Popular destinations
Skill trends, comparisons, salary context, resume help and long-form guides — jump straight to what brings people back.
Systems Engineer salary
Pay ranges for systems engineers — Linux, networking, infrastructure, automation and reliability.
The median Systems Engineer salary is $132,163, with most listings between $90,739 and $166,750, based on 323 active listings with employer-disclosed pay.
Source: Datamata Studios — methodology and update cadence.
At a glance
- Figures use the midpoint of employer-published salary_min and salary_max — not self-reported surveys or aggregator estimates.
- Based on 467 active systems engineer listings in the current index.
Compensation range — Systems Engineer
From 323 listings with disclosed salary fields
25th percentile
$90,739
Lower end of market
Median
$132,163
Midpoint of postings
75th percentile
$166,750
Upper-market range
| Percentile | USD |
|---|---|
| 25th | 90739 |
| Median | 132163 |
| 75th | 166750 |
Seniority mix
How systems engineer listings break down by seniority level.
Skill salary premiums
Median pay when a skill appears in a systems engineer listing (minimum three matches). Bar shows relative salary vs top skill.
- Rust$219,500
- Prometheus$199,500
- C++$184,240
- Ansible$179,652
- Docker$176,500
- SQL$176,500
Go deeper
Explore more Systems Engineer market data
Data Analyst salary
Ranges, seniority mix and skill premiums for this role
Data Engineer salary
Ranges, seniority mix and skill premiums for this role
Data Scientist salary
Ranges, seniority mix and skill premiums for this role
Analytics Engineer salary
Ranges, seniority mix and skill premiums for this role
Become a Systems Engineer
The skills, learning path and entry route for systems engineer roles
Compare Systems Engineer to other roles
Pay, skills and hiring volume side by side against similar roles
Skill demand trends
Which systems engineer skills are rising and falling this week
Salary hub
Compensation benchmarks across all data and tech categories
Jobs market report
Full market report with salary ranges, demand data and key findings
Systems Engineer salary FAQ
What is the average Systems Engineer salary in 2026?
The median Systems Engineer salary is $132,163, with most listings falling between $90,739 (25th percentile) and $166,750 (75th percentile). This is based on 323 active job listings with employer-disclosed pay ranges.
Which skills increase Systems Engineer pay the most?
Rust is associated with the highest median pay for systems engineer listings at $219,500, followed by Prometheus ($199,500). Premiums reflect the median salary of listings that mention each skill, with a minimum of three matched listings.
How does seniority affect Systems Engineer salary?
Across current systems engineer listings, mid-level roles are the most common at 53% of postings. Senior and lead positions typically sit toward the 75th percentile ($166,750), while entry-level roles cluster nearer the 25th percentile ($90,739).
How is this Systems Engineer salary data calculated?
Figures use the midpoint of each employer's published salary_min and salary_max from active job listings — not self-reported surveys or third-party aggregator estimates. The data refreshes daily as new listings are indexed.
Related tools
Free utilities and Pro tools that use the same listings.