Electrical Engineering in Colorado

📊 Employment Overview

Colorado employs 3,230 electrical engineering professionals, representing approximately 1.7% of the national workforce in this field. Colorado ranks #21 nationally for electrical engineering employment.

💰 Salary Information

Electrical Engineering professionals in Colorado earn competitive salaries across all experience levels, with an average annual salary of $125,000.

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

🎓 Schools Offering Electrical Engineering

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🚀 Career Insights

Key information for electrical engineering professionals in Colorado.

🏢 Industry Landscape & Top Employers

Colorado's electrical engineering market — 3,230 engineers earning an average of $125,000 — is distinguished by a remarkable concentration of space and satellite technology, one of the nation's premier renewable energy research establishments, a growing semiconductor design community, and defense electronics programs rooted in Colorado's extensive military presence. The Denver-Boulder-Colorado Springs corridor forms a technology spine that supports some of the most advanced electrical engineering work in the country.

Major Employers: Lockheed Martin Space (Littleton) is one of Colorado's largest and most technically sophisticated employers — the company builds satellites (GPS IIF/III, GOES weather satellites), space vehicles, and classified national security space systems at its sprawling Jefferson County campus, employing hundreds of electrical engineers for avionics, power systems, RF communications, and space electronics. Ball Aerospace (Boulder) designs and manufactures instruments, sensors, and spacecraft for scientific and national security missions — including the instruments aboard the James Webb Space Telescope. Raytheon Technologies, Northrop Grumman, and United Launch Alliance (ULA, headquartered in Centennial) provide additional defense and space electronics employment. L3Harris has significant Colorado operations. In the energy sector, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden is the nation's premier clean energy research institution, employing electrical engineers and researchers working on photovoltaics, wind energy, grid integration, and electric vehicle charging technology. Xcel Energy, Colorado's largest utility, employs power systems engineers for its extensive transmission, distribution, and increasingly renewable generation portfolio.

Military Presence: Colorado is one of the most military-dense states in the country. Peterson Space Force Base and Schriever Space Force Base (Colorado Springs) are home to Space Command — the US military's newest service branch — and employ EEs directly and through contractors for satellite operations, space domain awareness, and missile warning systems. NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain Complex adds additional defense electronics work. Buckley Space Force Base (Aurora) handles satellite communications and intelligence operations.

Semiconductor & Tech: A growing semiconductor design community is forming in the Denver-Boulder area, with companies like Microchip Technology, Maxim Integrated, and numerous startups contributing to a diversifying tech base. The University of Colorado's research ecosystem feeds a strong tech startup pipeline.

📈 Career Growth & Pathways

Colorado's EE career paths are defined by its dominant sectors — space systems, defense electronics, and renewable energy — with the unique opportunity to work on programs of genuine national and scientific importance.

Typical Career Trajectory:

• Junior Electrical Engineer (0–2 years): $78,000–$100,000 — Entry at Lockheed Martin Space, Ball Aerospace, Xcel Energy, or the growing tech sector. Many Colorado programs require security clearances; beginning the investigation process early is important for engineers targeting defense and space work.
• Mid-Level Engineer (3–7 years): $100,000–$140,000 — Cleared space systems engineers with satellite power, RF, or avionics experience command strong premiums. Renewable energy EEs at NREL or in solar/wind development earn competitive compensation with the added appeal of mission-aligned work.
• Senior Engineer (7–12 years): $140,000–$185,000 — System-level leadership on major satellite or defense programs. Total compensation at Lockheed Martin Space and Ball Aerospace for senior cleared engineers often includes performance bonuses and strong benefits packages.
• Principal/Fellow Engineer (12+ years): $185,000–$250,000+ — Technical authorities at premier Colorado defense and space companies represent the career apex, often holding program technical authority roles on classified national security programs.

Space Systems Premium: Colorado's space industry creates uniquely differentiated career opportunities — few places in the world offer the chance to design electronics for satellites operating in geosynchronous orbit. EEs who develop expertise in space-grade component selection, radiation hardness, thermal vacuum testing, and spacecraft power systems build credentials that are extremely scarce and highly compensated globally.

Renewable Energy Track: NREL and Colorado's clean energy industry offer a distinct career path for EEs motivated by environmental mission. Power electronics engineers designing next-generation solar inverters, grid-forming storage systems, and EV charging infrastructure find Colorado a national leader in their specialization.

💰 Salary vs. Cost of Living

Colorado's $125,000 average EE salary represents strong compensation, though the Denver metro's rapid growth has elevated housing costs significantly — requiring analysis of the full cost picture.

Denver Metro: Cost of living roughly 20–30% above the national average, driven primarily by housing appreciation since 2015. Median home prices of $530,000–$650,000 in desirable suburbs represent a significant barrier to entry for first-time buyers. Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Denver proper averages $1,700–$2,300/month. Engineers often prioritize communities like Englewood, Lakewood, or Aurora for better price-to-access ratios.

Boulder: More expensive than Denver — median home prices exceeding $750,000 — but Ball Aerospace and the University of Colorado ecosystem make it the center of Colorado's research and space technology community. Many engineers commute from adjacent communities (Louisville, Lafayette, Longmont) for better housing value.

Colorado Springs: Significantly more affordable (median homes $380,000–$480,000, cost of living 5–15% above national average) while hosting a dense concentration of defense and space electronics employers — Peterson SFB, Schriever SFB, and dozens of military contractors. Represents the best value proposition in Colorado for cleared defense EEs.

Tax Note: Colorado levies a flat 4.4% personal income tax — lower than most coastal states but worth factoring against no-income-tax states like neighboring Wyoming or Texas. At $125,000, this represents approximately $5,500 in state taxes annually.

📜 Licensing & Professional Development

Colorado's EE professional development landscape prioritizes space and defense credentials, renewable energy certifications, and PE licensure for power utility and building electrical roles.

The Colorado State Board of Licensure for Architects, Professional Engineers, and Professional Land Surveyors administers PE licensure via the standard FE → 4 Years Experience → PE pathway. Colorado has reciprocity with most other states and a well-organized licensing process.

Credentials with Highest Value in Colorado:

• DOD Security Clearances (TS/SCI): The defining credential for Colorado's space and defense electronics community. Engineers at Lockheed Martin Space, Ball Aerospace, and Space Force contractors who hold TS/SCI clearances access the most significant programs and the highest compensation brackets.
• Space Systems Engineering Certifications (INCOSE): Systems engineering credentials from INCOSE (International Council on Systems Engineering) are valued at Lockheed Martin and Ball Aerospace for engineers working at the system integration level across spacecraft disciplines.
• NABCEP Solar PV / Wind Energy Certifications: Colorado is a leading solar and wind state, and NREL's presence means high standards for renewable energy engineering competency. NABCEP credentials are respected across the state's clean energy community.
• Certified Energy Manager (CEM): Valued for Xcel Energy engineers and corporate energy engineering roles across Colorado's large industrial and commercial sector.
• IPC / PCB Design Certifications: Relevant for engineers at Ball Aerospace and smaller Colorado electronics manufacturers producing high-reliability hardware for space and defense applications.

Education: The University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado State University (Fort Collins), and the Colorado School of Mines (Golden — particularly strong in energy engineering) are the primary EE feeders. CU Boulder's proximity to Ball Aerospace and NREL, and Colorado School of Mines' energy focus, create powerful direct pipelines into Colorado's dominant sectors.

📊 Job Market Outlook

Colorado's electrical engineering market is positioned for continued growth, driven by the Space Force's expanding mission, commercial space industry growth, renewable energy investment, and the state's improving semiconductor and tech ecosystems.

Space Force Expansion: The establishment of Space Force as the sixth US military branch, headquartered in Colorado (along with Space Command at Peterson SFB), is driving sustained investment in space domain awareness, satellite communications, and missile warning systems. Colorado's defense and space contractors are directly aligned to benefit from this generational investment in US space capabilities.

Commercial Space: Colorado's commercial space sector is growing alongside the military side — United Launch Alliance, Sierra Space (Louisville), and numerous smaller companies are developing next-generation launch vehicles, reusable spacecraft, and in-space propulsion systems. The adjacent supply chain (electronics, power systems, avionics) creates electrical engineering demand well beyond the prime contractors.

Clean Energy Grid Transformation: Xcel Energy has committed to 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050 and is investing heavily in wind, solar, and grid-scale storage. NREL continues to receive federal research funding for next-generation energy technology. Colorado's renewable energy transition is one of the most ambitious in the nation, creating sustained demand for power systems electrical engineers.

Workforce Projection: Colorado is expected to add 1,000–1,800 EE positions over the next five years, with space systems, defense electronics, and renewable energy driving the largest share of growth. The state's strong lifestyle advantages make it effective at attracting and retaining engineering talent from around the nation.

🕐 Day in the Life

Electrical engineering in Colorado combines technically ambitious work with one of the most enviable outdoor lifestyles in the United States — a combination that makes Colorado consistently rank among the top states for engineering talent attraction and retention.

At Lockheed Martin Space (Littleton): Engineers arrive at a campus that literally builds GPS satellites — the same satellites that provide global positioning for billions of devices worldwide. Daily work might involve designing power conditioning circuits for satellite solar arrays, performing radiation dose analyses for electronic components in geosynchronous orbit, or setting up thermal vacuum testing for a spacecraft panel. The rigor required for space-grade hardware — where you cannot reach up and repair a failure in orbit — shapes a culture of meticulous design, analysis, and testing.

At NREL (Golden): Research engineers work in a campus nestled against the Flatirons, running experiments on next-generation photovoltaic cells, developing grid simulation models, or designing hardware for EV charging research. The mission-aligned culture attracts engineers who want their technical work to have direct environmental impact. Daily interactions with researchers from national labs, universities, and industry create an intellectually vibrant environment.

Lifestyle: Colorado's outdoor recreation is genuinely exceptional and accessible in a way that no coastal state can match. Ski resorts (Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin) are 1–2 hours from Denver metro, and many engineers ski on weekday morning powder days. Summer brings hiking 14ers (54 peaks exceeding 14,000 feet), mountain biking, kayaking, and camping across some of the most spectacular mountain terrain in North America. Boulder's Pearl Street Mall, Denver's RiNo arts district, and Colorado Springs' historic downtown provide urban amenities. The combination of outdoor access and growing urban sophistication makes Colorado one of the most sought-after engineering destinations in the nation.

🔄 Compare with Other States

See how Colorado compares to other top states for electrical engineering: