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 104 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $125,139. 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 | $103,000 |
| Level II — qualified | 37 | $126,942 |
| Level III — experienced | 16 | $148,339 |
| Level IV — fully competent | 9 | $175,000 |
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. Click a company for its full H-1B salary breakdown.
| Employer | Most-filed title | Filings | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope | Staff Scientist | 15 | $86,589 |
| Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Scientist, Inflammation | 11 | $120,078 |
| Genentech, Inc. | Scientist | 10 | $127,544 |
| Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute | Staff Scientist | 7 | $78,749 |
| City of Hope National Medical Center | Staff Scientist | 5 | $86,979 |
| AbbVie Biotherapeutics Inc. | Scientist II, Bioanalytic | 3 | $129,669 |
| AbbVie Inc. | Scientist I | 3 | $136,376 |
| Amgen Inc. | Principal Scientist | 3 | $145,000 |
| Exelixis, Inc | Scientist III | 3 | $125,000 |
| Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc. | Senior Scientist II | 3 | $120,078 |
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 JollaWage Level IDecided Mar 24, 2026I-200-26077-710691
- Staff Scientist at City of Hope National Medical Center$110,000DuarteDecided Mar 13, 2026I-200-26066-687170
- Staff Scientist at Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope$80,443DuarteDecided Mar 6, 2026I-200-26058-671156
- Senior Scientist, Research at Animate Biosciences, Inc.$126,942AlamedaWage Level IIDecided Feb 23, 2026I-203-26047-644000
- Senior Scientist II at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc.$125,278EmeryvilleWage Level IIDecided Feb 17, 2026I-202-26040-628380
- Principal Scientist at Amgen Inc.$156,000Thousand OaksWage Level IVDecided Feb 12, 2026I-200-26036-621903
- Scientist (Biomarker Development) at Genentech, Inc.$126,942South San FranciscoWage Level IIDecided Jan 14, 2026I-200-26007-541363
- Scientist at Genentech, Inc.$125,278South San FranciscoWage Level IIDecided Dec 23, 2025I-200-25350-488989
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.