000 | 17 |
| Seattle | $193,000 | 13 |
| New York | $185,000 | 5 |
| Los Angeles | $181,250 | 16 |
| Boston | $173,750 | 11 |
| Austin | $165,725 | 8 |
| Denver | $161,250 | 4 |
Software Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney | $231,271 | 7 |
| San Francisco | $225,000 | 1,377 |
| New York | $212,000 | 1,154 |
| Seattle | $210,000 | 406 |
| Austin | $186,250 | 126 |
| Boston | $186,050 | 248 |
| Los Angeles | $182,000 | 169 |
| Chicago | $180,000 | 117 |
| Denver | $177,500 | 106 |
| London | $173,654 | 108 |
Embedded Engineer vs Software Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Embedded Engineer is $185,000 per year (typically $155,000–$207,500), versus $191,500 for Software Engineer ($155,000–$225,000). That puts Software Engineer about 4% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Embedded Engineer and Software 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.