53 OPEN
SALARIES · RELIABILITY ENGINEER
Reliability Engineer [YoY +8%]
Median total compensation for reliability engineer roles in robotics, AI, and autonomy. Open roles by salary, direct from each employer.
[ SENIOR COMPENSATION · ANNUAL · BASE ]
$185,000 – $235,000USD
§ 01
Compensation by level
[ MID ]
$135K
[ SENIOR ]
$185K
[ STAFF ]
$235K
[ PRINCIPAL ]
$295K
§ 02
Top-paid open roles
- 01Sr. Staff Lead Site Reliability Engineer (R5803)Shield AI·San Mateo, California$220K–$340K
- 021Software Engineer - NEO Reliability1X Technologies·San Carlos, CA$200K–$300K
- 03Senior Staff Lead Site Reliability Engineer (R5803)Shield AI·San Diego, California$190K–$280K
- 04
Staff Site Reliability EngineerAnduril Industries·Costa Mesa, California, United States$209K–$278K - 05Sr. Staff Platform/Data Reliability Engineer, Databricks (R5537)Shield AI·Remote$180K–$270K
- 06Senior Engineer, Edge-Cloud ReliabilityAnduril Industries·Reston, Virginia, United States$191K–$253K
- 07Staff Reliability EngineerAnduril Industries·Costa Mesa, California, United States; Quincy, Massachusetts, United States$191K–$253K
- 08Reliability Engineering ManagerAnduril Industries·Costa Mesa, California, United States$166K–$253K
- 09Senior Site Reliability Engineer, SpaceAnduril Industries·Costa Mesa, California, United States$183K–$243K
- 10
Site Reliability Engineer, Vehicle SoftwareWayve·Sunnyvale, California USA$210K–$238K
§ 03
Top employers hiring reliability engineers
| Employer | Open roles | Median comp |
|---|---|---|
| Anduril Industries | 22 | $193K |
| Shield AI | 8 | $168K |
| Nuro | 3 | — |
| Wayve | 2 | $224K |
| Rockwell Automation | 2 | — |
| Skydio | 2 | $200K |
| Outrider | 2 | $165K |
| Wing | 2 | $123K |
§ 04
Top cities hiring reliability engineers
| Metro | Open roles | Median comp |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Mesa | 13 | $193K |
| Mountain View | 4 | $193K |
| San Mateo | 3 | $240K |
| Dallas | 3 | $161K |
| Atlanta | 3 | $167K |
| Seattle | 3 | $150K |
| Austin | 2 | — |
| Henderson | 2 | $165K |
§ 05
FAQ
- How much do reliability engineers make in the robotics industry?
- Senior reliability engineers in the robotics industry typically earn $185K base salary at top employers. Staff-level roles run $235K and principal-level reach $295K. Numbers are median base salary across 92 data points; total compensation including equity is typically 15-30% higher at private robotics employers.
- Who is hiring the most reliability engineers right now?
- Anduril Industries (22 open roles), Shield AI (8 open roles), and Nuro (3 open roles) lead by open-role volume. Browse all 53 open reliability engineer roles sorted by recency.
- Where are most reliability engineer jobs located?
- The top robotics industry hubs for reliability engineer roles right now are Costa Mesa, Mountain View, and San Mateo. 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 reliability 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 reliability engineer role