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Seniority Profile · California

Senior Chemical Engineers salary in California

Roles that require seasoned judgement and the ability to lead projects without supervision. Typically five to ten years of experience and a track record of complete ownership.

Adrian Serafin, founder and editor of RateOrchardBy Adrian SerafinFounderUpdated May 4, 2026
BLS percentile range
MEDIAN to P75 of the California OES distribution for Chemical Engineers.
DOL OFLC offered median
$139,223
Across 50 certified filings at this wage level.
Real disclosed salaries

Senior Chemical Engineers in California: actual employer-disclosed pay

Public records from 50 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $139,223. 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 III — experienced50$139,223

Top employers filing for this role

Companies with the most certified filings for Senior Chemical Engineers in California. Median offer is across all of that employer's filings.

EmployerMost-filed titleFilingsMedian
Tesla, Inc.Sr. Materials Engineer6$154,500
Western Digital Technologies, Inc.Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering6$162,344
Applied Materials, IncProcess Engineer3$129,983
Apple Inc.Battery Algorithm Simulation Engineer3$143,100
Amgen Inc.Process Development Senior Scientist3$138,445
Sandisk Technologies, Inc.Staff Engineer, Technology Development Engineering2$151,070
Arelac, Inc.Plant Engineer2$124,561
Terasaki Institute for Biomedical InnovationAssistant Professor1$95,000
Bayer HealthCare LLCSenior Validation Specialist, Quality Control1$145,000
California Institute of Technology/Jet Propulsion LaboratoryTechnologist1$125,632

Recent sample filings

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

  • Assistant Professor at Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation
    $95,000
    Woodland Hills,Wage Level IIIDecided Sep 24, 2025I-200-25260-315287
  • Senior Validation Specialist, Quality Control at Bayer HealthCare LLC
    $145,000
    BerkeleyWage Level IIIDecided Aug 27, 2025I-200-25232-255940
  • Technologist at California Institute of Technology/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    $125,632
    PasadenaWage Level IIIDecided Aug 21, 2025I-200-25226-242743
  • Sr. Manufacturing Planner/Scheduler at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.
    $151,070
    SunnyvaleWage Level IIIDecided Aug 13, 2025I-202-25218-225375
  • Sr Staff Engineer, Chemical at Atlas Data Storage, Inc.
    $200,000
    South San FranciscoWage Level IIIDecided Aug 12, 2025I-200-25217-222200
  • Sr. Project Manager at Parker Hannifin Corporation
    $133,432
    OxnardWage Level IIIDecided Jul 31, 2025I-200-25205-198031
  • Staff Engineer, Technology Development Engineering at Sandisk Technologies, Inc.
    $151,070
    MilpitasWage Level IIIDecided Jul 14, 2025I-200-25188-157297
  • Staff Engineer, Technology Development Engineering at Sandisk Technologies, Inc.
    $151,070
    San JoseWage Level IIIDecided Jul 14, 2025I-200-25188-157303

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.