Lead / Director Graphic Designers salary in California
Roles that direct strategy, lead teams, or hold full functional ownership. Typically ten or more years of experience or a Director-class title with budget responsibility.
Lead / Director Graphic Designers in California: actual employer-disclosed pay
Public records from 220 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $175,800. 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 IV — fully competent | 220 | $175,800 |
Top employers filing for this role
Companies with the most certified filings for Lead / Director Graphic Designers in California. Median offer is across all of that employer's filings.
| Employer | Most-filed title | Filings | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google LLC | UX Designer | 26 | $205,500 |
| Apple Inc. | Human Interface Designer | 24 | $166,600 |
| Meta Platforms, Inc | Product Designer | 24 | $209,277 |
| Rubrik, Inc. | Senior Product Designer | 7 | $160,000 |
| Intuit Inc. | Staff Product Designer | 7 | $186,008 |
| Riot Games, Inc. | Illustration Artist II | 6 | $94,058 |
| Ingram Micro Inc. | Sr. Product Designer | 5 | $105,500 |
| LinkedIn Corporation | Staff Product Designer | 4 | $181,000 |
| IDEO LLC | Interaction Design Lead | 4 | $122,387 |
| Asana, Inc. | Product Designer | 3 | $223,000 |
Recent sample filings
A snapshot of recent certified offers. Each line is a real, public, verifiable record.
- UX Designer, Xcode and Tools at Apple Inc.$181,000CupertinoWage Level IVDecided Sep 30, 2025I-203-25267-330096
- Senior User Researcher at Rubrik, Inc.$180,000Palo AltoWage Level IVDecided Sep 24, 2025I-200-25260-316400
- Senior Designer at Quanata, LLC$187,117San FranciscoWage Level IVDecided Sep 22, 2025I-200-25258-308989
- Vice President, Group Creative Director at Razorfish LLC$167,100El SegundoWage Level IVDecided Sep 19, 2025I-203-25255-306676
- Marcom Art Director at Apple Inc.$146,910SunnyvaleWage Level IVDecided Sep 19, 2025I-200-25255-304594
- UX Designer at Google LLC$242,000Moffett FieldWage Level IVDecided Sep 18, 2025I-200-25254-302233
- Director, Product Design at LinkedIn Corporation$265,000SunnyvaleWage Level IVDecided Sep 18, 2025I-200-25254-302798
- Human Interface Designer at Apple Inc.$181,100CupertinoWage Level IVDecided Sep 11, 2025I-202-25247-285827
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.