Hardware Development Engineer H-1B salary at Apple — 627 certified filings (FY2017–FY2025)
- 10
- Filings · FY2025
- $155k
- Median base · FY2025
- $133k–$178k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +3%
- vs market median · all years
Apple filed 10 certified H-1B LCAs for Hardware Development Engineer in FY2025 (down 41% from the year before), with a median base salary of $155k and the middle 50% of offers between $133k and $178k. Across all years its $160k median is 3% above the $155k market median for Hardware Development Engineer. It has filed 627 Hardware Development Engineer LCAs since FY2017, most often in Cupertino, CA.
How much does Apple pay a Hardware Development Engineer?
Certified base salary for Hardware Development Engineer at Apple by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $155k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Apple pay Hardware Development Engineers above the market?
Apple's all-years median against every employer's certified Hardware Development Engineer LCAs — 3% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | 627 | $160k |
| All employers · Hardware Development Engineer | 711 | $155k |
How has Apple's Hardware Development Engineer hiring changed by year?
3 certified Hardware Development Engineer filings in FY2017 → 10 in FY2025. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 10 | −41% | $155k |
| FY2024 | 17 | −47% | $161k |
| FY2023 | 32 | −81% | $164k |
| FY2022 | 167 | +11% | $171k |
| FY2021 | 150 | −23% | $160k |
| FY2020 | 194 | +526% | $150k |
| FY2019 | 31 | +35% | $150k |
| FY2018 | 23 | +667% | $143k |
| FY2017 | 3 | — | $136k |
Which wage levels does Apple file for Hardware Development Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 80% of Apple's Hardware Development Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 546 Hardware Development Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level II19.8%108
- Level III44.3%242
- Level IV35.9%196
Where does Apple hire H-1B Hardware 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 | 616 | $160k |
| Colorado | 4 | $128k |
| Washington | 2 | $150k |
| Arizona | 1 | $148k |
| Georgia | 1 | $145k |
| Illinois | 1 | $144k |
| New Hampshire | 1 | $139k |
| Texas | 1 | $167k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Cupertino, CA | 527 | $160k |
| San Diego, CA | 33 | $140k |
| Sunnyvale, CA | 27 | $163k |
| Santa Clara, CA | 24 | $171k |
| Boulder, CO | 3 | $130k |
| Atlanta, GA | 1 | $145k |
| Austin, TX | 1 | $167k |
| Cupertino217, CA | 1 | $217k |
Also filed as
Apple's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Hardware Development Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Apple
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Software Development Engineer | 2,447 | $178k |
| Software Development Engineer - Applications | 1,921 | $175k |
| Software Engineering Applications | 1,165 | $181k |
| Machine Learning Engineer | 1,026 | $184k |
| Software Development Engineer - Systems | 1,026 | $175k |
| Software Development Engineering | 985 | $186k |
| Engineering Project Manager | 882 | $164k |
| ASIC Design Engineer | 845 | $149k |
| Software Development Engineer - Test | 741 | $172k |
| Software Engineering Systems | 734 | $179k |
Top Hardware Development Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Infinera | 10 | $91k |
| Waymo | 7 | $243k |
| Rockwell Automation | 6 | $75k |
| Ford Motor | 5 | $124k |
| A2z Development Center | 5 | $123k |
| IBM | 4 | $95k |
| Fortinet | 4 | $122k |
| Nokia of America | 4 | $114k |
| Flextronics International USA | 4 | $87k |
Common questions about Hardware Development Engineer H-1B pay at Apple
- How much does Apple pay a Hardware Development Engineer on an H-1B?
- Apple's median certified H-1B base salary for Hardware Development Engineer is $155k in FY2025, from 10 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $133k and $178k. Across all years the median is $160k.
- How many Hardware Development Engineer H-1B LCAs has Apple filed?
- Apple has 627 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Hardware Development Engineer on record (FY2017–FY2025), 10 of them in FY2025. That is 2% of its 36,424 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Apple pay Hardware Development Engineers above the market?
- Apple's all-years median of $160k is 3% above the $155k median for Hardware Development Engineer across all H-1B employers (711 certified filings).
- Where does Apple hire H-1B Hardware Development Engineers?
- Apple's Hardware Development Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Colorado, Washington; the top cities are Cupertino, CA, San Diego, CA, Sunnyvale, 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.
Keep exploring
Calculate your H-1B lottery odds →orCheck out the insights →
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification — certified LCA disclosure data through June 2026 (FY2017–FY2025). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →