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Healthcare technology · Technology

Medical device firmware engineer: salary vs freelance rates

Builds embedded software for medical devices under appropriate development controls, connecting requirements, tests, traceability, and qualified safety or regulatory review rather than informal prototyping alone.

U.S. employee wage reference

$135,980 / year

Software Developers · May 2025 national median

Illustrative freelance rate

$142.49 / hour

To replace this wage plus $15K benefits, with 1,200 billable hours/year, $20K business costs, and no percentage fees. Before personal taxes.

The wage is for the named occupation; the hourly rate is a planning calculation, not a surveyed freelance price for this specialty. Adjust the assumptions below.

Calculate my freelance rate →

Working in this sector

Technology work does not authorize clinical care, diagnosis, treatment, or unrestricted patient-data use; use synthetic portfolio records, verify role qualifications, and retain qualified clinical, privacy, and regulatory review.

Skills that make the work valuable

  • Device firmware requirement traceability
  • Embedded fault simulation
  • Synthetic health-data testing
  • Qualified clinical review coordination

Build proof, not just a list

Create a clearly nonclinical local device simulation with synthetic inputs, requirement links, failure tests, and explicit separation from usable medical equipment.

How to price this work as a freelancer

Require appropriate competence; define firmware, environment, controls, tests, and qualified review; exclude unapproved patient use. Agree the inputs, deliverable, review rounds, and acceptance criteria before quoting. Include preparation, specialist review, equipment or licensing costs, and handover time where relevant. Price ongoing support separately from the initial engagement.

Start with the income you need to replace

Required hourly rate = (target salary + benefits budget + annual business expenses) ÷ (annual billable hours × share of revenue retained after fees).

For illustration, $100/hour × 25 billable hours/week × 48 working weeks = $120,000 revenue. After $20,000 in business expenses, that leaves $100,000 profit before personal taxes. Replacing a $100,000 salary plus $15,000 in benefits under those assumptions takes $112.50/hour, with no percentage fees.

These are editable planning assumptions, not rates surveyed for medical device firmware engineer work. Your personal taxes, location, contract terms, and workload still affect the comparison.

Employee or freelancer?

Working as an employee

Employment may provide clinical partners, approved systems, governed data, professional supervision, training, and institutional review that an independent specialist cannot assume will be available. Compare the actual role scope, supervision, benefits, working hours, and access to tools with the cited occupation reference.

Running a freelance business

Independent healthcare specialists must price authorized discovery, synthetic testing, documentation, clinical coordination, access approvals, insurance, and careful handover without promising medical or regulatory outcomes. For this specialty: Require appropriate competence; define firmware, environment, controls, tests, and qualified review; exclude unapproved patient use.

Where this career could take you

  1. 01Relevant education and supervised practice
  2. 02Medical device firmware engineer
  3. 03Healthcare technology practice lead or independent specialist

An example path, with room for lateral moves or specialization. Progression depends on opportunities and demonstrated work; these steps do not imply a timetable or salary increase.

Try one small next step

Simulate one fictional sensor fault and document how its technical behavior would require safety review.