Headline risk
18%
Moderate RiskComputer hardware engineers
United States AI Work Index tracks this occupation on the shared structural baseline and then layers on local demand resilience, wages, and confidence.
Why This Score
Share of job tasks that overlap with current AI capabilities
Median annual wage
Projected employment change over 10 years
Typical preparation needed for this occupation
Occupation profile
Research, design, develop, or test computer or computer-related equipment for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use. May supervise the manufacturing and installation of computer or computer-related equipment and components.
Task evidence
100% weighted task match · 20% effective coverage
Scores combine AI task overlap, human advantages, and local demand. How it works
United States Now
Median Wage
USD 155,020
Employment 2024
76.8K
Projected Change (2024–34)
7.3%
Openings (2024–34)
4.7K
Wage distribution
Demand outlook
Employment of computer hardware engineers is projected to grow 7 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Role Profile
Tasks
- 1. Update knowledge and skills to keep up with rapid advancements in computer technology. AI use: 0%
- 2. Confer with engineering staff and consult specifications to evaluate interface between hardware and software and operational and performance requirements of overall system. AI use: 0%
- 3. Design and develop computer hardware and support peripherals, including central processing units (CPUs), support logic, microprocessors, custom integrated circuits, and printers and disk drives. AI use: 0%
- 4. Write detailed functional specifications that document the hardware development process and support hardware introduction. AI use: 83%
- 5. Build, test, and modify product prototypes, using working models or theoretical models constructed with computer simulation. AI use: 0%
- 6. Test and verify hardware and support peripherals to ensure that they meet specifications and requirements, by recording and analyzing test data. AI use: 0%
Technologies
Requirements
Work context
Worker profile
Median age 42.2 · 94K employed
Under 25: 3% · 25–54: 79% · 55+: 17%
Related
No direct US role match is available yet for this occupation.
Source coverage
11/11 source families · O*NET 30.2 / OEWS 2024 / ORS 2025 / OOH 2025-08-28 / Projections 2024-34 / CPS 2025 / Anthropic task penetration
Mapping quality
crosswalk_exact · employment series present
Narrative & sources
Computer hardware engineers research, design, develop, and test computer systems and components.
Computer hardware engineers usually work in research laboratories that build and test various types of computer models. Most work in computer systems design services and in manufacturing.
Computer hardware engineers typically need a bachelor’s degree from an accredited program.
The median annual wage for computer hardware engineers was $155,020 in May 2024.
Employment of computer hardware engineers is projected to grow 7 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Published limitations
This page shows the local country layer, not realised individual job outcomes. The global structural baseline is shared across countries; only the local demand and wage layer changes here.
Built from O*NET occupation descriptions, task statements, technology skills, work context, Job Zones, Anthropic task penetration, BLS OEWS wages, BLS projection tables, BLS ORS requirements, BLS OOH narrative content, BLS skills data, and BLS CPS occupation age tables.