SALARY DATA
Controls engineer salary
Based on 41 pay ranges published by 16 employers in job postings we tracked over the last 12 months. Every figure comes from an employer’s own posting; nothing is estimated. Updated Oct 27, 2026.
Postings titled controls engineer or control systems engineer, including automation & controls and SCADA controls engineers. I&C and protection & control roles are excluded.
Median salary$150,000per year, midpoint of each range
Middle 50%$133,000–$168,000per year
Published range$85,000–$340,000lowest minimum to highest maximum
Sample41postings from 16 employers
By level
| Level | Median | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| Lead / staff | $192,000 | 3 |
| Senior | $157,000 | 18 |
| Level not stated | $133,000 | 17 |
By state
| State | Median | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| California | $155,000 | 21 |
| Ohio | $146,000 | 6 |
| Washington | $133,000 | 4 |
States with at least three postings. Remote and multi-location postings without a single state are left out of this table.
The postings behind these figures
How these figures are calculated
- Sources: pay ranges that employers publish in their own job postings (often required by state pay-transparency laws). We never estimate or impute pay.
- Window: postings first seen in the last 365 days, open or since closed. Only US-dollar ranges are included; internships and director-level roles are left out.
- Each posting counts once at the midpoint of its range. The same role posted in several cities with the same range counts once.
- Hourly ranges are converted to annual pay at 2,080 hours. Base pay only: bonuses, equity and overtime aren’t included.
- Big employers that post many roles can pull the figures toward their own pay bands; we flag that when one employer supplies 40% or more of the sample.