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Mechanical Engineer Salary in Semiconductor

Semiconductor pays mechanical engineers a median of $107,240 per year, +3.0% against the national ME median. The published cell covers 4,940 MEs across fabs (Intel, TSMC, Samsung, Micron, GlobalFoundries) and equipment vendors (Applied Materials, Lam Research, KLA). The mean sits $11,810 above the median, which is where the senior equipment-design roles show up.

Sector figures are the published BLS OEWS May 2025 cell for NAICS 334400, SOC 17-2141. Page last reviewed June 2026.

Semiconductor Median

$107,240

vs national median $104,110 (+3.0%)

Sector Mean

$119,050

well above the median, a senior-heavy distribution

MEs in the Cell

4,940

NAICS 334400; the wider 334000 parent holds 18,290

A CHIPS Act-driven hiring cycle

The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics tables for SOC 17-2141 within NAICS 334400 (Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing), May 2025 release, report a semiconductor-industry mechanical engineer median of $107,240 and a mean of $119,050 for 4,940 employed engineers.

That puts the sector +3.0% against the national ME median, which is a real premium but a modest one, and smaller than this sector's reputation suggests. Equipment-vendor roles pay above fab-floor roles. The federal investment behind the current build-out is documented: the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-167) authorised $52.7 billion for US semiconductor manufacturing. Intel announced fabs in Arizona (Fab 52 and Fab 62) and Ohio (Ohio One), TSMC committed $40 billion to its Arizona campus, Samsung committed $17 billion to a Taylor TX expansion, Micron announced a fab cluster in Clay NY, and GlobalFoundries expanded its Malta NY foundry. What does not follow from any of that is a measured wage effect for this occupation. OEWS publishes no metro-by-industry-by-occupation cell, so the Phoenix or Austin semiconductor ME wage trend is not observable in the public data, and this page no longer states one.

The major ME employers, and what kind of work each is

This table used to carry a median base salary against each company. It no longer does, because no semiconductor firm publishes a mechanical-engineer median and no public survey resolves pay to one occupation at one employer. The employer type, which is the part that actually predicts pay, is shown instead.

EmployerEmployer type
IntelFab, leading edge
TSMC ArizonaFab, leading edge
Samsung AustinFab, leading edge
Applied MaterialsEquipment vendor
Lam ResearchEquipment vendor
KLA CorpEquipment vendor
Micron TechnologyFab, memory
GlobalFoundriesFab, trailing edge

Equipment vendors (Applied Materials, Lam Research, KLA) pay more than fabs themselves because their work is more like consumer-electronics hardware design (precision motion, vacuum systems, thermal management, robotics) and their RSU programs are aggressive relative to base. Fab-floor MEs work on facilities, process equipment integration, and yield improvement, with lower base pay but stronger bonus structures tied to fab yield metrics.

Geography: the new semiconductor map

US semiconductor ME employment is undergoing the largest geographic redistribution in the industry's history. Historically concentrated in Silicon Valley, Hillsboro OR, Albuquerque NM, Boise ID, and Austin TX, the sector is now adding major new clusters in Phoenix AZ (Intel + TSMC), Columbus OH (Intel Ohio One), Taylor TX (Samsung), and Clay NY (Micron). Phoenix alone has announced ME hiring through 2030 exceeding 6,000 positions across Intel and TSMC combined. The CHIPS Act bonus incentives for advanced packaging and R&D will likely spawn another wave of secondary investment from suppliers (Applied Materials, Lam, ASML) co-locating near the new fabs.

Frequently asked questions

How much do mechanical engineers make in the semiconductor industry?+
Semiconductor mechanical engineers earn a median of $107,240 per year and a mean of $119,050, per BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for May 2025 (SOC 17-2141 within NAICS 334400, Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing). That is +3.0% against the $104,110 national ME median, so semiconductor is a modest premium rather than a large one. The cell covers 4,940 mechanical engineers. The gap between the mean and the median is wide, which is what a long tail of senior equipment-design specialists looks like in wage data.
Which semiconductor company pays mechanical engineers the most?+
Equipment vendors generally pay above the fabs, because their work is closer to precision hardware design (motion systems, vacuum, thermal management, robotics) and their RSU components are larger relative to base. Among fabs, leading-edge process work pays above mature-node foundry work. Beyond that ordering, this page does not publish a figure per company: no semiconductor firm discloses a mechanical-engineer median, and no public survey breaks pay down to one occupation at one employer, so any site showing you a per-company ME median is estimating. Compare offers on total compensation including RSUs rather than on base alone, and treat the fab versus equipment-vendor distinction as the structural driver.
Is the CHIPS Act driving up semiconductor ME pay?+
The investment is real and documented: the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-167) authorised $52.7 billion in federal funding for US semiconductor manufacturing, and it has been followed by announced fabs from Intel (Arizona, Ohio), TSMC (Arizona), Samsung (Texas), Micron (New York) and GlobalFoundries (New York). The wage effect is a different question, and an honest answer is that nobody has published it for this occupation. OEWS does not cross-tabulate wages by metro and industry and occupation together, so the Phoenix or Austin semiconductor ME wage trend cannot be read out of the published data, and this page no longer carries the year-over-year percentage it used to assert. What the data does show is the sector median sitting modestly above the national ME median.
What does a semiconductor fab ME actually work on?+
Three main areas: (1) facilities and infrastructure (cleanroom HVAC, chemical and gas distribution, ultra-pure water systems, electrical and mechanical utilities); (2) process equipment integration (installing and maintaining lithography, etch, deposition, CMP, and metrology tools); (3) yield improvement (failure analysis, mechanical root-cause investigation on production issues). The work is highly cross-functional with electrical, chemical, materials, and software engineering teams.
Where are semiconductor ME jobs concentrated?+
Historically: Silicon Valley (Applied Materials, Lam, KLA, Intel design), Hillsboro OR (Intel D1X), Albuquerque NM (Intel Rio Rancho), Boise ID (Micron HQ), Austin TX (Samsung, AMD), Malta NY (GlobalFoundries). Newly: Phoenix AZ (Intel Ocotillo plus the new Fab 52 and Fab 62, and TSMC Arizona), Columbus OH (Intel Ohio One), Taylor TX (Samsung expansion) and Clay NY (Micron's announced fab cluster). Phoenix is the largest single-region build-out of the current cycle. Company hiring announcements cover total headcount rather than engineering roles, and none of them break out mechanical engineers, so this page does not put a number on announced ME positions.
Do I need a PE license to work in semiconductor?+
No. PE licensure is not required and adds no compensation premium at fabs, equipment vendors, or design houses. The work is signed under corporate quality-management authority. PE licensure can be useful for facilities-engineering roles that interface with state HVAC and structural codes, but those positions are a small minority of semiconductor ME headcount.

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Arizona

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Austin and Taylor Samsung expansion.

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California

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Independent salary reference. Data from Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Not affiliated with the BLS, any employer, or any professional engineering organization. Individual salaries vary based on experience, location, employer, and negotiation.

Updated 2026-06-09