Software Engineer salary in California
A real-employer view of Software 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.
Software Engineer in California: actual employer-disclosed pay
Public records from 28 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $191,922. 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 | 5 | $160,000 |
| Level II — qualified | 13 | $190,500 |
| Level III — experienced | 2 | $206,716 |
| Level IV — fully competent | 4 | $254,999 |
Top employers filing for this role
Companies with the most certified filings for Software 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Platforms, Inc | Software Engineer | 3 | $266,970 |
| Nuro, Inc | Senior Software Engineer, Pose | 3 | $191,000 |
| Cadence Design Systems, Inc. | Lead Software Engineer (Computer and Information Research) | 2 | $164,403 |
| Intrinsic Innovation LLC | Software Engineer | 2 | $1,227,500 |
| Kiddom Inc | Software Engineer | 2 | $185,879 |
| KLA Corporation | Software Engineer | 2 | $196,074 |
| Zoox Inc. | Senior Software Engineer | 2 | $227,230 |
| Aurora Operations, Inc. | Staff Software Engineer | 1 | $202,000 |
| DiDi Research America, LLC | Senior Software Engineer | 1 | $191,922 |
| Google LLC | Software Engineer | 1 | $163,000 |
Recent sample filings
A snapshot of recent certified offers. Each line is a real, public, verifiable record.
- Senior Software Engineer, Pose at Nuro, Inc$260,000Mountain ViewWage Level IIDecided Mar 27, 2026I-200-26079-718504
- Senior Software Engineer at Kiddom Inc.$209,082San FranciscoWage Level IVDecided Mar 25, 2026I-200-26077-712424
- Senior Software Engineer, TCAD Research at Siemens Industry Software Inc.$195,000Santa ClaraWage Level IDecided Mar 24, 2026I-200-26076-710239
- Software Engineer, Senior at Samsung Research America, Inc.$119,870IrvineWage Level IIDecided Mar 23, 2026I-200-26075-705513
- Lead Software Engineer (Computer and Information Research) at Cadence Design Systems, Inc.$164,403San JoseWage Level IIDecided Mar 11, 2026I-200-26063-680093
- Lead Software Engineer (Computer and Information Research) at Cadence Design Systems, Inc.$164,403San JoseWage Level IIDecided Mar 11, 2026I-200-26063-680045
- Software Engineer at tekAssembly Corporation$135,000EmeryvilleWage Level IIDecided Feb 3, 2026I-200-26027-595436
- Software Engineer II, Platforms & Integrations at Woven by Toyota, U.S., Inc.$180,000Palo AltoWage Level IIDecided Jan 14, 2026I-200-26007-540479
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.