Software Development Engineer H-1B salary at Adobe — 2,111 certified filings (FY2019–FY2026)
- 406
- Filings · FY2025
- $185k
- Median base · FY2025
- $160k–$213k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +27%
- vs market median · all years
Adobe filed 406 certified H-1B LCAs for Software Development Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $185k and the middle 50% of offers between $160k and $213k. Across all years its $163k median is 27% above the $129k market median for Software Development Engineer. It has filed 2,111 Software Development Engineer LCAs since FY2019, most often in San Jose, CA.
How much does Adobe pay a Software Development Engineer?
Certified base salary for Software Development Engineer at Adobe by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $185k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Adobe pay Software Development Engineers above the market?
Adobe's all-years median against every employer's certified Software Development Engineer LCAs — 27% above the market. Same cleaned DOL title, same base-salary definition, so the two rows compare like for like.
| Base salary for this title | Filings | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe | 2,111 | $163k |
| All employers · Software Development Engineer | 13,753 | $129k |
How has Adobe's Software Development Engineer hiring changed by year?
102 certified Software Development Engineer filings in FY2019 → 360 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 360 | −11% | $185k |
| FY2025 | 406 | +9% | $185k |
| FY2024 | 373 | +139% | $175k |
| FY2023 | 156 | −33% | $169k |
| FY2022 | 234 | −26% | $145k |
| FY2021 | 315 | +91% | $144k |
| FY2020 | 165 | +62% | $137k |
| FY2019 | 102 | — | $144k |
Which wage levels does Adobe file for Software Development Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 59% of Adobe's Software Development Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 1,478 Software Development Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I4.7%70
- Level II36.2%535
- Level III20.0%296
- Level IV39.0%577
Where does Adobe hire H-1B Software Development Engineers?
Worksite states and cities on the certified filings for this title, all years, with the median base salary at each.
| State | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| California | 1,502 | $171k |
| Washington | 196 | $155k |
| Utah | 143 | $118k |
| Texas | 127 | $128k |
| Massachusetts | 49 | $150k |
| New York | 49 | $148k |
| Oregon | 17 | $111k |
| Colorado | 8 | $132k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | 1,240 | $173k |
| Seattle, WA | 191 | $155k |
| San Francisco, CA | 177 | $160k |
| Lehi, UT | 138 | $118k |
| Austin, TX | 114 | $128k |
| New York, NY | 49 | $148k |
| Emeryville, CA | 35 | $145k |
| Waltham, MA | 29 | $177k |
Also filed as
Adobe's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Software Development Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Adobe
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Machine Learning Engineer | 449 | $175k |
| Product Manager | 265 | $163k |
| Data Science Engineer | 146 | $168k |
| Research Scientist/Engineer | 144 | $195k |
| User Experience Designer | 94 | $139k |
| Business Intelligence Analyst | 93 | $128k |
| Professional Services Consultant | 82 | $145k |
| Technical Support Engineer | 82 | $112k |
| Software Engineer | 72 | $131k |
| Mgr, Software Development | 67 | $230k |
Top Software Development Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | 2,447 | $178k |
| Expedia | 1,405 | $119k |
| Tesla | 437 | $140k |
| Zillow | 313 | $123k |
| Akvelon | 265 | $90k |
| Environmental Systems Research Institute | 228 | $110k |
| Workday | 225 | $129k |
| Fortinet | 218 | $133k |
| Nokia of America | 190 | $140k |
Common questions about Software Development Engineer H-1B pay at Adobe
- How much does Adobe pay a Software Development Engineer on an H-1B?
- Adobe's median certified H-1B base salary for Software Development Engineer is $185k in FY2025, from 406 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $160k and $213k. Across all years the median is $163k.
- How many Software Development Engineer H-1B LCAs has Adobe filed?
- Adobe has 2,111 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Software Development Engineer on record (FY2019–FY2026), 360 of them in FY2026. That is 32% of its 6,679 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Adobe pay Software Development Engineers above the market?
- Adobe's all-years median of $163k is 27% above the $129k median for Software Development Engineer across all H-1B employers (13,753 certified filings).
- Where does Adobe hire H-1B Software Development Engineers?
- Adobe's Software Development Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Washington, Utah; the top cities are San Jose, CA, Seattle, WA, San Francisco, CA.
- Does a certified LCA mean an H-1B visa was approved?
- No. A Labor Condition Application (LCA) is the Department of Labor attestation an employer must have certified before filing an H-1B petition with USCIS. It records the job, worksite and offered wage, but not whether the petition was filed, selected in the lottery, or approved. Filing counts measure intent to sponsor, not headcount.
- What salary do these figures show?
- The base annual wage offered on the certified LCA, converted to a yearly amount. Bonus, equity, overtime and benefits are not included, so total compensation is typically higher. Figures are medians and percentiles over certified filings; wages above $5,000,000 a year are excluded as data-entry errors.
- What do prevailing-wage levels I–IV mean?
- The Department of Labor assigns each LCA an OES wage level from I (entry) to IV (fully competent) for the occupation and area. Under the FY2027 wage-weighted H-1B lottery rule, a higher level earns more selection entries, so an employer's level mix is a proxy for how senior its sponsored roles are.
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Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification — certified LCA disclosure data through June 2026 (FY2019–FY2026). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →