Automotive Engineers
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.
Also called: Dimensional Integration Engineer · Engineer · Product Engineer · Project Engineer · Research Engineer
Median pay (national)
$102,320
$68,740–$161,240 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
286,760
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+9.1%
~18,100 openings/yr
Typical entry
Bachelor's degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for automotive engineers shows a broad range: the top 10% earn $161,240 versus $68,740 at the bottom 10% — 2.3x. The median of $102,320 leaves roughly 58% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +9.1% from 2024 to 2034 — much faster than the 3% average for all occupations. Even so, BLS projects about 18,100 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 53 states with released data, New Mexico pays the most for this role (median $141,490, +38% vs the national median), while Guam sits lowest at $60,700 — a 133% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Writing as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags Autodesk AutoCAD, Dassault Systemes CATIA, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks, Microsoft Excel as in-demand technologies for this role.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Speaking
- Mathematics
- Active Listening
- Active Learning
- Science
- Monitoring
- Learning Strategies
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Conduct or direct system-level automotive testing.
- 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.
- Alter or modify designs to obtain specified functional or operational performance.
- Research or implement green automotive technologies involving alternative fuels, electric or hybrid cars, or lighter or more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Tools & technology
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Dassault Systemes CATIA
- Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- PTC Creo Parametric
- Python
- Siemens Teamcenter
- The MathWorks MATLAB
- Adobe Photoshop
- Atlassian Confluence
- Atlassian JIRA
- C
- C#
- C++
Knowledge areas
- Engineering and Technology
- Physics
- Mathematics
- Mechanical
- Design
- Computers and Electronics
- Transportation
- English Language