Senior Hardware Engineer

💰 $153K–$185K salary range

Median: $175K  ·  Based on 158 public job postings  ·  Updated July 1, 2026

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Driving the physical realization of artificial intelligence, Senior Hardware Engineers at high-growth companies are pivotal for designing and optimizing custom silicon and high-performance computing architectures specifically tailored for machine learning workloads. Their expertise ensures the efficient execution of complex AI models, from initial concept to scalable production. Analysis of 19 recent job postings indicates a salary range of $187K–$233K, with a median compensation of $205K. Professionals commanding the highest pay in this field typically possess deep expertise in custom ASIC/FPGA design, proficiency with high-speed memory interfaces like HBM or DDR5, and a strong background in architecting complex System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions optimized for AI acceleration. This role demands a robust understanding of both hardware design principles and the unique computational requirements of advanced AI algorithms.

📊 Salary breakdown

Senior Hardware Engineer salary by location

• All locations: $175K median ($153K–$185K typical range)
• Seattle: $159K median, $159K–$177K range (-9% vs. national)
• San Francisco: $183K median, $175K–$212K range (+4% vs. national)
• Austin: $159K median, $159K–$183K range (-9% vs. national)
• Los Angeles: $175K median, $175K–$175K range (+0% vs. national)
• New York: $198K median, $184K–$199K range (+13% vs. national)
• Boston: $170K median, $146K–$176K range (-3% vs. national)

Highest paying companies

San Francisco

• Astranis: $183K median

Seattle

• Amazon: $159K median

Based on companies with 3+ active postings. Median of publicly advertised salary range.

What's typically included

• Health insurance: 85% of postings
• Equity (RSU/options): 92% of postings
• Flexible PTO: 68% of postings
• Parental leave: 63% of postings
• Learning/education budget: 9% of postings
• Visa sponsorship: 2% of postings

Typical experience required: 6–8 years.

Engineering salaries by seniority

• Junior Software Engineer: $105K
• Software Engineer: $155K
• Hardware Engineer: $157K
• Embedded Systems Engineer: $165K
• Tech Lead: $170K
• Data Infrastructure Engineer: $170K
• Senior Hardware Engineer: $175K
• Senior Software Engineer: $180K
• Senior Embedded Engineer: $180K
• Engineering Manager: $183K
• Site Reliability Engineer: $188K
• Senior Infrastructure Engineer: $190K
• Senior SRE: $193K
• Infrastructure Engineer: $193K
• Forward Deployed Engineer: $195K
• Senior Platform Engineer: $196K
• Platform Engineer: $200K
• Founding Engineer: $200K
• MLOps Engineer: $201K
• Founding PM: $205K
• Staff Software Engineer: $225K
• Director of Engineering: $245K

What does a Senior Hardware Engineer do?

Senior Hardware Engineers are engineers who design, build, and operate the core software systems. This benchmark reflects Senior-level base compensation at high-growth and AI-native companies.

Common questions

What is the average Senior Hardware Engineer salary at an AI startup?
The median pay is $175K, with a typical range of $153K–$185K, based on 158 public job postings collected in 2025–2026.

Where does this salary data come from?
It is aggregated from public job postings on company career pages — no private placement or client data. We require a minimum of 15 postings per role.

Methodology

Figures are the midpoint of each posting's advertised USD salary range, aggregated from 158 public job postings (2025–2026). The range shown is the 25th–75th percentile; the median is the 50th percentile. Equity is separate and not included; where a posting's range reflects on-target earnings (OTE) for commission roles, that is included in the midpoint. Roles require at least 15 postings to be published. Last refreshed July 1, 2026.

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