Are you considering a career as an operations engineer? Familiarize yourself with the average operations engineer salary and the elements that can affect it, including your education and experience levels, to help you choose your path forward.
An operations engineer is a technical professional who improves a business’s systems, processes, and procedures so they perform at optimum levels. This in-demand position offers an above-average salary, good job satisfaction, and options for career progression. It also offers opportunities to engage in dynamic tasks, interact with others, and perform focused work.
Working as an operations engineer usually requires a degree, relevant experience, and certain skills. Higher salaries can accompany these, along with other contributing factors such as the industry you work in and your geographical location.
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Operations engineers work in various industries using data and technical skills to inform the design and improvement of systems that help a business run. In this role, you focus on improving workflows, managing resources, and upgrading and repairing industrial equipment. The goal is to enhance productivity by reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and minimizing waste.
According to online job listing websites, the average annual operations engineer salary in the United States may vary depending on the source you consult. The average base salaries, according to data from four reputable websites, are below [1, 2, 3, 4]:
Glassdoor | Zippia | Payscale | ZipRecruiter |
---|---|---|---|
$92,178 | $91,522 | $82,369 | $85,029 |
*All salary data is as of December 2024
Keep in mind that the average annual salary you receive will likely vary depending on your level of experience, education, industry, location, and other factors.
An operations engineer career can give you an excellent salary, and you’ll discover several factors that affect your total take-home pay below. Your level of experience, education, and the skills you’ve built up play a part, as well as your industry, employer, and geographical location.
Let’s examine how your salary can vary according to these factors in more detail.
The most common education for operations engineers is a bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline, such as any specialization within engineering. However, it is also possible to enter the field as a technician with an associate degree or even a high school diploma if you have the necessary experience and certificates.
According to Zippia, 62 percent of operations engineers have a bachelor’s degree, with the most popular majors being mechanical and electrical engineering. Another 15 percent have an associate degree, and 9 percent have a master’s degree [5].
Those with a bachelor’s degree receive an annual average salary of $90,420, with wages rising to $104,468 for operations engineers with a master’s degree [5].
Experience plays a big part in how much you earn as an operation engineer. Starting out in this role helps you diversify your expertise with different kinds of systems and project work environments. Additionally, working as an apprentice lets you gain entry-level experience. Popular entry-level positions include engineer, systems administrator, and technician. Experience can also help you move into more senior positions with higher salaries.
The levels you may reach in your career are outlined below, with the associated average annual base salary for each. Generally, the more experience you gain, the higher the salary you can expect [1].
0–1 years: $74,156
1–3 years: $81,614
4–6 years: $87,663
7–9 years: $92,806
10–14 years: $104,039
15+ years: $117,958
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Get on the fast track to a career in project management. In this certificate program, you’ll learn in-demand skills, and get AI training from Google experts. Learn at your own pace, no degree or experience required.
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1,908,715 already enrolled
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Average time: 6 month(s)
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Skills you'll build:
Project Management, Change Management, Strategic Thinking, Career Development, Organizational Culture, Risk Management, Quality Management, Project Execution, Agile Management, Problem Solving, Coaching, Scrum, Influencing, Effective Communication, Stakeholder Management, Business Writing, Project Charter, Procurement, Task Estimation, Project Planning
Your geographical location can impact your salary, with some areas, states, and cities paying more than others for the same role. It’s a good idea to do some research if you are flexible in your location to find out where you’ll secure the highest salaries in an area that appeals to you.
The highest-paying cities if you’re an operations engineer, according to Zippia, are as follows [2]:
San Francisco, CA: $118,147
Washington, DC: $106,768
Seattle, WA: $94,700
New York, NY: $93,126
Phoenix, AZ: $91,849
The highest-paying states if you’re an operations engineer, according to Zippia, are as follows [2]:
California: $113,365
District of Columbia: $106,733
Maryland: $95,800
West Virginia: $94,477
Washington: $94,004
Operations engineers work with an organization’s systems and industrial equipment, so you have the opportunity to work in a variety of industries. Some popular industries include:
Information technology
Manufacturing
Technology
Finance
Media
Hospitality
Construction
Energy
Aerospace
Health care
According to Zippia, the top five paying industries are as follows [2]:
Technology: $100,087
Media: $95,640
Manufacturing: $95,262
Energy: $93,993
Finance: $92,941
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Get on the fast track to a career in project management. In this certificate program, you’ll learn in-demand skills, and get AI training from Google experts. Learn at your own pace, no degree or experience required.
4.8
(114,269 ratings)
1,908,715 already enrolled
Beginner level
Average time: 6 month(s)
Learn at your own pace
Skills you'll build:
Project Management, Change Management, Strategic Thinking, Career Development, Organizational Culture, Risk Management, Quality Management, Project Execution, Agile Management, Problem Solving, Coaching, Scrum, Influencing, Effective Communication, Stakeholder Management, Business Writing, Project Charter, Procurement, Task Estimation, Project Planning
When choosing the company you’d like to work for, you’ll consider factors like work culture, benefits, and work-life balance. If salary is one of these factors, consider some of the top-paying companies hiring operations engineers and the average annual base compensation, according to data from Glassdoor [1]:
X: $175,000
Meta: $174,000
Google: $140,000
ConocoPhillips: $147,000
SpaceX: $144,000
Operations engineers need essential workplace and technical skills to succeed in the role. Some in-demand technical skills command higher salaries, so working on these and demonstrating them in an interview can be helpful. Examples of in-demand skills and the salary you can expect are below [3]:
Project management: $87,387
Operations management: $85,992
Process improvement: $83,583
Manufacturing process engineering: $85,248
Systems troubleshooting: $81,797
Becoming an operations engineer is a lucrative career, and your job prospects are closely related to the industry in which you choose to work. However, you can draw correlations to related careers for which the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) offers job outlook projections.
For industrial engineers, for example, the BLS projects a 12 percent job growth between 2023 and 2033, which is faster than average for all occupations [6]. It also predicts a more rapid growth rate for all architecture and engineering occupations, with an average of 195,000 job openings annually during that same time frame [7].
An operations engineer career has many options for growth and diversity across industries and roles. Below are some examples of entry-level, mid-level, and senior-level positions and the average annual salary for each.
All salary information is average annual base pay sourced from Glassdoor as of December 2024 and does not include additional pay, such as commission and benefits.
Systems administrator: $85,350
Operations technician: $55,848
Operations manager: $77,630
Operating engineer: $91,510
IT engineer: $104,843
Director of operations: $106,881
Engineering director: $182,015
The operations engineer salary you can expect will depend on your education level, experience, industry, and skill level. It’s a growing field that is expected to expand in the next decade.
Are you looking to start your career as an operations engineer? Build your knowledge base and boost your skills with a Professional Certificate, such as the Google Project Management Professional Certificate.
professional certificate
Get on the fast track to a career in project management. In this certificate program, you’ll learn in-demand skills, and get AI training from Google experts. Learn at your own pace, no degree or experience required.
4.8
(114,269 ratings)
1,908,715 already enrolled
Beginner level
Average time: 6 month(s)
Learn at your own pace
Skills you'll build:
Project Management, Change Management, Strategic Thinking, Career Development, Organizational Culture, Risk Management, Quality Management, Project Execution, Agile Management, Problem Solving, Coaching, Scrum, Influencing, Effective Communication, Stakeholder Management, Business Writing, Project Charter, Procurement, Task Estimation, Project Planning
Glassdoor. “How Much Does an Operations Engineer make?, https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/operations-engineer-salary-SRCH_KO0,19.htm.” Accessed December 19, 2024.
Zippa. “Operations Engineer Salary, https://www.zippia.com/operations-engineer-jobs/salary/.” Accessed December 19, 2024.
PayScale. “Average Operations Engineer Salary, https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Operations_Engineer/Salary.” Accessed December 19, 2024.
Zip Recruiter. “Salary: Operations Engineer, United States, https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Operations-Engineer-Salary.” Accessed December 19, 2024.
Zippia. “Best Colleges and Majors for Operations Engineers, https://www.zippia.com/operations-engineer-jobs/education/.” Accessed December 19, 2024.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Industrial Engineers, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/industrial-engineers.htm.” Accessed December 19, 2024.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Architecture and Engineering Occupations, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/home.htm.” Accessed December 19, 2024.
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