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Lead DevOps Engineer Salary in the United States

How much does a Lead DevOps Engineer make in the United States?

As of October 01, 2026, the average salary for a Lead DevOps Engineer in the United States is $187,311 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $90.

However, a Lead DevOps Engineer's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $205,770
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $177,566 to $196,973
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $168,694
Salary Factors Salary-Boosting Skills Salary by Experience Related Job Salaries Top Paying Cities Explore Related Jobs

Key Factors That Influence Lead DevOps Engineer Salaries

A Lead DevOps Engineer's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Lead DevOps Engineer Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Lead DevOps Engineer's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:

  • Entry-Level (less than 1 year): $132,235
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $147,919
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $167,899
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $154,557
  • Expert (over 8 years): $186,601
Levels Salary
DevOps En... Level Lead DevOps Engineer$132,235
DevOps En... Level Lead DevOps Engineer$147,919
DevOps En... Level Lead DevOps Engineer$167,899
DevOps En... Level Lead DevOps Engineer$154,557
Lead DevO... Level Lead DevOps Engineer$186,601
View as Graph

How Do Lead DevOps Engineer Salaries Vary from State to State?

Your salary can change significantly depending on where you work. States with a higher cost of living and strong industrial sectors often pay more to attract Lead DevOps Engineers. For example, consider the average annual salaries in these key locations:
  • District of Columbia: $207,391.
  • California: $206,604.
  • Massachusetts: $203,851.

Top Paying Cities for Lead DevOps Engineers

Salaries can also vary between different cities. Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay. Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:

  • San Jose: $236,255
  • San Francisco: $233,669
  • Oakland: $228,744

What Skills Can Increase a Lead DevOps Engineer's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Leadership (Mentioned in 3.14% Job Postings): Knowledge of and ability to employ effective strategies that motivate and guide other members within our business to achieve optimum results.
  • Software Development (Mentioned in 2.16% Job Postings): Software development is the process of conceiving, specifying, designing, programming, documenting, testing, and bug fixing involved in creating and maintaining applications, frameworks, or other software components. Software development is a process of writing and maintaining the source code, but in a broader sense, it includes all that is involved between the conception of the desired software through to the final manifestation of the software, sometimes in a planned and structured process. Therefore, software development may include research, new development, prototyping, modification, reuse, re-engineering, maintenance, or any other activities that result in software products. Software can be developed for a variety of purposes, the three most common being to meet specific needs of a specific client/business (the case with custom software), to meet a perceived need of some set of potential users (the case with commercial and open source software), or for personal use (e.g. a scientist may write software to automate a mundane task). Embedded software development, that is, the development of embedded software, such as used for controlling consumer products, requires the development process to be integrated with the development of the controlled physical product. System software underlies applications and the programming process itself, and is often developed separately.
  • Ansible (Mentioned in 1.59% Job Postings): Ansible is a suite of software tools that enables infrastructure as code. It is open-source and the suite includes software provisioning, configuration management, and application deployment functionality.
Skills Demand Percentage
Leadership 3.14%
Software Development 2.16%
Ansible 1.59%
See More Skills

What skills can make your compensation higher?

Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay. Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on a Lead DevOps Engineer's salary.

  • Team Building: Can increase your salary by up to 10%.
  • Analysis: Can increase your salary by up to 6%.
  • Microservices: Can increase your salary by up to 6%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Team Building $206,042
10%
Analysis $198,550
6%
Microservices $198,550
6%
Get Latest Data

Lead DevOps Engineer Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors

For Lead DevOps Engineer roles, the industry you choose can affect earning potential by as much as 50% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries). Data shows that the Software & Networking and Energy & Utilities sectors offer the strongest compensation, at 25% above the average. In contrast, Lead DevOps Engineer positions in Edu., Gov't. & Nonprofit or Hospitality & Leisure typically offer lower base pay, as these industries often view Lead DevOps Engineer as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.

The top paying industries for a Lead DevOps Engineer

Industry Sector Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Rate Pay vs.Avg
Software & Networking$234,139$113.025%
Energy & Utilities$224,773$108.020%
Financial Services$215,408$104.015%
Biotechnology$209,788$101.012%
Insurance$206,042$99.010%

Lead DevOps Engineer Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Lead DevOps Engineer's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.

Last Updated on October 01, 2026
$177,566
Average $187,311/year
$196,973
$14,797
Average $15,609/month
$16,414
$3,415
Average $3,602/week
$3,788
$85
Average $90/hour
$95
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $196,973 $16,414 $3,788 $95
Average $187,311 $15,609 $3,602 $90
25th Percentile $177,566 $14,797 $3,415 $85

Most common benefits for Lead DevOps Engineer

  • Social Security
  • 401 (k)
  • Disability
  • Healthcare
  • Pension
  • Time Off (days)

Common company salaries for Lead DevOps Engineer

Here are companies hiring for Lead DevOps Engineer and their salaries, click below for more details.

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FAQ about Lead DevOps Engineer

1. What industry pays the highest salary for Lead DevOps Engineer?

The Software & Networking industry offers the highest average compensation for Lead DevOps Engineer roles, with salaries approximately 25% above the market median.

Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.

We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)

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