Research Engineer salary in California
A real-employer view of Research 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.
Research Engineer in California: actual employer-disclosed pay
Public records from 11 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $120,000. 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.
| Level | Filings | Median offer |
|---|---|---|
| Level I — entry | 2 | $115,000 |
| Level II — qualified | 4 | $125,500 |
| Level III — experienced | 4 | $121,000 |
| Level IV — fully competent | 1 | $125,000 |
Top employers filing for this role
Companies with the most certified filings for Research Engineer in California. Median offer is across all of that employer's filings. Click a company for its full H-1B salary breakdown.
| Employer | Most-filed title | Filings | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Leland Stanford, Jr University | Research Engineer | 8 | $122,000 |
| Alphatec Spine Inc. | Research Engineer, Data Analytics | 1 | $104,000 |
| California Institute of Technology | Research Engineer | 1 | $95,000 |
| iota Biosciences Inc. | Senior Research Engineer | 1 | $147,022 |
Recent sample filings
A snapshot of recent certified offers. Each line is a real, public, verifiable record.
- Research Engineer at California Institute of Technology$95,000PasadenaWage Level IIIDecided Mar 17, 2026I-200-26069-693996
- Research Engineer at The Leland Stanford, Jr University$118,000StanfordWage Level IIIDecided Nov 14, 2025I-200-25308-371232
- Research Engineer, Data Analytics at Alphatec Spine Inc.$104,000CarlsbadWage Level IIDecided May 13, 2025I-200-25126-941928
- Senior Research Engineer at iota Biosciences Inc.$147,022AlamedaWage Level IIDecided Apr 30, 2025I-200-25113-896014
- Research Engineer at The Leland Stanford, Jr University$120,000StanfordWage Level IDecided Apr 10, 2025I-200-25093-830540
- Research Engineer at The Leland Stanford, Jr University$140,000Palo AltoWage Level IIDecided Mar 19, 2025I-200-25071-769304
- Research Engineer at The Leland Stanford, Jr University$124,000StanfordWage Level IIIDecided Mar 6, 2025I-200-25058-730645
- Research Engineer at The Leland Stanford, Jr University$111,000StanfordWage Level IIDecided Oct 4, 2024I-200-24272-372174
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.