United States · USD
Lead Engineer salary in United States
The median salary in Lead Engineer job ads in United States is $185,000 a year (about $15,417 a month before tax). The middle half of those ads list $151,475 to $220,000, based on 13 salaries from 8 employers, updated 8 Nov 2026.
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- Median in job ads
- $185,000
- a year
- 12-month range
- High $204,500
- Oct 2026
- Low $204,500 · Oct 2026
- Salaries
- 13
- from 8 employers
- Last updated
- 8 Nov 2026
- 12-month window to 8 Nov 2026
Salary range
Where listed pay sits
- 10th percentile
- $129,780
- 25th percentile
- $151,475
- Median
- $185,000
- 75th percentile
- $220,000
- 90th percentile
- $220,000
13 salaries · 19 live United States jobs. Box: the middle half of salaries · line: the median · whisker: 10th to 90th percentile.
Based on 13 salary-listed job postings from the last 12 months · last updated 8 Nov 2026
Salary brackets
Lead Engineer salary brackets in United States
How the 13 comparable salary observations behind the percentile band above spread across USD pay brackets, annualised and United States only. Shares are of observations, not of employers.
| Pay bracket | Relative size | Share and count of listings |
|---|---|---|
| $120K–$140K | 16% 2 listings | |
| $140K–$160K | 15% 2 listings | |
| $160K–$180K | 15% 2 listings | |
| $180K–$200KMedian here | 23% 3 listings | |
| $200K–$220K | 0% 0 listings | |
| $220K and over | 31% 4 listings |
Brackets are equal-width and rounded; the open-ended rows collect the lowest and highest observations, and the bracket that holds the median is highlighted. Same cohort and outlier rules as the percentiles above.
Pay listed by employers
Latest Lead Engineer jobs that show their pay in United States
Pay as the employer wrote it, per year: individual job posts, not averages.
- Lead Engineer – Security ArchitectureDDN · Senior level · posted 7 Nov 2026$225,000 – $275,000
- Lead Engineer, GSE and Production ToolingRocket Lab Corporation · Senior level · posted 6 Nov 2026$137,075 – $196,275
- Lead Engineer, Order ManagementStitch Fix · Senior level · posted 3 Nov 2026$150,000 – $186,000
- Lead Engineer, Avionics Battery TestRelativity Space · Mid level · posted 29 Oct 2026$151,000 – $227,000
- Lead Engineer, Applied AI (Customer Agent)Klaviyo · Senior level · posted 29 Oct 2026$176,000 – $264,000
Evidence
Where these numbers come from
13 salaries from 8 employers, posted between 8 Nov 2025 and 8 Nov 2026. Last updated 8 Nov 2026. Every figure on this page comes from this one group of salaries; the median is the middle value, not the average.
- Employer hiring-system feeds 69%
- Pay read from posting text 31%
Live jobs
Lead Engineer jobs in United States
- Lead Engineer, AI Infrastructure (C++, C)
SpaceXSI · Palo Alto, California, United States
- Lead Engineer, ML Data Infrastructure & Systems
Build AI · San Francisco, California, United States
$220K – $350K/yr · listed by the employer
- Lead Engineer – Security Architecture
DDN · Santa Clara, California, United States
$225K – $275K/yr · listed by the employer
- Lead Engineer, GSE and Production Tooling
Rocket Lab Corporation · Middle River, Maryland, United States
$137.1K – $196.3K/yr · listed by the employer
- Lead Engineer, Order Management
Stitch Fix · United States
$150K – $186K/yr · listed by the employer
- Lead Engineer, Avionics Battery Test
Relativity Space · Long Beach, California, United States
$151K – $227K/yr · listed by the employer
Reading this number
What this number does—and does not—mean
The range summarizes salary-listed Jobiba jobs in United States. It is not a promise of what one employer will pay, and it is not converted from another country's currency. Experience, city, seniority, skills and company can move an individual offer materially.
Frequently asked questions
Lead Engineer salary in United States: common questions
What is the average Lead Engineer salary in United States in 2026?
Job ads for Lead Engineer in United States on Jobiba list a median salary of $185,000 a year, based on 13 salary-listed job postings. The middle half of those job ads pay between $151,475 and $220,000 a year (25th to 75th percentile).
How does Jobiba calculate Lead Engineer salary in United States?
From 13 salary-listed Jobiba job postings from the last 12 months that state an explicit salary, currency and pay period. Hourly, daily and monthly pay is converted to an annual figure, implausible values and outliers are removed, and currencies are never mixed or converted. Jobiba publishes the median and 25th–75th percentile range only when enough comparable postings exist.