Senior Scientist salary in California
A real-employer view of Senior Scientist 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.
Senior Scientist in California: actual employer-disclosed pay
Public records from 86 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $131,840. 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 | 3 | $82,775 |
| Level II — qualified | 18 | $104,336 |
| Level III — experienced | 30 | $128,939 |
| Level IV — fully competent | 24 | $152,984 |
Top employers filing for this role
Companies with the most certified filings for Senior Scientist in California. Median offer is across all of that employer's filings.
| Employer | Most-filed title | Filings | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Senior Scientist, Analytical Ops | 11 | $152,984 |
| Arcus Biosciences, Inc. | Senior Scientist | 6 | $146,492 |
| Amgen Inc. | Senior Scientist | 5 | $157,108 |
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | Sr. Scientist, Product Development-Late Stage | 4 | $98,365 |
| Genentech, Inc. | Scientist | 4 | $152,984 |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb Company | Senior Scientist | 4 | $142,434 |
| Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc. | Principal Scientist I | 3 | $129,251 |
| Cytokinetics, Inc. | Senior Scientist I | 2 | $141,470 |
| Danisco US Inc. | Senior Scientist I | 2 | $97,700 |
| Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. | Scientist III, Chemistry | 2 | $116,500 |
Recent sample filings
A snapshot of recent certified offers. Each line is a real, public, verifiable record.
- Scientist II at VITAE ENIM VITAE SCIENTIFIC INC.$85,280San DiegoDecided Dec 30, 2025I-200-25356-501891
- Sr Associate Scientist, QC PDM at Gilead Sciences, Inc.$148,117Foster CityDecided Dec 23, 2025I-200-25350-485640
- Sr. Principal Scientist at Amgen Inc.$193,151Thousand OaksDecided Dec 10, 2025I-200-25337-453878
- Sr. Scientist, Product Development-Late Stage at Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.$108,600San DiegoDecided Dec 9, 2025I-200-25336-449546
- Scientist I, Organic Chemistry at Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc.$117,266Menlo ParkDecided Dec 3, 2025I-200-25330-438778
- Scientist II, Chemistry at Insitro, Inc.$148,117South San FranciscoDecided Nov 26, 2025I-200-25323-422097
- Sr. Scientist, Product Development-Late Stage at Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.$108,600San DiegoDecided Nov 25, 2025I-200-25322-418436
- Associate Scientist at Formurex, Inc.$62,000StocktonWage Level IDecided Sep 5, 2025I-200-25240-274958
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.