Project Engineer (Plant Engineering)

Salary band

Base salary, gross annual

25th percentile

€52,000

Median

€65,000

75th percentile

€85,000

For reference: the statutory minimum wage in Germany has stood at €13.90 gross per hour since January 1, 2026 — roughly €2,410 gross a month for a full-time role at 40 hours/week. (BMAS: Mindestlohn steigt zum 1. Januar 2026 auf 13,90 Euro)

Gross fixed salary per year for a Project Engineer in plant engineering, mechanical engineering or process engineering with 3-8 years of experience at a German SMB (50-500 employees). Southern Germany (Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria) and the greater Frankfurt and Hamburg areas pull the range up by 8-12 %; structurally weaker regions and eastern Germany pull it down by 5-10 %. Profiles bound by the IG Metall agreement (especially ERA grades EG 10 to EG 12) sit at the top of the range and enjoy regulated special payments (holiday pay, Christmas pay, T-Zug). Profiles with experience in regulated sectors (pharma under GMP, chemicals under BImSchG, food under IFS, energy under DIN VDE) also sit at the top. The role has no structural variable share; some companies pay a project-completion bonus of 3-8 % on achieved commissioning milestones.

Sources: Destatis Verdiensterhebung Ingenieurberufe (April 2025); StepStone Gehaltsreport Projektingenieur Deutschland 2026; IG Metall ERA-Entgelttabelle Baden-Württemberg 2026; VDI Ingenieurmonitor und VDI-Gehaltstest 2026