Engineering the vehicles that move us: cars, EVs, race cars, self-driving tech, trucks and trains.
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
Autonomous Vehicle Engineer: Builds the software and sensors that let cars and trucks drive themselves safely. Typical pay $160k.
EV Powertrain Engineer: Designs the motors, inverters and gearboxes that make electric vehicles go. Typical pay $125k.
Vehicle Chief Engineer: Senior leader responsible for an entire vehicle model, from first sketch to the car rolling off the line. Typical pay $180k.
Motorsport Race Engineer: Works with a race driver to set up the car and plan strategy for NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA or F1 teams. Typical pay $120k.
EV Battery Pack Engineer: Designs the battery packs in electric cars, buses and trucks so they're safe, long-lasting and fast-charging. Typical pay $115k.
Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship
Automotive Engineer: Designs and tests the parts and systems of cars, trucks and SUVs, from brakes to seats to suspensions. Typical pay $100k.
Vehicle Dynamics Engineer: Tunes how a vehicle steers, rides over bumps and handles corners. Typical pay $105k.
Crash Safety Engineer: Designs cars, airbags and seatbelts so people survive crashes. Typical pay $105k.
Tire Engineer: Designs tires: the rubber recipe, tread pattern and inner structure that grip the road. Typical pay $98k.
Rail Vehicle Engineer: Designs and maintains trains, locomotives, subway cars and light rail vehicles. Typical pay $100k.
Vehicle Calibration Engineer: Fine-tunes the software settings that control how an engine or electric motor responds when you press the pedal. Typical pay $98k.
Automotive Engineering Technician: Builds prototype vehicles and installs test equipment for automotive engineers. Typical pay $65k.
Dynamometer Test Technician: Runs engines, motors and whole vehicles on 'treadmills' called dynamometers to measure power and durability. Typical pay $60k.
Crash Test Dummy Technician: Maintains, calibrates and places the high-tech crash test dummies used in car safety tests. Typical pay $58k.
Homologation Engineer: Gets cars and trucks certified as legal to sell in each country. Typical pay $100k.
Squeak & Rattle Engineer: Hunts down the tiny squeaks, buzzes and rattles inside new cars before customers ever hear them. Typical pay $90k.
Cold-Weather Vehicle Test Engineer: Spends winters at frozen test tracks in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Alaska, proving cars start, steer and stop at 30 below. Typical pay $92k.
Starter: fastest way in
Vehicle Development Test Driver: Drives prototype vehicles at proving grounds to test durability, handling and new features. Typical pay $52k.
Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Technician: Converts minivans and trucks so wheelchair users can ride or drive, adding lowered floors, ramps, lifts and hand controls. Typical pay $46k.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.