Engineering Manager Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 5,505 US job postings by 2,117 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for engineering managers: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 5,505 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for engineering managers in US job postings is $200,000 a year (1,550 postings from 743 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $160,000 to $241,000.
- The skills that most set engineering manager postings apart are AWS, CI/CD, Python.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 5 years of experience.
Engineering Manager job postings in the US, October 2026
- $200,000
- Median advertised pay (1,550 postings)
- $160,000–$241,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 5,505
- US job postings from 2,117 employers
- 5 years
- Median experience asked
How much does an engineering manager make?
The median advertised pay is $200,000 a year, from 1,550 US job postings by 743 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $285,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 1,550 US engineering manager job postings: median $200,000 a year, middle half $160,000 to $241,000.
- Median: $200,000
- 25th percentile: $160,000
- 75th percentile: $241,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $30K–$40K | 0.1% |
| $40K–$50K | 0.1% |
| $50K–$60K | 0.1% |
| $60K–$70K | 0.1% |
| $70K–$80K | 0.3% |
| $80K–$90K | 0.4% |
| $90K–$100K | 0.5% |
| $100K–$110K | 1.4% |
| $110K–$120K | 1.7% |
| $120K–$130K | 2.9% |
| $130K–$140K | 5.1% |
| $140K–$150K | 5.9% |
| $150K–$160K | 5.5% |
| $160K–$170K | 6.4% |
| $170K–$180K | 7.4% |
| $180K–$190K | 5.2% |
| $190K–$200K | 7.5% |
| $200K–$210K | 6.0% |
| $210K–$220K | 6.5% |
| $220K–$230K | 6.4% |
| $230K–$240K | 4.7% |
| $240K–$250K | 4.0% |
| $250K–$260K | 5.5% |
| $260K–$270K | 2.3% |
| $270K–$280K | 2.7% |
| $280K–$290K | 2.5% |
| $290K–$300K | 0.8% |
| $300K–$310K | 1.1% |
| $310K–$320K | 1.2% |
| $320K–$330K | 1.0% |
| $330K–$340K | 0.3% |
| $350K–$360K | 1.3% |
| $360K–$370K | 0.2% |
| $370K–$380K | 0.4% |
| $390K–$400K | 0.1% |
| $400K–$410K | 0.3% |
| $410K–$420K | 0.3% |
| $430K–$440K | 0.2% |
| $440K–$450K | 0.5% |
| $450K–$460K | 0.1% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an annual salary | $200,000 | $160K–$241K | 1,448 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $200,000 | $160K–$241K | 1,550 |
What is the starting salary for an engineering manager?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Engineering manager levels and pay
Levels as they appear in job titles, ordered by the median experience asked. Senior engineering managers have a median advertised pay of $221,000 a year.
| Level in title | Share of postings | Median experience asked | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| No level in title | 72.1% | 5 years | $195,000 |
| Lead | 15.0% | 5 years | – |
| Senior | 12.2% | 5 years | $221,000 |
Highest-paying engineering manager jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Manager (general) | $200,000 | 711 | 366 |
| Software Engineering Manager | $196,000 | 290 | 156 |
Engineering manager pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $238,000 | $200,000–$262,000 | 277 | 21.3% |
| New York | $217,000 | $180,000–$250,000 | 127 | 8.2% |
Skills employers ask for in engineering manager job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 42% |
| Leadership | 17% |
| Problem-solving | 14% |
| Python | 14% |
| AWS | 13% |
| Java | 9% |
| Analytical skills | 9% |
| Organizational skills | 9% |
| Interpersonal skills | 9% |
| CI/CD | 9% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set engineering managers apart
- AWS8.9× as often as in all postings · 13%
- CI/CD13.2× as often as in all postings · 9%
- Python4.3× as often as in all postings · 14%
- React13.4× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Leadership3.3× as often as in all postings · 17%
- Java8.2× as often as in all postings · 9%
- TypeScript12.8× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Software engineering26.9× as often as in all postings · 5%
- Distributed systems25.7× as often as in all postings · 5%
- Azure7.2× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Kubernetes9.1× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Google Cloud8× as often as in all postings · 5%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a engineering manager job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does an engineering manager do?
Employers post these jobs as Software Engineering Manager, Senior Engineering Manager, Technical Lead, Chief Technology Officer, Head of Engineering and other titles. The largest specializations are Software Engineering Manager (16%), Director of Engineering (5%), Technical Lead (20%), Technical Manager (3%), Director, Software Engineering (3%), Data Engineering Manager (2%).
The closest official occupation is Architectural and Engineering Managers (11-9041.00). Its most important tasks:
- Manage the coordination and overall integration of technical activities in architecture or engineering projects.
- Direct, review, or approve project design changes.
- Consult or negotiate with clients to prepare project specifications.
- Prepare budgets, bids, or contracts.
- Present and explain proposals, reports, or findings to clients.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be an engineering manager?
Among 2,721 postings that state a minimum, the median is 5 years. Under 1% say 0 years and 4% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 2,721 US engineering manager job postings: median 5 years, and 4% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | under 1% |
| 1 yr | 3% |
| 2 yrs | 17% |
| 3-4 yrs | 28% |
| 5-7 yrs | 29% |
| 8-9 yrs | 6% |
| 10+ yrs | 16% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Full-time 98% of the 379 postings that state working hours.
Other names for an engineering manager: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Engineering Manager | 831 (39.2%) |
| Software Engineering Manager | 164 (7.8%) |
| Senior Engineering Manager | 145 (6.9%) |
| Technical Lead | 67 (3.2%) |
| Chief Technology Officer | 64 (3.0%) |
| Head of Engineering | 62 (2.9%) |
| Engineering Leader | 50 (2.4%) |
| Software Development Manager | 44 (2.1%) |
| Manager, Software Engineering | 42 (2.0%) |
| Sr. Engineering Manager | 40 (1.9%) |
| Director, Software Engineering | 35 (1.7%) |
| Director, Engineering | 34 (1.6%) |
| Technical Director | 32 (1.5%) |
| Director of Software Engineering | 31 (1.5%) |
| Senior Software Engineering Manager | 31 (1.5%) |
| Manager, Engineering | 31 (1.5%) |
| Senior Manager, Software Engineering | 30 (1.4%) |
| Vice President of Engineering | 27 (1.3%) |
| VP of Engineering | 24 (1.1%) |
| Software Manager | 23 (1.1%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Engineering manager job titles compared
The titles people search for most, from the US job postings that use each exact title (October 2026).
| Job title | Open postings | Employers | Median pay | Median experience | Skills named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technical Lead | 127 | 67 | – | – | – |
Engineering Manager compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Manager | $200K | 5 years | 5,505 | – |
| Software Engineer | $164K | 4 years | 66,571 | 16 |
| Solutions Architect | $175K | 5 years | 7,307 | 15 |
| AI Engineer | $187K | 4 years | 8,806 | 12 |
| Sales Engineer | $140K | 4 years | 4,954 | 11 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | 16 | $164K |
| Solutions Architect | 15 | $175K |
| AI Engineer | 12 | $187K |
| Sales Engineer | 11 | $140K |
| DevOps Engineer | 9 | $152K |
| Data Engineer | 10 | $145K |
Applying for engineering manager jobs?
- Engineering manager resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find engineering manager jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does an engineering manager make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 40 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 37 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.