321 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
§ 01
Compensation by level
[ MID ]
$165K
[ SENIOR ]
$220K
[ STAFF ]
$280K
[ PRINCIPAL ]
$355K
§ 02
Top-paid open roles
- 01Senior Principal Autonomy Engineer (R6162)Shield AI·Remote$330K–$500K
- 02Senior Staff / Principal Software Engineer - Freeway AutonomyZoox·Foster City, CA$340K–$493K
- 03Senior Staff / Principal Machine Learning Engineer - Autonomy BehaviorsZoox·Foster City, CA$340K–$492K
- 04Director, Autonomous Vehicles PlatformNVIDIA·US, CA, Santa Clara$320K–$489K
- 05Director, Perception - Autonomous VehiclesNVIDIA·US, CA, Santa Clara$320K–$489K
- 06Director, Engineering - Autonomous VehiclesNVIDIA·US, CA, Santa Clara$320K–$489K
- 07Principal Software Engineer, Mapping - Autonomous VehiclesNVIDIA·US, CA, Santa Clara$272K–$431K
- 08Principal OEM Execution Lead, Autonomous Driving SolutionsNVIDIA·US, CA, Santa Clara$272K–$431K
- 09Senior Software Performance Engineer - Autonomous VehiclesNVIDIA·US, CA, Santa Clara$224K–$431K
- 10Principal Perception Engineer, Obstacle Foundation Models - Autonomous VehiclesNVIDIA·US, CA, Santa Clara$272K–$431K
§ 03
Top employers hiring autonomy engineers
| Employer | Open roles | Median comp |
|---|---|---|
| Shield AI | 74 | $244K |
| NVIDIA | 66 | $270K |
| Anduril Industries | 46 | $193K |
| Skydio | 31 | $205K |
| Nuro | 21 | $143K |
| Zoox | 9 | $254K |
| Kodiak Robotics | 8 | $210K |
| Glydways | 5 | $210K |
§ 04
Top cities hiring autonomy engineers
| Metro | Open roles | Median comp |
|---|---|---|
| US | 53 | $270K |
| Washington | 51 | $228K |
| Costa Mesa | 32 | $193K |
| San Mateo | 26 | $224K |
| Mountain View | 20 | $210K |
| China | 11 | — |
| Zurich | 11 | — |
| London | 9 | — |
§ 05
FAQ
- 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?
- Shield AI (74 open roles), NVIDIA (66 open roles), and Anduril Industries (46 open roles) lead by open-role volume. Browse all 321 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.
§ 06
Browse every autonomy engineer role