Senior Software Engineer salary in California
A real-employer view of Senior 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.
Senior Software Engineer in California: actual employer-disclosed pay
Public records from 34 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $198,000. 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 II — qualified | 4 | $150,500 |
| Level III — experienced | 17 | $192,830 |
| Level IV — fully competent | 13 | $221,375 |
Top employers filing for this role
Companies with the most certified filings for Senior 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuro, Inc | Software Engineer | 10 | $207,500 |
| RIVIAN AUTOMOTIVE, LLC | Sr. Software Engineer, Perception, Autonomy | 5 | $211,551 |
| Lucid USA, Inc. | Sr. Software Engineer, Middleware QA Tools | 3 | $142,854 |
| Rivian Automotive, LLC | Sr. Software Engineer, HIL Automation, Autonomy | 3 | $205,076 |
| Zoox, Inc. | Senior Software Engineer | 3 | $221,375 |
| Aurora Operations, Inc. | Senior Software Engineer | 2 | $150,500 |
| DiDi Research America, LLC | Senior Software Engineer | 2 | $157,050 |
| General Motors | Senior Software Engineer | 2 | $190,699 |
| Tesla, Inc. | Staff Software Engineer | 2 | $250,000 |
| Archer Aviation Operating Corp. | Sr. Software Engineer, Electric Engine | 1 | $180,000 |
Recent sample filings
A snapshot of recent certified offers. Each line is a real, public, verifiable record.
- Software Engineer at General Motors$200,000Mountain ViewWage Level IVDecided Mar 18, 2026I-200-26070-696683
- Sr. Software Engineer, Behavior Verification at Nuro, Inc$230,000Mountain ViewWage Level IVDecided Jan 27, 2026I-200-26020-572470
- Senior Software Engineer, HIL Automation, Autonomy at RIVIAN AUTOMOTIVE, LLC$210,000Palo AltoWage Level IIIDecided Jan 9, 2026I-200-26002-530568
- Senior Software Engineer at Zoox, Inc.$230,000Foster CityWage Level IVDecided Nov 26, 2025I-200-25323-421311
- Software Engineer at Nuro, Inc$195,000Mountain ViewWage Level IVDecided Nov 24, 2025I-200-25321-414471
- Software Engineer, Infrastructure III at Dexterity, Inc.$126,131Redwood CityWage Level IIDecided Sep 18, 2025I-200-25254-303055
- Sr. Software Engineer, Autonomy at Nuro, Inc$220,000Mountain ViewWage Level IVDecided Sep 4, 2025I-200-25239-271665
- Senior Software Engineer, Autonomy at Nuro, Inc$230,000Mountain ViewWage Level IVDecided Jul 24, 2025I-200-25198-181959
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.