Automotive Engineers Career, Salary and Skills
Automotive Engineers have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $104,110 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 296,810. Wage data is published for 399 locations.
Occupation description
Develop new or improved designs for vehicle structural members, engines, transmissions, or other vehicle systems, using computer-assisted design technology. Direct building, modification, or testing of vehicle or components.
O*NET code
17-2141.02
Job zone
4
Typical education
Bachelor's Degree
Experience
None
National salary and employment
Median annual
$104,110
Hourly median
$50.05
Employment
296,810
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Complex Problem Solving | 4.12 | 4.25 |
| Critical Thinking | 4.12 | 4.75 |
| Reading Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.75 |
| Writing | 3.88 | 4.12 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.88 | 4.25 |
| Speaking | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Mathematics | 3.88 | 4.88 |
| Active Listening | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Operations Analysis | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.75 | 3.88 |
Typical tasks
- Provide technical direction to other engineers or engineering support personnel.
- Perform failure, variation, or root cause analyses.
- Calibrate vehicle systems, including control algorithms or other software systems.
- Design or analyze automobile systems in areas such as aerodynamics, alternate fuels, ergonomics, hybrid power, brakes, transmissions, steering, calibration, safety, or diagnostics.
- Prepare or present technical or project status reports.
- Conduct research studies to develop new concepts in the field of automotive engineering.
- Establish production or quality control standards.
- Conduct or direct system-level automotive testing.
Technology
- Gamma Technologies GT-SUITE
- Git
- GNU Image Manipulation Program GIMP
- Hardware-in-the-loop HIL simulation software
- IBM Notes
- International Material Data System IMDS
- IronCAD
- JavaScript
- JavaScript Object Notation JSON
- Jenkins CI
- JUnit
- Linux
- LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim
- Magellan Firmware
Automotive Engineers salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Automotive Engineers Salary in MIMedian $104,890 · Employment 34,630
- Automotive Engineers Salary in CAMedian $130,900 · Employment 30,530
- Automotive Engineers Salary in Detroit, MIMedian $109,470 · Employment 22,500
- Automotive Engineers Salary in TXMedian $112,410 · Employment 22,080
- Automotive Engineers Salary in OHMedian $99,100 · Employment 14,390
- Automotive Engineers Salary in PAMedian $97,920 · Employment 13,550
- Automotive Engineers Salary in ILMedian $102,680 · Employment 11,790
- Automotive Engineers Salary in FLMedian $99,980 · Employment 10,740
- Automotive Engineers Salary in NCMedian $100,720 · Employment 9,560
- Automotive Engineers Salary in Los Angeles, CAMedian $123,900 · Employment 8,780
- Automotive Engineers Salary in INMedian $99,590 · Employment 8,690
- Automotive Engineers Salary in NYMedian $102,440 · Employment 8,590
Related careers
- Avionics TechniciansNational median $82,280
- Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial EquipmentNational median $74,090
- Robotics TechniciansNational median $73,900
- Automotive Service Technicians and MechanicsNational median $50,620
- Industrial Engineering Technologists and TechniciansNational median $66,120
- Calibration Technologists and TechniciansNational median $67,820
- Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and TechniciansNational median $82,890
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and TechniciansNational median $78,190
Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.