Skip to content
Boston Career Explorer

Architecture and Engineering

Computer Hardware Engineers

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.

Also called: Design Engineer, Engineer, Field Service Engineer, Hardware Design Engineer, Hardware Engineer, Physical Design Engineer

Compare with my current job (Information Security Analysts)
Median pay in Greater Boston
$167,600
$80.58/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
2,840
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+1.4%
180 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
Bachelor's degree

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$110,730$130,970$167,600$210,910$260,460

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Update knowledge and skills to keep up with rapid advancements in computer technology.
  • Design and develop computer hardware and support peripherals, including central processing units (CPUs), support logic, microprocessors, custom integrated circuits, and printers and disk drives.
  • Confer with engineering staff and consult specifications to evaluate interface between hardware and software and operational and performance requirements of overall system.
  • Build, test, and modify product prototypes, using working models or theoretical models constructed with computer simulation.
  • Write detailed functional specifications that document the hardware development process and support hardware introduction.
  • Test and verify hardware and support peripherals to ensure that they meet specifications and requirements, by recording and analyzing test data.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Higher exposure68 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 78
  • Language-model AIOE 73
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 52

Observed AI use today: Some (Anthropic Economic Index)

Computer hardware engineering has higher AI exposure, and some AI use has been observed. AI tools can help with tasks like writing specifications, running simulations, and testing design ideas. Building and testing real prototypes, and working with other engineers to make hardware and software fit together, still rely on people's judgment.

Likely to change

  • Writing functional specifications and documentation
  • Simulating and testing design models

Still relies on people

  • Building and testing physical prototypes
  • Working with teams on system fit

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

22 programs near Boston (plus 21 graduate)

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

Talk to a career coach