150+ Engineering & Science Jobs in San Diego, CA

Observed government data shows San Diego architecture and engineering jobs averaging $51.36 per hour in May 2025. A more role-specific local proxy, manufacturing engineers on O*NET's local wage page, shows a median of $114,400, with the 25th percentile at $96,370 and the 75th percentile at $138,330. Current advertised pay is higher in the live posting mix: posted salary ranges in the Callings.ai job database center on about $133k to $202k locally, and statewide new openings for Engineering & Scientific averaged about $129,583 in July 2026 on a sample of n=4,995.

Full July 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 127 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $105,850 at the 25th percentile, $132,500 at the median and $152,250 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of September 7, 2026

Senior roles | Entry level | Remote | Posted this week

Live from the Callings.ai index of over 13 million postings, refreshed hourly and re-checked here nightly. Roles that close are dropped at the next refresh.

Showing 30 of 150 openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Competitive market | next 3-6 months

This is a good but selective market for experienced engineers and scientists, not an easy market for generalist applicants. San Diego had more than 650 recent postings across more than 250 companies, and hiring is fragmented rather than dominated by one firm. California-wide Engineering & Scientific postings were up 21.6% year over year in July 2026 even as California postings across all occupations were down 0.5%, which says this category is outperforming the broader market. The catch is fit: about 60% of local postings skew senior or lead+, about 75% are on-site, and less than 5% of postings that mention sponsorship say visa sponsorship is available.

Best positioned: Candidates with systems engineering depth, Python or MATLAB fluency, and readiness for on-site defense, hardware, or medtech work have the best odds right now.

Main caution: Do not mistake the high posted salary bands for broad accessibility; this market is skewed toward experienced, specialized, and often on-site roles.

From the July 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 150 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.: 12 open roles
2. WSP Global Inc.: 9 open roles
3. Transmission & Distribution World: 7 open roles
4. Apple, Inc.: 6 open roles
5. Firestorm Solutions, LLC: 6 open roles
6. Solar Turbines Incorporated: 5 open roles
7. University of California San Diego: 5 open roles
8. Firestorm Labs, Inc.: 4 open roles
9. General Atomics: 4 open roles
10. Bytedance: 3 open roles

Where the openings are

• San Diego: 134
• Poway: 12
• Cupertino: 2
• La Jolla: 1

Work arrangement

on-site 122 (82%), hybrid 25 (17%), remote 2 (1%)

Where the demand is

Real opportunity is concentrated in a few local clusters, not spread evenly across every engineering specialty. In the local posting mix, computer hardware development accounts for about 25% of postings, aerospace & defense about 20%, defense about 15%, engineering firms about 10%, and government & public sector about 10%. The most consistently active named employers over the last 90 days include Northrop Grumman, QUALCOMM, Apple, and Deloitte. Recent visible openings reinforce that pattern. NASSCO posted multiple San Diego roles spanning electrical design, project engineering, test & trials, and electrical engineering. General Atomics was also advertising systems, safety, CFD, and software-systems engineering roles in San Diego and Poway, while Insight Global surfaced local systems and senior electrical-engineering openings around Chula Vista and Sorrento Valley. Evidence is much thinner this month for pure civil, environmental, or architecture hiring, so those tracks may require a wider regional or statewide search.

• Defense, aerospace, and shipbuilding systems work (high): This is the clearest concentration of demand, backed by Northrop Grumman's presence in the local employer mix and visible openings at NASSCO and General Atomics for electrical, systems, safety, CFD, and project-engineering work.
• Hardware, semiconductor, and medtech product engineering (high): Computer hardware development is the single largest visible industry slice at about 25% of postings, and local signals include QUALCOMM, Apple, and a senior electrical-engineering opening tied to a global medical technology company in Sorrento Valley.
• Manufacturing and industrial support engineering (moderate): Manufacturing still matters locally, with 109.9 thousand jobs in the sector and fresh signals from NASSCO and Actalent, but the sector was down 0.8123% year over year in June 2026, so this is active without being the broadest growth lane.

Where to focus: If you can choose only one lane, focus on systems-heavy roles tied to defense, hardware, or regulated product development, then tailor every application to that lane.

Roles worth searching next

• AI Solutions Engineer: A Carlsbad life sciences company sought a Senior AI Solutions Engineer, showing local demand for people who can combine domain knowledge with software, machine learning, and cloud deployment work.
• Supply Chain Professional / production planning: NASSCO was hiring Supply Chain Professional II alongside engineering openings, which makes this a practical bridge for candidates with BOM, vendor, scheduling, or manufacturing-program experience.
• Electrician or shipfitter in industrial programs: NASSCO was also hiring Electricians and Shipfitters beside engineering roles, so hands-on technical candidates can stay close to the same employers and defense-industrial programs.

What postings ask for

• Systems engineering (premium | immediate): Systems engineering appears in the local top-skill mix and also shows up directly in recent General Atomics openings, which makes it a strong screening shortcut for complex programs. Who: Mid-career engineers, ex-military candidates, and anyone targeting defense, aerospace, or large hardware programs.
• Python (premium | immediate): Python is the most-requested hard skill in the local posting sample at about 20%, and it also aligns with broader demand for digital and AI integration skills. Who: Systems, scientific, manufacturing, and research candidates who need a cross-functional technical signal.
• Project management (table_stakes | immediate): Project management shows up in about 15% of local postings and fits the project-engineering demand visible at NASSCO and other employers. Who: Mid-career candidates and switchers moving from operations, quality, or technical delivery roles.
• Technical documentation and configuration management (differentiator | immediate): Technical documentation is requested in about 10% of local postings, and configuration management also appears in the local skill mix, which matters in regulated, defense, and hardware environments. Who: Anyone targeting defense, medtech, hardware, test, or manufacturing programs.
• MATLAB, C++, and simulation-heavy tooling (differentiator | near-term): MATLAB and C++ both appear in the local skills mix, and current aerospace openings emphasize CFD and software-systems integration rather than pure design drafting alone. Who: Electrical, aerospace, controls, robotics, and modeling candidates.
• Safety engineering and multidisciplinary integration (premium | immediate): Recent General Atomics roles specifically call for safety, systems integration, CFD, and software-systems engineering, which signals a premium on engineers who can work across functions. Who: Candidates already working in aerospace, defense, autonomous systems, or high-reliability hardware.

Questions about this market

What do Engineering & Scientific roles pay in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?

Observed government data shows San Diego architecture and engineering jobs averaging $51.36 per hour in May 2025. A more role-specific local proxy, manufacturing engineers on O*NET's local wage page, shows a median of $114,400, with the 25th percentile at $96,370 and the 75th percentile at $138,330. Current advertised pay is higher in the live posting mix: posted salary ranges in the Callings.ai job database center on about $133k to $202k locally, and statewide new openings for Engineering & Scientific averaged about $129,583 in July 2026 on a sample of n=4,995. Pay is strong by national standards and clearly above the San Diego all-occupation wage baseline; the metro's overall worker average was $37.85 per hour, versus $51.36 for architecture and engineering roles.

Where is demand for Engineering & Scientific roles in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA concentrated?

Real opportunity is concentrated in a few local clusters, not spread evenly across every engineering specialty. In the local posting mix, computer hardware development accounts for about 25% of postings, aerospace & defense about 20%, defense about 15%, engineering firms about 10%, and government & public sector about 10%. The most consistently active named employers over the last 90 days include Northrop Grumman, QUALCOMM, Apple, and Deloitte. Recent visible openings reinforce that pattern. NASSCO posted multiple San Diego roles spanning electrical design, project engineering, test & trials, and electrical engineering. General Atomics was also advertising systems, safety, CFD, and software-systems engineering roles in San Diego and Poway, while Insight Global surfaced local systems and senior electrical-engineering openings around Chula Vista and Sorrento Valley. Evidence is much thinner this month for pure civil, environmental, or architecture hiring, so those tracks may require a wider regional or statewide search.

Which employers are hiring the most Engineering & Scientific talent in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?

Recent postings show the most activity from Northrop Grumman (50 postings), QUALCOMM, Inc. (40 postings), Apple, Inc. (30 postings), Deloitte (20 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Engineering & Scientific roles in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 5% are remote and 20% hybrid, with 75% on-site. Use the Remote filter above to see only remote openings.

How current are these listings?

Openings come from the Callings.ai live index of over 13 million jobs, refreshed hourly. This page searches postings from the last 30 days; run the search yourself to filter by anything else in plain language.

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