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Specialty Profile · California

Staff Scientist salary in California

A real-employer view of Staff 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.

Adrian Serafin, founder and editor of RateOrchardBy Adrian SerafinFounderUpdated May 5, 2026
Real disclosed salaries

Staff Scientist in California: actual employer-disclosed pay

Public records from 4 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $139,301. 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 II — qualified2$170,602
Level III — experienced1$108,000
Level IV — fully competent1$99,840

Top employers filing for this role

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

EmployerMost-filed titleFilingsMedian
Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLCStaff Scientist2$170,602
Southern California Coastal Water Research ProjectScientist1$108,000
Leidos, Inc.Scientist, Earth Intelligence1$99,840

Recent sample filings

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

  • Scientist at Southern California Coastal Water Research Project
    $108,000
    Costa MesaWage Level IIIDecided Jul 24, 2025I-200-25198-182668
  • Scientist, Earth Intelligence at Leidos, Inc.
    $99,840
    BishopWage Level IVDecided Jun 20, 2025I-200-25163-084023
  • Staff Scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC
    $170,602
    LivermoreWage Level IIDecided Jun 4, 2025I-200-25148-025261
  • Staff Scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC
    $170,602
    LivermoreWage Level IIDecided Jun 4, 2025I-200-25148-024711

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 Only certified filings are shown — denied and withdrawn cases are excluded.