Computer Engineering
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Computer Engineering occupation series (code 0854): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
Computer Engineering is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 3,753 employees (0.2% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Engineering and Architecture Group family. At an average salary of $160,672 it pays well above the federal average, and headcount declined from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- -4.9%
- Pay change
- -0.1%
- Avg tenure
- 14.2 yrs
- Rank in family
- #9 of 29
FedScope read on Computer Engineering (dense series)
Headcount moved down versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path. Pay moved down between the two reporting periods, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. On length of service, this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
Code 08, the Engineering and Architecture Group family, is where the federal government classifies Computer Engineering alongside 28 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Computer Engineering postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Engineering and Architecture Group family. Computer Engineering makes up 3.1% of the Engineering and Architecture Group family's 120,278 combined employees. Its average salary ranks in the top half (96th percentile) of pay among Engineering and Architecture Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Computer Engineering pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$160,672
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+36.9%
Where Computer Engineering ranks on rich federal pay
Computer Engineering earns more on average than 95% of federal occupation series (512 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Computer Engineering sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Computer Engineering.
Related Occupations in Engineering and Architecture Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Engineering | 27,619 | $158,941 | 16.9 yrs |
| Engineering Technical | 14,443 | $93,062 | 15.2 yrs |
| Mechanical Engineering | 12,920 | $136,601 | 11.9 yrs |
| Electronics Engineering | 12,889 | $155,270 | 16.8 yrs |
| Civil Engineering | 10,260 | $124,230 | 14.7 yrs |
| Aerospace Engineering | 8,359 | $155,848 | 14.8 yrs |
| Electronics Technical | 7,298 | $103,713 | 15.6 yrs |
| Electrical Engineering | 5,231 | $142,419 | 13.5 yrs |
| Nuclear Engineering | 2,813 | n/a | 13.5 yrs |
| Environmental Engineering | 2,429 | $139,024 | 17 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Computer Engineering outside the Engineering and Architecture Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (3,753 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($160,672 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Computer Engineering pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Engineering and Architecture Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Computer Engineering postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.