Jobs / Architecture and engineering / 17-2061.00
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.
- US jobs
- 76,660
- Median wage
- $161,740 a year
- Job family
- Architecture and engineering
Can agents do the work of computer hardware engineers?
We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Architecture and engineering:
- Task levelUnexploredNo task-level benchmark in our collection tests architecture or engineering design work, such as CAD modeling or engineering calculations.
- Project levelNot yetWhole projects are mostly out of reach. The Remote Labor Index includes 3D, CAD, and architecture projects; across all its projects, the best agent completed 15.8% to a standard a client would accept. GDPval includes mechanical engineers, and its deliverables score higher, but those tasks are one-shot and fully specified.
Benchmarks for the job family
These cover work in architecture and engineering, not always this occupation's tasks.
- 1846 EloClaude Opus 5.5 (Adaptive Reasoning, Max Effort, Default Fallback) · 23 Sep 2026Unrated
Typical tasks
From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.
- 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.
- Direct technicians, engineering designers or other technical support personnel as needed.
- Provide technical support to designers, marketing and sales departments, suppliers, engineers and other team members throughout the product development and implementation process.
- Select hardware and material, assuring compliance with specifications and product requirements.
- Store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements.
- Analyze user needs and recommend appropriate hardware.
- Evaluate factors such as reporting formats required, cost constraints, and need for security restrictions to determine hardware configuration.
Other job titles for this occupation (36)
Design Engineer · Engineer · Field Service Engineer · Hardware Design Engineer · Hardware Engineer · Physical Design Engineer · Project Engineer · Staff Engineer · Systems Integration Engineer · Analog Design Engineer · Analog IC Design Engineer (Analog Integrated Circuit Design Engineer) · Application Specific Integrated Circuit Design Engineer (ASIC Design Engineer) · Application Specific Integrated Circuit Design Verification Engineer (ASIC Design Verification Engineer) · Computer Designer · Computer Engineer · Computer Hardware Designer · Computer Hardware Developer · Computer Hardware Engineer · Computer Installation Engineer · Computer Tester · Computer Vision Engineer · Design Verification Engineer · Digital Design Engineer · Digital Hardware Engineer · Electrical Hardware Engineer · Electronics Engineer · Embedded Hardware Engineer · FPGA Design Engineer (Field Programmable Gate Array Design Engineer) · FPGA Design Engineer (Field Programmable Gate Design Engineer) · FPGA Engineer (Field Programmable Gate Array Engineer) · Hardware Architect · Hardware Development Engineer · Hardware Systems Engineer · Hardware Test Engineer · Microchip Specialist · Signal Integrity Engineer