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Staff Mechanical Engineer salary: median $185,000 a year

Staff Mechanical Engineer listings that state pay run from $165,000 to $204,000 for the middle half, based on 41 current job listings. 100 staff mechanical engineer roles are open now.

Staff Mechanical Engineer pay range

From 41 open listings that state pay. Annual, in US dollars.

Lower quarter
$165,000
Median
$185,000
Upper quarter
$204,000

Do AI skills change staff mechanical engineer pay?

For Engineering roles in general, as of October 27, 2026. This is the function’s figure, not one for staff mechanical engineer alone: one title rarely has enough listings on both sides.

Among Engineering listings, those that ask for an AI skill advertise +18.2% (about $31.5k) compared with similar listings that do not, matched on level and industry.

Listings that ask for an AI skill
$209,000
median, from 4,237 paid listings
Listings that never mention AI
$150,000
median, from 5,371 paid listings

Advertised pay only: the midpoint of the range an employer posted, on live U.S. postings read from the full text. “Asks for an AI skill” means the posting names a specific AI skill; “no AI” means it never mentions AI. A difference in what is advertised is not a promise of what you would be paid, and it does not show that learning a skill causes a raise.

See the AI-skill pay table for every function · Check your own pay against these listings

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Related salaries

Staff Mechanical Engineer salary questions

How much does a staff mechanical engineer make?
Among 41 open staff mechanical engineer listings that state pay, the median is $185,000 a year, and half of listings fall between $165,000 and $204,000.
Where does this staff mechanical engineer pay data come from?
From current job listings on employers’ own career sites that state a pay range. Hourly pay is converted at 2,080 hours a year, and a listing’s midpoint is used. Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.
Which state pays staff mechanical engineers the most?
Of the states with enough listings, California has the highest median listed pay at $197,500.

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