Engineering Jobs in San Diego, CA

Observed government pay data says San Diego engineering roles pay well, with a local annual 25th-to-median-to-75th range of $86,630, $118,100, and $154,090 for architecture and engineering occupations, while life, physical, and social science roles run $67,920, $97,780, and $131,600. Broader metro group averages were $59.40 per hour for architecture and engineering occupations and $49.73 per hour for life, physical, and social science occupations. Separate posted-pay signals from recent listings are higher and center on about $126k to $200k, which should be read as directional rather than as a marketwide median.

Full September 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 132 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $102,500 at the 25th percentile, $130,000 at the median and $152,750 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of November 10, 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 147 openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Competitive market | next 3-6 months

This is a good market for the right profile, but not an easy one for generalists. San Diego has real scale in this category, with 39,180 architecture and engineering jobs and 25,270 life, physical, and social science jobs in 2025, plus more than 550 recent sampled postings across more than 200 companies. The catch is that openings skew senior and on-site, while California-wide occupation signals are notably stronger than the broader state labor market.

Best positioned: Candidates with established systems, hardware, or applied-science depth, plus willingness to work on-site for defense, aerospace, or product-development employers, have the best odds right now.

Main caution: Do not mistake high posted pay for broad accessibility: only about 5% of sampled postings are entry-level, about 5% are remote, and less than 5% of postings that state a policy mention visa sponsorship.

From the September 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 147 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. General Atomics: 10 open roles
2. Northrop Grumman Corp.: 8 open roles
3. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.: 6 open roles
4. QUALCOMM, Inc.: 6 open roles
5. Jacobs Engineering Group: 5 open roles
6. Cohu: 4 open roles
7. Apple, Inc.: 3 open roles
8. ASML Holding: 3 open roles
9. Firestorm Solutions, LLC: 3 open roles
10. Honeywell International Inc.: 3 open roles

Where the openings are

• San Diego: 126
• Poway: 7
• Rancho Bernardo: 4
• Long Beach: 2
• Cupertino: 2
• El Cajon: 2
• Vista: 1
• San Diego County: 1

Work arrangement

on-site 121 (83%), hybrid 22 (15%), remote 2 (1%)

Where the demand is

The clearest opportunity cluster is in defense, aerospace, and systems-heavy product work. In the sampled local postings, defense and space manufacturing accounted for about 30% of activity, computer hardware development about 15%, aerospace & defense about 10%, business consulting about 10%, and aviation and aerospace component manufacturing about 10%. The most consistently active named employers were Northrop Grumman and QUALCOMM with more than 40 sampled postings each, followed by General Atomics and Apple with more than 20 each. Hiring is fragmented rather than dominated by one employer, but the technical center of gravity is still similar across the market. The second lane is science and research work, but it looks less uniform. San Diego still has a meaningful science base with 25,270 life, physical, and social science jobs in 2025, yet recent local signals are mixed, including a $50.0 million Series B for Khartis Therapeutics and a headquarters move by Resilience out of San Diego. For scientific candidates, that means better odds when you aim at specific therapeutic, platform, materials, or regulated-development niches rather than broad metro branding.

• Defense, aerospace, and systems engineering (high): This is the strongest local lane, supported by the industry mix and by named employer activity from Northrop Grumman and General Atomics.
• Hardware and product development (moderate): Computer hardware development is a meaningful share of local demand, with QUALCOMM and Apple among the most active named employers in the sample.
• Scientific research, biotech, and lab-centered work (moderate): There is real local depth, but company momentum looks uneven, with funding support for one biotech and a headquarters relocation by another scientific employer.

Where to focus: Prioritize senior or near-senior systems, hardware, or applied-science roles that match San Diego's on-site defense and product mix rather than broad remote searches.

Roles worth searching next

• Manufacturing technician or test technician: This is a practical bridge because San Diego still has a large manufacturing base and national forecasts point to strong technician openings.
• Technical project coordinator or program analyst: Project management already appears in local engineering and scientific postings, so this is a realistic cross-functional pivot.
• Quality or validation specialist: This path fits candidates who can translate technical work into documented process control, especially where local scientific demand is company-specific and regulated.
• CAD designer or drafter: SolidWorks appears frequently enough in local postings to make design support a credible entry lane for hardware and product environments.

What postings ask for

• Python (premium | immediate): Python shows up in about 25% of sampled local postings, making it one of the most portable signals across modeling, automation, test, and scientific workflows. Who: Entry-level candidates, mid-career engineers modernizing their stack, and scientific candidates who need stronger automation credibility.
• Systems engineering (premium | immediate): Systems engineering appears in about 20% of sampled postings and lines up with the local defense and aerospace concentration. Who: Mechanical, electrical, software-adjacent, aerospace, and defense applicants with cross-functional program exposure.
• SAP clearance (differentiator | near-term): Special access program clearance is the most frequently cited credential in the local sample, which is a strong clue about where the hardest-to-fill roles sit. Who: Candidates targeting defense or classified program environments.
• Project management and risk management (differentiator | near-term): Project management appears in about 10% of sampled postings and risk management in about 5%, which matters in a market tied to complex programs and product cycles. Who: Mid-career applicants, career switchers from operations, and engineers moving toward lead roles.
• SolidWorks, MATLAB, and C++ (table_stakes | immediate): SolidWorks, MATLAB, and C++ each appear in about 10% of sampled postings, making them useful proof-of-work tools for hardware, simulation, and design roles. Who: Mechanical, electrical, hardware, robotics, and test-focused candidates.
• Technical leadership and mentoring (differentiator | near-term): Technical leadership appears in about 10% of local postings, and broader hiring guidance also points to mentorship and technical depth as in-demand traits. Who: Senior ICs and first-line leaders who want to separate themselves from pure execution candidates.

Questions about this market

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

Observed government pay data says San Diego engineering roles pay well, with a local annual 25th-to-median-to-75th range of $86,630, $118,100, and $154,090 for architecture and engineering occupations, while life, physical, and social science roles run $67,920, $97,780, and $131,600. Broader metro group averages were $59.40 per hour for architecture and engineering occupations and $49.73 per hour for life, physical, and social science occupations. Separate posted-pay signals from recent listings are higher and center on about $126k to $200k, which should be read as directional rather than as a marketwide median. This is a high-paying market by occupation standards, especially on the engineering side, but the strongest salaries are tied to specialized employers and experienced candidates.

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

The clearest opportunity cluster is in defense, aerospace, and systems-heavy product work. In the sampled local postings, defense and space manufacturing accounted for about 30% of activity, computer hardware development about 15%, aerospace & defense about 10%, business consulting about 10%, and aviation and aerospace component manufacturing about 10%. The most consistently active named employers were Northrop Grumman and QUALCOMM with more than 40 sampled postings each, followed by General Atomics and Apple with more than 20 each. Hiring is fragmented rather than dominated by one employer, but the technical center of gravity is still similar across the market. The second lane is science and research work, but it looks less uniform. San Diego still has a meaningful science base with 25,270 life, physical, and social science jobs in 2025, yet recent local signals are mixed, including a $50.0 million Series B for Khartis Therapeutics and a headquarters move by Resilience out of San Diego. For scientific candidates, that means better odds when you aim at specific therapeutic, platform, materials, or regulated-development niches rather than broad metro branding.

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 (more than 40 postings), QUALCOMM, Inc. (more than 40 postings), General Atomics (more than 20 postings), Apple, Inc. (more than 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 15% hybrid, with 80% 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.

Browse California openings by job title

• Software Engineer: 960 open roles statewide
• General Manager: 528 open roles statewide
• Project Manager: 392 open roles statewide
• Product Manager: 379 open roles statewide
• Program Manager: 326 open roles statewide
• Technical Program Manager: 265 open roles statewide
• Senior Software Engineer: 206 open roles statewide
• Staff Software Engineer: 156 open roles statewide
• Engineering Manager: 146 open roles statewide
• Senior Manager: 129 open roles statewide
• Associate Director: 92 open roles statewide
• Senior Product Manager: 84 open roles statewide

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• New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
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