Biomedical Engineering in Pennsylvania

📊 Employment Overview

Pennsylvania employs 741 biomedical engineering professionals, representing approximately 3.9% of the national workforce in this field. Pennsylvania ranks #5 nationally for biomedical engineering employment.

💰 Salary Information

Biomedical Engineering professionals in Pennsylvania earn competitive salaries across all experience levels, with an average annual salary of $99,000.

Note: Salaries are adjusted for cost of living and local market conditions. Data based on BLS statistics and industry surveys (2024-2025).

🎓 Schools Offering Biomedical Engineering

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🚀 Career Insights

Key information for biomedical engineering professionals in Pennsylvania.

🏢 Industry Landscape & Top Employers

Pennsylvania is one of America's top-5 biomedical engineering markets — ranking #5 nationally with 741 employed professionals and a $99,000 average salary, the state benefits from a remarkable concentration of world-class academic medical centers in Philadelphia, a sophisticated medical device manufacturing sector, and an extraordinary pharmaceutical research infrastructure that makes the state one of the most important biomedical engineering environments in the world. Pennsylvania's biomedical sector is anchored by institutions whose global influence in medical science and device development — Penn Medicine, CHOP, Drexel, Carnegie Mellon — creates career opportunities available at very few other US locations.

Major Employers — Philadelphia Academic Medicine: The University of Pennsylvania Health System (Penn Medicine) — home of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and Pennsylvania Hospital (America's first hospital, founded 1751) — is one of the nation's elite academic medical employers for biomedical engineers. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is consistently rated the nation's best children's hospital and operates one of the world's most prolific pediatric device development programs, having commercialized innovations including cochlear implants, neonatal monitoring systems, and pediatric surgical instruments. Jefferson Health, Temple University Hospital, and Drexel Medicine round out Philadelphia's dense academic clinical engineering cluster.

Major Employers — Commercial Sector: West Pharmaceutical Services (Exton) — a global leader in pharmaceutical packaging and drug delivery systems — employs biomedical engineers designing injectable drug containers, vial closures, and combination product delivery systems. Siemens Healthineers has significant Pennsylvania operations. GSK's Upper Merion campus employs device engineers for inhalation product and injection system engineering. Merck's West Point, PA campus has major combination product engineering operations. Teleflex (Wayne) develops specialty medical devices for critical care, vascular access, and surgical applications.

Key Industry Clusters: Philadelphia's University City / West Philadelphia academic medicine corridor — centered on Penn, CHOP, Drexel's medical school, and Jefferson's main campus — is one of the nation's most dense academic biomedical engineering clusters. The Route 202 pharmaceutical corridor (Wayne, Malvern, Exton, King of Prussia) hosts major pharma and device company campuses within 30 minutes of Philadelphia. Pittsburgh's two major academic medical centers — UPMC and the Allegheny Health Network — anchor western Pennsylvania's sophisticated clinical engineering market, while Carnegie Mellon University's robotics and AI programs create a distinctive research engineering ecosystem. The Lehigh Valley's Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Geisinger Health System's central Pennsylvania campuses extend the state's reach into its vast interior geography.

📈 Career Growth & Pathways

Pennsylvania biomedical engineering careers offer extraordinary range — from CHOP's world-leading pediatric device research to Penn Medicine's adult clinical technology sophistication to the Route 202 corridor's pharmaceutical combination product engineering. The state's depth allows engineers to build 30-year careers advancing through multiple institutional types without leaving Pennsylvania's borders.

• Entry-Level Engineer (0–2 years): $61,000–$79,000 — Penn Medicine, CHOP, and Drexel all have structured clinical and research engineering development pathways. University of Pennsylvania, Drexel, Carnegie Mellon, Penn State, University of Pittsburgh, and Temple produce the state's diverse engineering talent pipeline. West Pharmaceutical Services and Teleflex offer commercial device entry positions.
• Mid-Level Engineer (3–7 years): $86,000–$115,000 — Clinical technology leadership at Penn Medicine or UPMC, combination product development at West Pharma or GSK's PA campuses, research engineering on CHOP's pediatric device programs, or device development at Teleflex's Wayne headquarters.
• Senior / Staff Engineer (8–14 years): $125,000–$160,000 — Penn Medicine or CHOP clinical engineering directors, senior device engineers at West Pharmaceutical Services or Teleflex, research faculty at Penn / Drexel / CMU / Pitt with active grant portfolios, or VP Engineering at Pennsylvania-based device startups. Philadelphia's pharma corridor senior engineers with combination product expertise command the upper range.
• Director / Principal (15+ years): $160,000–$280,000+ — Penn Medicine / CHOP technology executives, Siemens Healthineers divisional directors, named research faculty at Penn or CMU, or C-suite technical roles at PA device companies. West Pharmaceutical Services and GSK PA operations offer senior engineering compensation at pharmaceutical industry scale.

CHOP's Unique Research Track: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia operates one of the world's most prolific academic device research programs — its cochlear implant research (the first FDA-approved cochlear implant was CHOP/Penn-developed), neonatal monitoring innovations, and pediatric surgical robotics programs create research engineering careers at the absolute frontier of pediatric biomedical technology. CHOP engineers work on problems that genuinely cannot be addressed by adapting adult device designs, creating specializations uniquely valuable globally.

💰 Salary vs. Cost of Living

Pennsylvania's $99,000 average biomedical engineering salary is near the national median-high range and is paired with a cost of living that varies significantly by region — from Philadelphia's expensive urban core to central Pennsylvania's remarkable affordability — creating financial outcomes that depend heavily on geographic choice within the state.

Philadelphia Suburbs (Main Line / Route 202 Corridor): The pharma-device corridor's financial profile is demanding — median home prices of $420,000–$700,000 in Main Line communities (Wayne, Malvern, Berwyn) and $350,000–$480,000 in King of Prussia and Exton areas reflect proximity to Philadelphia's economic engine. Cost of living approximately 20–30% above the national average in prime suburban communities. West Pharma and GSK PA engineers earning $120,000–$165,000 face meaningful housing costs, though still substantially below comparable New Jersey or New York City-adjacent communities.

Philadelphia City / Near Suburbs: Philadelphia's city neighborhoods (West Philadelphia, Germantown, Chestnut Hill, South Philly) offer significantly more affordable urban living — median home prices of $200,000–$380,000 depending on neighborhood — making homeownership accessible for clinical engineers at Penn Medicine or CHOP on $90,000–$130,000 salaries. Philadelphia's Lower Merion and Delaware County inner-ring suburbs offer family-friendly environments at $320,000–$480,000 median prices.

Pittsburgh: Pennsylvania's second city is one of America's most financially accessible major metros for biomedical engineers. UPMC and Allegheny Health Network pay $90,000–$135,000 for experienced clinical engineers against median home prices of $230,000–$350,000 in quality Pittsburgh neighborhoods (Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township). Cost of living approximately 8–12% below the national average. Pittsburgh's remarkable cultural renaissance — with the Carnegie Museums, Pittsburgh Symphony, and a thriving restaurant and arts scene — provides major-metro lifestyle at a fraction of Philadelphia or coastal costs.

📜 Licensing & Professional Development

Engineering licensure in Pennsylvania is administered by the State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists. Pennsylvania has a comprehensive licensing process aligned with NCEES standards and the state's large engineering community makes access to supervising PEs straightforward across all employer types.

Pennsylvania PE Licensure Path:

• FE Exam: Required first step. University of Pennsylvania, Drexel, Carnegie Mellon, Penn State, Pitt, Temple, and Villanova collectively produce one of the nation's deepest engineering talent pipelines. The Lehigh Valley's Lafayette, Lehigh, and Muhlenberg contribute additional graduates.
• 4 Years of Progressive Experience: Under PE supervision. Pennsylvania's exceptional engineering community density makes finding supervising PEs effortless across clinical, pharmaceutical, device, and academic research contexts.
• PE Exam: Full NCEES reciprocity. Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware tri-state licensure is common for engineers serving the greater Philadelphia market; Pennsylvania-Ohio licensure for Pittsburgh-area engineers serving the western Pennsylvania and Ohio Valley market.

CHOP and Penn Research Engineering Credentials: The institutional research credentials developed through CHOP's and Penn's sophisticated programs — IRB compliance, clinical trial device management, FDA pre-submission engagement, and grant management — constitute a globally recognized professional development framework. Engineers at these institutions gain experience that is explicitly sought by device companies globally when hiring for regulatory, clinical affairs, and translational engineering roles.

West Pharmaceutical Services Combination Product Expertise: West Pharma's pharmaceutical packaging and drug delivery engineering programs develop combination product expertise — FDA's 21 CFR Part 3 jurisdiction determination, design controls for drug-device combinations, human factors engineering for injectable drug delivery systems — that is among the most concentrated in the eastern US outside of New Jersey's pharma corridor. West Pharma engineers develop credentials that transfer across the global pharmaceutical packaging and drug delivery industry.

📊 Job Market Outlook

Pennsylvania's biomedical engineering market is well-positioned for sustained growth, anchored by CHOP's expanding research enterprise, Penn Medicine's clinical growth, Pittsburgh's emerging robotics-medicine intersection, and the Route 202 corridor's pharmaceutical device manufacturing investment.

Penn Medicine's Expansion: Penn Medicine's capital program — including the Lancaster General Health expansion, multiple outpatient facility openings, and the UPHS (University of Pennsylvania Health System) extending into Delaware and New Jersey — is creating sustained clinical engineering demand beyond Penn's Philadelphia campus. Penn's active translation of CAR-T cell therapy and gene therapy (Penn's therapy programs are globally recognized) creates drug-device combination product engineering demand at the frontier of biologic medicine.

CMU's Robotics-Medicine Intersection: Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Center and Medical Robotics Technology Center are creating a Pittsburgh-specific niche in surgical robotics and AI-assisted clinical systems that complements CMU's software AI leadership. The CMU-UPMC collaboration on clinical AI is generating engineering positions at the intersection of machine learning and medical device integration that represent some of the most innovative work in the entire biomedical field.

5-Year Projection: Pennsylvania biomedical engineering employment is projected to grow 12–17% over five years. CHOP research, Penn Medicine expansion, CMU-UPMC AI collaboration, and Route 202 pharma investment will drive most growth. Total employment could approach 845–870 by 2029.

🕐 Day in the Life

Biomedical engineering in Pennsylvania operates in two distinct worlds — Philadelphia's dense, historically rich academic medicine corridor and Pittsburgh's rapidly modernizing, innovation-oriented post-industrial city — each offering compelling career environments shaped by the extraordinary institutions that define each region.

At CHOP (Philadelphia): Clinical engineers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia work in the world's most research-active pediatric institution. A day might involve calibrating a neonatal ECMO circuit's monitoring systems, coordinating with CHOP's cardiac surgery team on a new surgical visualization platform, and attending a multidisciplinary meeting on a pediatric neural stimulation device being developed through a CHOP-Penn collaborative research grant. The patient population's vulnerability — critically ill children for whom no adult solutions exist — creates an engineering culture that is both humble about the stakes and deeply committed to innovation when existing technology is insufficient.

At UPMC / Carnegie Mellon (Pittsburgh): Engineers at the UPMC-CMU intersection experience Pittsburgh's remarkable professional renaissance firsthand. Pittsburgh's identity as a post-steel-era innovation city — where the Mon Valley mills have been replaced by robotics labs and AI startups, and where UPMC has become the city's largest employer — creates an engineering environment where the old narrative of Pittsburgh's decline is irrelevant and the new narrative of reinvention is lived daily. A day might involve a morning session at CMU's Medical Robotics Technology Center reviewing simulation data for an autonomous surgical instrument, followed by an afternoon at UPMC's Center for Connected Medicine evaluating AI-driven diagnostic device integration with clinical workflows.

Lifestyle: Pennsylvania's lifestyle spans extraordinary range. Philadelphia's historical richness — the oldest American institutions (Penn, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philadelphia Museum of Art), the Italian Market, Reading Terminal Market, and the professional sports passion of Eagles/Phillies/Sixers/Flyers fans — creates an urban character with depth that few American cities can match at comparable costs. Pittsburgh's Great Allegheny Passage cycling trail, the Strip District's food markets, the Carnegie Museums, and the extraordinary geography of three rivers converging at the Point create a city that engineers who discover it frequently regard as the nation's most underrated major metro. Pennsylvania's central and northern regions — the Pocono Mountains, Bucks County, Lancaster's Amish country, the Laurel Highlands — offer outdoor recreation and small-community charm that sustain quality of life across the state's full geography.

🔄 Compare with Other States

See how Pennsylvania compares to other top states for biomedical engineering: