Liquid Cooling Engineer Salary in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ

This is the Data Center Headhunters salary guide.

BLS does not measure Liquid Cooling Engineer as its own occupation, so this page uses Mechanical Engineers (SOC 17-2141, broader occupation). The median annual wage in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ was $100,980 (BLS, May 2025), and the middle half earned $82,410 to $129,390. That is $3,130 below the national median of $104,110.

This is what we do all day: recruit data center professionals.

Broader occupation

Mechanical Engineers is a broader occupation based on the work described, not a separate data center wage series. BLS does not distinguish this title, experience level, shift, credentials or data center employers. Confirm the actual duties before using this comparison.

Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ

Mechanical Engineers, Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ, annual wages
Point	Annual wage	Meaning
10th percentile	$69,980	10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this.
25th percentile	$82,410	25% earned less than this.
Median	$100,980	Half earned less, half earned more.
75th percentile	$129,390	75% earned less than this.
90th percentile	$159,920	90% earned less than this.
Mean	$107,570	Average wage.

Mechanical Engineers, Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ, hourly wages
Point	Hourly wage	Meaning
10th percentile	$33.64	10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this.
25th percentile	$39.62	25% earned less than this.
Median	$48.55	Half earned less, half earned more.
75th percentile	$62.21	75% earned less than this.
90th percentile	$76.88	90% earned less than this.
Mean	$51.71	Average wage.

United States

Mechanical Engineers, United States, annual wages
Point	Annual wage	Meaning
10th percentile	$73,990	10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this.
25th percentile	$84,130	25% earned less than this.
Median	$104,110	Half earned less, half earned more.
75th percentile	$132,590	75% earned less than this.
90th percentile	$164,340	90% earned less than this.
Mean	$113,610	Average wage.

Mechanical Engineers, United States, hourly wages
Point	Hourly wage	Meaning
10th percentile	$35.57	10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this.
25th percentile	$40.45	25% earned less than this.
Median	$50.05	Half earned less, half earned more.
75th percentile	$63.75	75% earned less than this.
90th percentile	$79.01	90% earned less than this.
Mean	$54.62	Average wage.

What BLS wages cover: OEWS includes base rates, guaranteed pay, commissions and production incentives. It excludes on-call waiting or availability pay, overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits. The on-call exclusion covers time awaiting a call to work, not ordinary wages for hours actually worked. These are straight-time gross wages, not pure base salary or total compensation. Discuss per diem, travel and relocation separately. BLS pay-term definitions.

Employment: 3,660. Location quotient: 0.81.

Location quotient measures job concentration, not pay. A value above 1 means the occupation makes up a larger share of local jobs than it does nationally. It says nothing about wages.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. SOC 17-2141 Mechanical Engineers, Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ. Download metropolitan data (ZIP).

Pay relative to all occupations

Median for this occupation divided by the all-occupations median, same area, same annual basis
Measure	Value
This occupation, median	$100,980
All occupations (SOC 00-0000), median	$51,380
Relative wage	1.97 times

A ratio of 1.00 means the same median as all workers in the area. It is arithmetic on two BLS medians, not a BLS statistic.

Change since the prior BLS release

Median annual wage, same SOC and same BLS area code, two releases
Reference period	Median
May 2024	$102,300
May 2025	$100,980
Difference	-$1,320 (-1.3%)

Two published BLS values, shown as released. Not annualized, not adjusted for inflation, and BLS metro boundaries and survey panels can differ between releases.

What is inside the BLS pay figure

For construction and commissioning hires, separate expense reimbursements and overtime from straight-time pay. Check a project bonus on its actual terms. Guaranteed pay and production incentives count in BLS wages; discretionary nonproduction bonuses do not.

Pay components for Design & Engineering roles against the BLS wage definition
Component	In the BLS figure?	Note
Base rate and guaranteed pay	Included	BLS counts the "base rate" and "guaranteed pay".
Production and incentive pay	Included	BLS counts "incentive pay including commissions and production bonuses".
On-call waiting or availability pay	Left out	BLS excludes payment for time spent awaiting a call to work, not ordinary wages for hours actually worked. BLS on-call pay definition.
Overtime pay matters here	Left out	BLS excludes "overtime pay". Straight-time pay only.
Shift differentials	Left out	BLS excludes "shift differentials", so night and weekend premiums are not in the figure.
Project-completion and discretionary bonuses matters here	Depends on the terms	Guaranteed pay and production incentives are included. Discretionary nonproduction bonuses are excluded. Check how the payment is defined.
Per diem, travel and relocation matters here	Left out	BLS does not name these as wages. They are expense reimbursements and are not in the figure.
Benefits and employer costs	Left out	BLS excludes "employer costs for supplementary benefits".

Nearby and other areas

Recruiter's read

Qualitative, not from BLS data.

Liquid Cooling Engineer candidates are usually screened on cDUs, direct-to-chip, rear-door heat exchangers, immersion; facility water system design for high-density AI racks.

We usually find them through mechanical design firms; cooling OEMs ; HPC labs; neoclouds. We contact working people directly rather than relying on job applications.

Hiring Market Brief

A one-page brief for Liquid Cooling Engineer in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ: BLS pay, mapping and caveats.

Hiring Liquid Cooling Engineer in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ?

Pay is one input. Scope, license and travel decide whether the person says yes.

Start a Search Check an offer Browse jobs

Download the underlying data (JSON)

What the published rows say about Liquid Cooling Engineer pay in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ

Liquid Cooling Engineer maps to Mechanical Engineers, SOC 17-2141. For Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ, the May 2025 OEWS annual median is $100,980; the middle half runs from $82,410 to $129,390. This is a broader occupation, not a separate wage estimate for this exact job. BLS does not separate seniority titles that share this row. Clarify the systems this hire must own and where design responsibility ends and field support begins. The occupation estimate does not separately price a license, a platform or a travel requirement.

The middle-half spread is $46,980: $18,570 from the 25th percentile to the median and $28,410 from the median to the 75th. The upper interval is wider. Use these points to compare an offer, not to price a junior or senior hire. Percentiles are not experience bands, and this distribution alone does not explain why individual workers earn different amounts.

The local median is $3,130 below the national $104,110 on the same annual basis. Both rows cover SOC 17-2141 in May 2025. This is a wage comparison, not a cost-of-living adjustment or evidence of a separate data center premium.

Tucson, AZ reports a annual median of $99,750 for this occupation in May 2025. It is one of the two nearest usable metro reference points, measured from the Census area internal point. That is $1,230 below Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ's median.

Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ reports a annual median of $96,690 for this occupation in May 2025. It is one of the two nearest usable metro reference points, measured from the Census area internal point. That is $4,290 below Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ's median.

The highest exact national industry medians in the loaded SOC 17-2141 rows are Information at $175,610 and Oil and Gas Extraction at $169,020. These are May 2025 national occupation estimates, not local data center pay. The loaded data has no local industry-by-occupation breakdown, so it cannot rank industries within Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ.

The matched median moved from $102,300 in May 2024 to $100,980 in May 2025: $1,320 lower. Both rows use SOC 17-2141, area 38060 and the same annual basis. This is not adjusted for inflation or annualized, and it does not attribute the change to a particular employer.

OEWS includes base rates, guaranteed pay, commissions and production incentives. It excludes on-call waiting or availability pay, overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits. The on-call exclusion covers time awaiting a call to work, not ordinary wages for hours actually worked. This is neither pure base salary nor total compensation. Agree travel, per diem and relocation terms separately. No verified Liquid Cooling Engineer-specific allowance is in this occupation row, so none is added to the figures.

Questions about Liquid Cooling Engineer pay in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ

Which BLS row supports Liquid Cooling Engineer pay in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ?

Liquid Cooling Engineer maps to SOC 17-2141, Mechanical Engineers. The May 2025 annual median for Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ is $100,980. The broader mapping is not a separate survey of this niche title.

Does the figure cover the whole offer for Liquid Cooling Engineer?

OEWS includes base rates, guaranteed pay, commissions and production incentives. It excludes on-call waiting or availability pay, overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits. The on-call exclusion covers time awaiting a call to work, not ordinary wages for hours actually worked. Travel and relocation terms still need their own discussion; this row supplies no separate allowance.

Nearest-area selection uses Census Gazetteer internal points, not road distance. Source: 2025 Census Gazetteer.