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Specialty Profile · California

R&D Engineer salary in California

A real-employer view of R&D Engineer pay, clustered from DOL OFLC certified filings. Variants like Senior, Lead, and II/III titles fold into this cluster — the wage range below reflects all of them.

Adrian Serafin, founder and editor of RateOrchardBy Adrian SerafinFounderUpdated May 4, 2026
Real disclosed salaries

R&D Engineer in California: actual employer-disclosed pay

Public records from 15 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $112,421. Every figure below is an actual offered salary an employer attested to under federal law.

By DOL wage level

DOL classifies every offer into one of four wage levels based on the role's experience and skill requirements.

LevelFilingsMedian offer
Level I — entry2$86,926
Level II — qualified5$106,080
Level III — experienced5$139,050
Level IV — fully competent2$145,632

Top employers filing for this role

Companies with the most certified filings for R&D Engineer in California. Median offer is across all of that employer's filings.

EmployerMost-filed titleFilingsMedian
Medtronic, Inc.Sr. R&D Engineer5$108,493
Align Technology IncR&D Engineer III2$154,525
VEROTECH SOLUTIONS, LLCSenior R&D Engineer2$106,080
Contego Medical, Inc.Senior R&D Engineer1$166,546
Align Technology, Inc.R&D Engineer1$134,622
Sonomotion Inc.R&D Engineer1$95,000
AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.R&D Engineer1$112,421
Eckert & Ziegler Isotope Products, Inc.R&D Engineer1$78,853
Populus Group LLCSr. R&D Engineer1$187,200

Recent sample filings

A snapshot of recent certified offers. Each line is a real, public, verifiable record.

  • Senior R&D Engineer at Contego Medical, Inc.
    $166,546
    Santa ClaraWage Level IVDecided Sep 16, 2025I-200-25252-296537
  • Sr. R&D Engineer at Medtronic, Inc.
    $121,805
    San DiegoDecided Sep 4, 2025I-200-25239-270675
  • R&D Engineer at Align Technology, Inc.
    $134,622
    San JoseWage Level IIIDecided May 22, 2025I-200-25135-983027
  • R&D Engineer at Sonomotion Inc.
    $95,000
    San MateoWage Level IDecided May 21, 2025I-200-25134-974233
  • R&D Engineer II at Medtronic, Inc.
    $92,290
    Santa AnaWage Level IIDecided May 8, 2025I-200-25121-927476
  • R&D Engineer at AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    $112,421
    La JollaWage Level IIDecided May 6, 2025I-200-25120-919266
  • R&D Engineer at Eckert & Ziegler Isotope Products, Inc.
    $78,853
    ValenciaWage Level IDecided Apr 30, 2025I-200-25113-897565
  • R&D Engineer II at Medtronic, Inc.
    $92,290
    NorthridgeWage Level IIDecided Apr 30, 2025I-200-25113-895480

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification. Disclosed wages reflect what employers attested to pay; actual paid wages may differ. Only certified filings are shown — denied and withdrawn cases are excluded.