$140K–$165K/yrOnsiteSenior · Full-time
Design Engineer salary in California
From 40 US job postings that list pay, out of 45 open Design Engineer jobs in California. These are the amounts employers advertised, not pay reported by employees.
- Median pay
- $144ka year
- Middle half
- $111k–$182k25th to 75th percentile
- Postings with pay
- 40of 45 open jobs · 3 paid by the hour
Pay range
$97k$238k
Pay by experience level
| Level the posting asks for | Median a year | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| Mid level | $107k | 8 |
| Senior | $151k | 22 |
| Lead / manager | $245k | 6 |
Top-paying companies
| Company | Median a year | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| UCT | $97k | 3 |
Companies with at least 3 postings that list pay.
Open Design Engineer jobs with pay listed
Senior Design Engineer, Electric Transmission Line
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Oakland, CA, United StatesYesterday
$67.57–$85.59/hrHybridSenior
DI
Senior Design Engineer
Divergent
Torrance, CA, United States4d ago
$106K–$194K/yrOnsiteSenior · Full-time
Principal Design Engineer
Astera Labs
San Jose, CA, United States4d ago
$185K–$240K/yrOnsiteLead / Staff+
Design Engineer, Core Snapchat
Snap
Los Angeles, CA, United States5d ago
$118K–$176K/yrOnsiteFull-time
Hardware/Design Engineer: Robotics
Applied Materials
Santa Clara, CA, United States1w ago
$152K–$209K/yrOnsiteSenior
How these numbers are made
- Lumirole reads job postings straight from employers' own career sites (Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS and 30 more), not job boards, and keeps the pay each posting states.
- Only open US postings for this job title count, with pay in US dollars of at least $10k a year. A range counts at its middle. Hourly pay is turned into a year at 2,080 hours (40 a week), daily pay at 260 days.
- These are advertised amounts, not what people are paid: bonuses, equity and tips aren't included. A company or place is listed once it has enough postings with pay.
- Updated November 11, 2026; the numbers move as jobs open and close.