Mechanical Engineering
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Mechanical Engineering occupation series (code 0830): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
Mechanical Engineering is a mid-sized federal occupation: 12,920 employees (0.7% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Engineering and Architecture Group family. At an average salary of $136,601 it pays above the federal average of $117,339, and headcount declined 0.3% from the prior period.
- Employees
- 12,920
- Share of workforce
- 0.7%
- Avg salary
- $136,601
- Avg tenure
- 11.9 yrs
FedScope read on Mechanical Engineering (dense series)
Federal agencies employ 12,920 people in the Mechanical Engineering occupation (OPM code 0830), accounting for 0.7% of the total federal civilian workforce of 1,953,300 for the June 2026 reporting window. Headcount in this occupation moved down by -0.3% versus the prior period, a useful gauge for job seekers on USAJOBS trying to assess whether this role is expanding government-wide or contracting under hiring freezes and attrition.
Average tenure in Mechanical Engineering runs 11.9 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Pay averages $136,601 per year, up 0.3% from the prior period, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.
Mechanical Engineering sits inside the Engineering and Architecture Group family (code 08), which contains 29 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Mechanical Engineering postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Engineering and Architecture Group family.
Mechanical Engineering makes up 10.7% of the 120,278 employees across the Engineering and Architecture Group family, ranking #3 of 29 occupations in that family by headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (41st percentile) of pay among Engineering and Architecture Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Mechanical Engineering pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$136,601
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+16.4%
Where Mechanical Engineering ranks on rich federal pay
Its average salary of $136,601 is higher than 80% of federal occupation series (431 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Mechanical Engineering sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Mechanical Engineering ranks higher than 80%.
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 |
| 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 |
| Computer Engineering | 3,753 | $160,672 | 14.2 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 Mechanical 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 (12,920 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($136,601 here).
Key takeaways
- Mechanical Engineering pays above the federal average by 16.4% ($136,601 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 80th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A mid-sized federal occupation by headcount: 12,920 employees, 0.7% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 0.3% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Mechanical Engineering ranks #35 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Mechanical Engineering makes up 10.7% of the 120,278 employees across the Engineering and Architecture Group family, ranking #3 of 29 occupations in that family by headcount.
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.