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.
Staff Scientist in California: actual employer-disclosed pay
Public records from 97 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $125,000. 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 I — entry | 22 | $99,858 |
| Level II — qualified | 27 | $125,000 |
| Level III — experienced | 16 | $148,339 |
| Level IV — fully competent | 8 | $176,500 |
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.
| Employer | Most-filed title | Filings | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope | Staff Scientist | 12 | $87,006 |
| Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Scientist, Inflammation | 11 | $120,078 |
| Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute | Staff Scientist | 10 | $77,168 |
| Genentech, Inc. | Scientist | 8 | $134,823 |
| AbbVie Inc. | Scientist I | 3 | $136,376 |
| City of Hope National Medical Center | Staff Scientist | 3 | $80,443 |
| AbbVie Biotherapeutics Inc. | Senior Scientist, CMC Purification | 3 | $129,669 |
| Exelixis, Inc | Scientist III (Formulations) | 3 | $125,000 |
| Exelixis, Inc. | Scientist III | 2 | $156,692 |
| Amgen Inc. | Sr. Scientist | 2 | $142,281 |
Recent sample filings
A snapshot of recent certified offers. Each line is a real, public, verifiable record.
- Staff Scientist at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute$78,749La JollaDecided Dec 26, 2025I-200-25352-493772
- Scientist at Genentech, Inc.$125,278South San FranciscoDecided Dec 23, 2025I-200-25350-488989
- Associate Scientist I at Coherence Neuro Global, Inc.$125,278San FranciscoDecided Nov 28, 2025I-200-25324-424286
- Senior Scientist, Early Discovery at Eureka Therapeutics, Inc.$130,000EmeryvilleDecided Nov 24, 2025I-200-25321-412967
- Senior Scientist at Conception Biosciences, Inc.$140,000BerkeleyDecided Nov 21, 2025I-200-25318-408200
- Scientist 3 at Genentech, Inc.$128,146South San FranciscoDecided Nov 19, 2025I-203-25316-402156
- Scientist I at AbbVie Inc.$109,765South San FranciscoDecided Nov 14, 2025I-200-25307-359350
- Scientist III at Exelixis, Inc.$129,323AlamedaDecided Nov 5, 2025I-200-25269-338113
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.