Architecture and Engineering · Holland code RIC

Computer Hardware Engineers

Research, design, develop, or test computer or computer-related equipment for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use. May supervise the manufacturing and installation of computer or computer-related equipment and components.

Also called: Design Engineer, Engineer, Hardware Engineer, Systems Integration Engineer, Field Service Engineer, Hardware Design Engineer, Physical Design Engineer, Project Engineer.

O*NET 17-2061.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $161,740; Middle half earn $126,090 to $202,990. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 48% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +7% · Much faster than average; 76,800 jobs in 2024, projected 82,400. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Computer hardware engineers".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Update knowledge and skills to keep up with rapid advancements in computer technology.
Design and develop computer hardware and support peripherals, including central processing units (CPUs), support logic, microprocessors, custom integrated circuits, and printers and disk drives.
Confer with engineering staff and consult specifications to evaluate interface between hardware and software and operational and performance requirements of overall system.
Build, test, and modify product prototypes, using working models or theoretical models constructed with computer simulation.
Write detailed functional specifications that document the hardware development process and support hardware introduction.
Test and verify hardware and support peripherals to ensure that they meet specifications and requirements, by recording and analyzing test data.
Direct technicians, engineering designers or other technical support personnel as needed.
Provide technical support to designers, marketing and sales departments, suppliers, engineers and other team members throughout the product development and implementation process.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Active Listening3.9 / 5
Writing3.9 / 5
Speaking3.9 / 5
Active Learning3.8 / 5

Knowledge areas

Computers and Electronics4.7 / 5
Engineering and Technology4.7 / 5
Design4.1 / 5
Mathematics4.1 / 5
English Language3.8 / 5
Physics3.4 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic78
Investigative76
Artistic14
Social14
Enterprising16
Conventional73

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

component engineer · DE Ingenieur Bauteile und Komponenten/Ingenieurin Bauteile und Komponenten · FR ingénieur pièces détachées/ingénieure pièces détachées
electronics engineer · DE Ingenieur Elektronik/Ingenieurin Elektronik · FR ingénieur électronicien/ingénieure électronicienne
computer hardware engineer · DE Ingenieur Computer-Hardware/Ingenieurin Computer-Hardware · FR ingénieur en matériel informatique/ingénieure en matériel informatique
microsystem engineer · DE Ingenieur Mikrosystemtechnik/Ingenieurin Mikrosystemtechnik · FR ingénieur microsystèmes/ingénieure microsystèmes
microelectronics engineer · DE Ingenieur Mikroelektronik/Ingenieurin Mikroelektronik · FR ingénieur en microélectronique/ingénieure en microélectronique
embedded systems software developer · DE Softwareentwickler für Embedded Systems/Softwareentwicklerin für Embedded Systems · FR développeur de logiciels pour systèmes informatiques intégrés/développeuse de logiciels pour systèmes informatiques intégrés

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Quantity surveyors (2453)45,300 employed
Engineering professionals n.e.c. (2129)124,800 employed
Quality control and planning engineers (2481)35,700 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.14. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (17-2061).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test