Staff Engineer salary in California
A real-employer view of Staff 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.
Staff Engineer in California: actual employer-disclosed pay
Public records from 268 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $158,078. 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 | 37 | $124,197 |
| Level II — qualified | 62 | $156,853 |
| Level III — experienced | 51 | $186,472 |
| Level IV — fully competent | 72 | $216,091 |
Top employers filing for this role
Companies with the most certified filings for Staff 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. | Staff Engineer | 39 | $156,853 |
| Western Digital Technologies, Inc. | Principal Engineer, Electronic Design Engineering | 34 | $145,371 |
| Sandisk Technologies, Inc. | Staff Engineer, Technology Development Engineering | 31 | $134,740 |
| Analog Devices, Inc. | Senior Engineer, Product Applications | 25 | $148,834 |
| SAMSUNG AUSTIN SEMICONDUCTOR,LLC | Staff Engineer | 21 | $216,091 |
| MediaTek USA Inc. | Senior Staff Engineer | 13 | $199,000 |
| Arm, Inc. | Staff Engineer | 10 | $181,303 |
| SAMSUNG AUSTIN SEMICONDUCTOR, LLC | Senior Engineer | 10 | $204,901 |
| EXIMIETAS DESIGN LLC | STAFF ENGINEER | 9 | $186,472 |
| TSMC Technology, Inc. | Principal Engineer | 8 | $167,430 |
Recent sample filings
A snapshot of recent certified offers. Each line is a real, public, verifiable record.
- Senior Engineer, VLSI Design Engineering at Sandisk Technologies, Inc.$127,234SunnyvaleWage Level IDecided —I-200-26084-728910
- Senior Staff Engineer at NXP USA, Inc.$200,000San JoseWage Level IIIDecided —I-200-26084-730534
- Staff Engineer at Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.$156,853San JoseWage Level IIDecided Mar 31, 2026I-200-26083-727047
- Senior Staff Engineer at MediaTek USA Inc.$200,000San JoseDecided Mar 30, 2026I-200-26082-721983
- Senior Engineer, Equipment Engineering at Western Digital Technologies, Inc.$121,500FremontWage Level IDecided Mar 27, 2026I-200-26079-720098
- Staff Engineer, AI/ML Software at Analog Devices, Inc.$242,000San JoseWage Level IVDecided Mar 27, 2026I-200-26079-719133
- Staff Engineer, Technology Development Engineering at Sandisk Technologies, Inc.$148,310MilpitasDecided Mar 27, 2026I-200-26079-720043
- Staff Engineer at SAMSUNG AUSTIN SEMICONDUCTOR,LLC$216,091San JoseWage Level IVDecided Mar 27, 2026I-200-26079-718629
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.