Talent Maps / Austin / Mechanical Engineers

Austin Mechanical Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What mechanical engineers earn in Austin, the semiconductor, EV, robotics and space employers that hold the talent, where in the metro they work and the fab and factory projects competing for them.

Hiring mechanical engineers in Austin?

A talent map shows where a group of professionals works, what they are paid and who else is trying to hire them. This one covers mechanical engineers in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area, where chip fabs, Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas and a growing group of robotics and space companies all hire from the same pool. Pay figures come from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), and the demand picture uses company, BLS and state data published in 2025 and 2026. Our mechanical engineering recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Austin industrial and manufacturing, electrical and aerospace talent maps.

$106,690Median mechanical engineer pay in Austin, about $2,600 above the US medianBLS, May 2025

$173,210+What the top 10% of Austin mechanical engineers earnBLS, May 2025

87,800Manufacturing jobs in metro Austin, up 2.9% in a yearBLS, August 2026 (preliminary)

$37B+Samsung’s expected investment in Taylor and AustinNIST CHIPS Program

10M+ sq ftFloor space at Tesla’s Gigafactory TexasTesla

1,350Projected mechanical engineering job openings a year in Texas through 2034Projections Central

Mechanical engineer salaries in Austin

The median mechanical engineer in metro Austin earns $106,690 a year, about $2,580 more than the national median of $104,110 but $5,720 less than the Texas median of $112,410. The top of the market pays more: Austin’s highest-paid 10% earn $173,210 or more, about $8,900 above the national figure.

Annual pay percentile	Austin metro	Texas	United States
10th percentile	$68,080	$75,810	$73,990
25th percentile	$92,130	$91,420	$84,130
Median	$106,690	$112,410	$104,110
75th percentile	$145,090	$145,090	$132,590
90th percentile	$173,210	$175,210	$164,340

Mechanical Engineers (SOC 17-2141). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine. Wage surveys run about a year behind current offers.

Mechanical engineering technicians earn a median of $64,600 in Austin, against $74,510 nationally. Compare Houston, the highest-paying Texas market, in our Houston mechanical engineer talent map.

Where Austin’s mechanical engineers work

Semiconductors

Samsung has been in Austin since 1996. It expects to invest more than $37 billion in Taylor and Austin, with two 2nm logic fabs and an R&D fab in Taylor and an expansion of its Austin fab, all expected to be running by 2030. Tesla signed a $16.5 billion chip supply deal with Samsung in July 2025.

SkyWater bought Infineon’s Austin Fab 25 in June 2025. See our Austin semiconductor engineering recruiters page.

Electric vehicles

Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas covers 2,500 acres and more than 10 million square feet. It builds the Model Y and the Cybertruck, and Cybercab production began there in the second quarter of 2026.

A compliance report showed 16,506 Tesla employees in Austin at the end of 2025, down from 21,191 a year earlier.

Robotics and hardware

Apptronik, which builds humanoid robots in Austin, raised $520 million in February 2026 and has nearly 300 employees. Its partners include Mercedes-Benz, GXO and Jabil.

Apple has built the Mac Pro at an Austin facility since 2013.

Space and defense

Firefly Aerospace has its headquarters and spacecraft facility in Cedar Park and a 200-acre test site with six test stands in Briggs. It says it has more than 1,500 employees.

Saronic, which builds autonomous vessels, is headquartered in Austin with a team of about 1,100. See our Austin aerospace talent map.

Where the talent sits: Austin submarkets

Taylor

Semiconductors

Samsung’s new 2nm fabs and R&D fab in Williamson County, northeast of Austin.

Southeast Austin

EVsManufacturing

Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas, home of the Model Y, Cybertruck and Cybercab.

Austin fab corridor

Semiconductors

Samsung’s original Austin fab, SkyWater’s Fab 25 and NXP’s Ed Bluestein site.

Cedar Park and Round Rock

SpaceHardware

Firefly’s headquarters in Cedar Park and ACC’s semiconductor training lab in Round Rock.

San Marcos and Hays County

Education

Texas State University’s fast-growing mechanical engineering program, at the south end of the metro.

What’s driving demand for mechanical engineers in Austin

Samsung Taylor. Samsung expects more than 3,500 manufacturing jobs and 12,000 construction jobs from its Texas expansion, backed by up to $4.745 billion in federal CHIPS funding and a $250 million state grant in 2025.
Tesla. Cybercab production started at Gigafactory Texas in 2026, with installed capacity of more than 125,000 vehicles a year.
Manufacturing growth. Metro Austin had about 87,800 manufacturing jobs in August 2026, up 2.9% from a year earlier.
Robotics. Apptronik has raised more than $935 million in its Series A to scale its humanoid robots.
Slower areas. Tesla’s Austin workforce fell 22% in 2025, and NXP plans to sell its Oak Hill campus after Austin layoffs.

The talent pipeline

UT Austin. U.S. News ranks UT’s graduate mechanical engineering program #16 and its College of Engineering #6 (2026). The Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering has 1,273 undergraduates and 599 graduate students.
Texas State University. Mechanical engineering enrollment at Texas State’s Ingram School grew from 179 in 2022–23 to 1,187 in fall 2026. The program awarded 19 bachelor’s degrees in 2025–26 and is not yet ABET accredited; the school says accreditation will be sought.
Austin Community College. ACC built its STARS semiconductor technician program with Samsung Austin Semiconductor, NXP, Tokyo Electron, Infineon and Applied Materials.
Growth. Texas is projected to grow from 18,240 mechanical engineers in 2024 to 21,630 in 2034, with about 1,350 openings a year. Read more in our Texas mechanical engineer statistics.

What this means if you’re hiring

Austin pays near national rates, not Houston rates. The median is below the Texas figure, but experienced engineers expect the 75th percentile ($145,090) or more.
Fabs and Tesla set the pace. Samsung, SkyWater and Tesla hire equipment, facilities and manufacturing engineers in volume. Smaller employers win on scope and speed.
The local pipeline is still young. Texas State’s program is large but new, so most experienced engineers will come from UT Austin, other employers or out of state.
Look at adjacent skills. Equipment, HVAC and design engineers from hardware and space companies often move into fab and factory work.

Need mechanical engineers in Austin?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place mechanical, equipment, manufacturing and design engineers on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 512.686.1181 or see our Austin engineering recruiters page.

Hire mechanical engineers

Frequently asked questions

How much do mechanical engineers make in Austin?

The median mechanical engineer salary in metro Austin is $106,690 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $92,130 and $145,090, and the top 10% earn $173,210 or more.

Do mechanical engineers earn more in Austin or San Antonio?

Austin pays slightly more. The Austin median is $106,690, about $2,070 above San Antonio’s $104,620. See our San Antonio mechanical engineer talent map.

Who hires mechanical engineers in Austin?

Chipmakers such as Samsung and SkyWater, Tesla at Gigafactory Texas, Apple, and robotics and space companies such as Apptronik, Firefly Aerospace and Saronic.

Sources (19)