Embedded Engineer salaries and job demand
Last updated
Embedded Engineer roles typically advertise around £65,000 a year. Here's the current salary range, hiring demand, and the skills employers ask for most.
What do Embedded Engineer roles pay in 2026?
As of November 2026, the typical advertised salary is £65,000 (≈ $83k) a year, with most postings between £55,000 and £80,000.
| 25th percentile | £55,000 |
|---|---|
| Median (50th percentile) | £65,000 |
| 75th percentile | £80,000 |
Advertised base salary, from 158 job postings with pay data, as of November 2026.
Disclosed base wage (H-1B/LCA)
Employers disclose a median base wage of US$147,846 on H-1B/LCA visa filings for this role, between US$108,934 and US$183,841.
| 25th percentile | US$108,934 |
|---|---|
| Median (50th percentile) | US$147,846 |
| 75th percentile | US$183,841 |
Disclosed base wage, from 1,041 H-1B/LCA filings, U.S. DOL OFLC, as of Q4 2025.
| Period | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | US$122,933 | US$152,652 | US$185,700 |
| Q4 2024 | US$126,941 | US$160,000 | US$200,000 |
| Q1 2025 | US$122,815 | US$150,000 | US$183,550 |
| Q2 2025 | US$103,803 | US$138,000 | US$169,615 |
| Q3 2025 | US$110,656 | US$153,656 | US$190,322 |
| Q4 2025 | US$125,599 | US$160,000 | US$199,000 |
How strong is hiring demand for Embedded Engineer roles in 2026?
Tarmac tracked 401 postings in October 2026, the most recent month we tracked from start to finish.
We're not publishing a month-by-month series yet: the number of postings Tarmac collects each month is still growing, so a month-on-month change would measure our coverage rather than the job market.
Skills employers ask for
- cpp1026
- python817
- linux798
- git304
- embedded systems283
- real-time operating systems (rtos)214
- system-design191
- device drivers190
- rtos176
- rust171
- ci-cd-pipelines164
- agile-delivery145
Postings for this role that named each skill, out of the postings we could parse. Bars run to 1026, the most-asked skill here.
Which skills to study first
These skills matter most for this role, scored together on how often employers ask for them, what they pay, and how often people pass them when they practise.
| Skill | Market demand | Median pay | Pass rate | Leverage | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Python | 48% of postings50,058 postings | £75,000 | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| System Design | 23% of postings24,351 postings | £87,500+17% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| CI-CD Pipelines | 19% of postings20,214 postings | £75,000 | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Agile Delivery | 12% of postings12,892 postings | A$128,749+17% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Linux | 9% of postings9,435 postings | £70,000−7% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Git | 7% of postings7,775 postings | £68,000−9% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| C++ | 5% of postings4,718 postings | £70,000−7% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Rust | 1% of postings1,367 postings | £75,000 | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
Pass rate is the share of correct answers among people who practised that skill on Tarmac, a self-selected group rather than every developer, so read it as relative difficulty, not a universal stat. It comes from how people actually scored, not what anyone claimed, and a dash in that column means not enough people have practised the skill here yet. Leverage scores demand, pay, and difficulty together (out of 100); a higher score means a skill is both worth learning and worth your study time.
Pay by level and city in United States
These figures cover United States postings only, as of November 2026. The median above pools every level and every city; these split it, so you can read the rung you are actually applying for.
| Level | 25th | Median | 75th | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-level | US$132,500 | US$158,750 | US$169,050 | 24 |
| Senior | US$138,600 | US$157,250 | US$182,900 | 34 |
| City | 25th | Median | 75th | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remote | US$129,038 | US$135,000 | US$162,500 | 18 |
| Los Angeles, CA | US$125,000 | US$138,600 | US$181,700 | 15 |
| Seattle, WA | US$141,250 | US$169,050 | US$169,050 | 14 |
| Boston, MA | US$150,975 | US$158,750 | US$184,350 | 12 |
| Austin, TX | US$155,363 | US$169,050 | US$190,575 | 10 |
| Denver, CO | US$127,638 | US$141,200 | US$145,650 | 8 |
Advertised base salary. A level or city with too few postings quoting pay is left out rather than shown on a thin sample.
What it takes
The entry bar and required skills employers ask for. Most job ads reach us as a short summary rather than the full posting, and the percentages below count only the ones we have in full — so they skew toward employers who publish a fuller description. Every bar runs 0 to 60% of those postings: solid is required, outlined is preferred, dashed is the posting's own words.
Australia
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- Years asked up 1 year over the last 11 weeks.
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- Years asked up 4 years over the last 5 weeks.
- C++ required in only 16% of postings, was 38% 5 weeks ago.
- Python required in only 11% of postings, was 25% 5 weeks ago.
- Linux required in only 16% of postings, was 25% 5 weeks ago.
Not enough postings state a years-of-experience figure for Intern / new grad and Staff / lead yet.
United States
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- Years asked up 1 year over the last 5 weeks.
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- C++ required in only 50% of postings, was 73% 5 weeks ago.
- Python required in only 17% of postings, was 27% 5 weeks ago.
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- Years asked up 1 year over the last 5 weeks.
- Git now required in 46% of postings, was 22% 5 weeks ago.
- DevOps now required in 15% of postings, was 3% 5 weeks ago.
- Python now required in 39% of postings, was 28% 5 weeks ago.
- C++ required in only 69% of postings, was 78% 5 weeks ago.
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
Not enough postings state a years-of-experience figure for Mid-level yet.
United Kingdom
In the postings’ own words
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
Required
Not enough postings state a years-of-experience figure for Staff / lead yet.
Practice interview questions
Vacancy and salary data includes Adzuna.
Disclosed wage data from the U.S. Department of Labor, OFLC.
Prep for these roles
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