278 OPEN
SALARIES · AUTONOMY ENGINEER
Autonomy Engineer [YoY +8%]
Median total compensation for autonomy engineer roles in robotics, AI, and autonomy. Open roles by salary, direct from each employer.
[ SENIOR COMPENSATION · ANNUAL · BASE ]
$220,000 – $280,000USD
§ 01Compensation by level
[ MID ]
$165K
[ SENIOR ]
$220K
[ STAFF ]
$280K
[ PRINCIPAL ]
$355K
§ 02Top-paid open roles
- 01
Senior Product Sourcing Engineer, Autonomous AirpowerAnduril Industries·Costa Mesa, California, United States$146K–$1940K - 02Senior Staff / Principal Machine Learning Engineer - Autonomy BehaviorsZoox·Foster City, CA$324K–$492K
- 03Director, Autonomous Vehicles PlatformNVIDIA·US, CA, Santa Clara$320K–$489K
- 04Director of Engineering - Autonomous VehiclesNVIDIA·US, CA, Santa Clara$320K–$489K
- 05Manager, Software Performance Engineering - Autonomous VehiclesNVIDIA·US, CA, Santa Clara$224K–$431K
- 06Manager, Deep Learning – Autonomous Vehicles and RoboticsNVIDIA·US, CA, Santa Clara$224K–$431K
- 07Principal Software Engineer, Mapping - Autonomous VehiclesNVIDIA·US, CA, Santa Clara$272K–$431K
- 08Principal Perception Engineer, Obstacle Foundation Models - Autonomous VehiclesNVIDIA·US, CA, Santa Clara$272K–$431K
- 09Principal System Integration Engineer - Autonomous VehiclesNVIDIA·Santa Clara, California, US$272K–$426K
- 10Director, Carline Program Management - Autonomous VehiclesNVIDIA·US, CA, Santa Clara$272K–$426K
§ 03Top employers hiring autonomy engineers
| Employer | Open roles | Median comp |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA | 55 | $270K |
| Shield AI | 50 | $234K |
| Anduril Industries | 50 | $193K |
| Nuro | 24 | $143K |
| Skydio | 19 | $205K |
| Zoox | 10 | $239K |
| Kodiak Robotics | 5 | $216K |
| Applied Intuition | 4 | $161K |
§ 04Top cities hiring autonomy engineers
| Metro | Open roles | Median comp |
|---|---|---|
| US | 49 | $270K |
| Washington | 47 | $222K |
| Costa Mesa | 39 | $193K |
| Mountain View | 16 | $210K |
| San Mateo | 12 | $205K |
| Foster City | 10 | $239K |
| Zurich | 7 | — |
| San Diego | 6 | $209K |
§ 05FAQ
- How much do autonomy engineers make in the robotics industry?
- Senior autonomy engineers in the robotics industry typically earn $220K base salary at top employers. Staff-level roles run $280K and principal-level reach $355K. Numbers are median base salary across 99 data points; total compensation including equity is typically 15-30% higher at private robotics employers.
- Who is hiring the most autonomy engineers right now?
- NVIDIA (55 open roles), Shield AI (50 open roles), and Anduril Industries (50 open roles) lead by open-role volume. Browse all 278 open autonomy engineer roles sorted by recency.
- Where are most autonomy engineer jobs located?
- The top robotics industry hubs for autonomy engineer roles right now are US, Washington, and Costa Mesa. Defense robotics tends to concentrate in DC/Northern Virginia and Colorado Springs (clearance-required roles), while commercial launch is heaviest in LA basin and Florida's Space Coast.
- Do autonomy engineer roles in robotics, AI, and autonomy require security clearance?
- Many do. Defense robotics programs at Anduril, Shield AI, Saronic, and defense primes require Secret or TS/SCI clearance. Commercial robotics roles at Boston Dynamics, Apptronik, 1X, Skydio, and Wayve generally do not. ITAR registration is more common than clearance — many sensor, autonomy, and unmanned-systems roles require it.
§ 06See all open roles
Browse every autonomy engineer role