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Role hub · Automotive Engineers

Automotive Engineer: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

BLS does not publish pay for automotive engineers separately. Every pay figure on this page is for the BLS occupation “Mechanical Engineers” (SOC 17-2141), which includes automotive engineers and other jobs; it is not a figure for automotive engineers alone.

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Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
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Median percentile pay

Half of workers in the BLS occupation “Mechanical Engineers” earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$104,110
Hourly
$50.05
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Automotive Engineers develop new or improved designs for vehicle structural members, engines, transmissions, or other vehicle systems, using computer-assisted design technology. The median pay is $104,110 a year ($50.05 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a bachelor's degree (71% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$104,110
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
296,810
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 4 of 5
considerable preparation
Most common education
Bachelor's Degree
71% of workers
Key facts

Automotive Engineers at a glance

  • Workers in the BLS occupation “Mechanical Engineers” (which includes automotive engineers) in the United States earned a median annual wage of $104,110 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for automotive engineers in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS projects employment of automotive engineers in the United States to grow 11.2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,800 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimates that 39.9% of mechanical engineers in the United States had the ability to telework in 2025, a preliminary estimate of whether the job allows it, not a count of remote jobs.

    Source: BLS Occupational Requirements Survey, 2025 preliminary

Explore the role

Every page for Automotive Engineers

SalaryMechanical Engineers salary

BLS pay data for this occupation, by state and percentile.

Open →How to becomeAutomotive Engineer how to become

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The work

What automotive engineers do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Conduct or direct system-level automotive testing.
  2. Provide technical direction to other engineers or engineering support personnel.
  3. Perform failure, variation, or root cause analyses.
  4. Calibrate vehicle systems, including control algorithms or other software systems.
  5. Design or analyze automobile systems in areas such as aerodynamics, alternate fuels, ergonomics, hybrid power, brakes, transmissions, steering, calibration, safety, or diagnostics.
  6. Prepare or present technical or project status reports.
  7. Conduct research studies to develop new concepts in the field of automotive engineering.
  8. Establish production or quality control standards.
Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all automotive engineer jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix). Figures cover all mechanical engineers (SOC 17-2141), the broader occupation.

  1. Professional, scientific, and technical services31.8% of all jobs in this occupation · +13.3% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $119,290
  2. Machinery manufacturing13.9% of all jobs in this occupation · +7.8% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $102,010
  3. Transportation equipment manufacturing10.5% of all jobs in this occupation · +9.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $114,880
  4. Computer and electronic product manufacturing6.1% of all jobs in this occupation · +12.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $117,580
  5. Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals5.4% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $122,440
  6. Merchant wholesalers, durable goods5.0% of all jobs in this occupation · +12.8% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $106,900

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Complex Problem SolvingcoreCritical ThinkingcoreReading ComprehensioncoreJudgment and Decision MakingWritingSpeakingMathematicsOperations AnalysisSystems Analysis

Knowledge areas: Engineering and Technology, Physics, Mathematics, Mechanical, Design, Computers and Electronics.

Tools and technology

Software automotive engineers use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Autodesk AutoCADComputer aided design CAD softwareIn demand
  • Dassault Systemes SolidWorksComputer aided design CAD softwareIn demand
  • The MathWorks MATLABAnalytical or scientific softwareIn demand
  • Dassault Systemes CATIAComputer aided design CAD softwareIn demand
  • PTC Creo ParametricComputer aided design CAD softwareIn demand
  • Adobe PhotoshopGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • Extensible markup language XMLEnterprise application integration softwareHot technology
  • GitFile versioning softwareHot technology
  • JUnitProgram testing softwareHot technology
  • Jenkins CIEnterprise application integration softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft VisioProcess mapping and design softwareHot technology
  • SeleniumProgram testing softwareHot technology

Also called: Dimensional Integration Engineer, Engineer, Product Engineer, Project Engineer, Research Engineer.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.