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Specialty Profile · California

Staff Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering salary in California

A real-employer view of Staff Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering 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 4, 2026
Real disclosed salaries

Staff Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering in California: actual employer-disclosed pay

Public records from 7 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $119,538. 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 I — entry4$124,052
Level II — qualified2$128,000
Level III — experienced1$113,610

Top employers filing for this role

Companies with the most certified filings for Staff Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering in California. Median offer is across all of that employer's filings.

EmployerMost-filed titleFilingsMedian
Western Digital Technologies, Inc.Staff Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering4$124,052
Leland Stanford Jr. Univ/SLAC National Accelerator LabStaff Engineer 33$116,000

Recent sample filings

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

  • Staff Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering at Western Digital Technologies, Inc.
    $128,565
    San JoseWage Level IDecided Jul 7, 2025I-200-25178-137005
  • Staff Engineer 2 at Leland Stanford Jr. Univ/SLAC National Accelerator Lab
    $116,000
    Menlo ParkWage Level IIDecided Mar 27, 2025I-200-25079-790555
  • Staff Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering at Western Digital Technologies, Inc.
    $128,565
    San JoseWage Level IDecided Jul 7, 2025I-200-25178-137369
  • Staff Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering at Western Digital Technologies, Inc.
    $119,538
    FremontWage Level IDecided Apr 9, 2025I-200-25092-824497
  • Staff Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering at Western Digital Technologies, Inc.
    $119,538
    FremontWage Level IDecided Apr 9, 2025I-200-25092-824486
  • Staff Engineer 3 at Leland Stanford Jr. Univ/SLAC National Accelerator Lab
    $140,000
    Menlo ParkWage Level IIDecided Mar 11, 2025I-200-25063-743015
  • Staff Engineer 3 at Leland Stanford Jr. Univ/SLAC National Accelerator Lab
    $113,610
    Menlo ParkWage Level IIIDecided Oct 28, 2024I-200-24295-420760

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.