Lead Design Engineer H-1B salary at Cadence Design Systems — 87 certified filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 7
- Filings · FY2025
- $136k
- Median base · FY2025
- $119k–$151k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +3%
- vs market median · all years
Cadence Design Systems filed 7 certified H-1B LCAs for Lead Design Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $136k and the middle 50% of offers between $119k and $151k. Across all years its $120k median is 3% above the $117k market median for Lead Design Engineer. It has filed 87 Lead Design Engineer LCAs since FY2016, most often in San Jose, CA.
How much does Cadence Design Systems pay a Lead Design Engineer?
Certified base salary for Lead Design Engineer at Cadence Design Systems by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $136k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Cadence Design Systems pay Lead Design Engineers above the market?
Cadence Design Systems's all-years median against every employer's certified Lead Design 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cadence Design Systems | 87 | $120k |
| All employers · Lead Design Engineer | 189 | $117k |
How has Cadence Design Systems's Lead Design Engineer hiring changed by year?
10 certified Lead Design Engineer filings in FY2016 → 14 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 14 | +100% | $131k |
| FY2025 | 7 | 0% | $136k |
| FY2024 | 7 | −30% | $127k |
| FY2023 | 10 | +100% | $87k |
| FY2022 | 5 | −17% | $124k |
| FY2021 | 6 | −25% | $106k |
| FY2020 | 8 | −11% | $112k |
| FY2019 | 9 | +125% | $112k |
| FY2018 | 4 | −43% | $105k |
| FY2017 | 7 | −30% | $120k |
| FY2016 | 10 | — | $119k |
Which wage levels does Cadence Design Systems file for Lead Design Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 29% of Cadence Design Systems's Lead Design Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 49 Lead Design Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I2.0%1
- Level II69.4%34
- Level III28.6%14
Where does Cadence Design Systems hire H-1B Lead Design 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 | 53 | $123k |
| North Carolina | 14 | $92k |
| Texas | 11 | $127k |
| Maryland | 4 | $98k |
| Massachusetts | 2 | $100k |
| Oregon | 1 | $78k |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | $93k |
| Utah | 1 | $90k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | 52 | $121k |
| Cary, NC | 14 | $92k |
| Austin, TX | 10 | $124k |
| Columbia, MD | 4 | $98k |
| Burlington, MA | 2 | $100k |
| Ephrata, PA | 1 | $93k |
| Garland, TX | 1 | $127k |
| North Salt Lake, UT | 1 | $90k |
Also filed as
Cadence Design Systems's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Lead Design Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Cadence Design Systems
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Lead Software Engineer | 177 | $121k |
| Principal Software Engineer | 171 | $138k |
| Principal Application Engineer | 161 | $142k |
| Lead Application Engineer | 151 | $119k |
| Software Engineer II | 94 | $115k |
| Principal Design Engineer | 90 | $144k |
| Sr. Principal Software Engineer | 70 | $154k |
| Principal Product Engineer | 69 | $146k |
| Sr. Application Engineer | 66 | $97k |
| Lead Product Engineer | 63 | $124k |
Top Lead Design Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| North American Lighting | 8 | $125k |
| Target Enterprise | 7 | $139k |
| Technosoft Engineering | 6 | $114k |
| Haier US Appliance Solutions | 5 | $96k |
| Freemyer Industrial Pressure | 4 | $78k |
| Intersil Communications Llc an Intersil Corporation | 4 | $109k |
| Hella Corporate Center USA | 3 | $110k |
| Acuity Brands Lighting | 3 | $108k |
| Cyient | 3 | $66k |
Common questions about Lead Design Engineer H-1B pay at Cadence Design Systems
- How much does Cadence Design Systems pay a Lead Design Engineer on an H-1B?
- Cadence Design Systems's median certified H-1B base salary for Lead Design Engineer is $136k in FY2025, from 7 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $119k and $151k. Across all years the median is $120k.
- How many Lead Design Engineer H-1B LCAs has Cadence Design Systems filed?
- Cadence Design Systems has 87 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Lead Design Engineer on record (FY2016–FY2026), 14 of them in FY2026. That is 4% of its 2,376 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Cadence Design Systems pay Lead Design Engineers above the market?
- Cadence Design Systems's all-years median of $120k is 3% above the $117k median for Lead Design Engineer across all H-1B employers (189 certified filings).
- Where does Cadence Design Systems hire H-1B Lead Design Engineers?
- Cadence Design Systems's Lead Design Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in California, North Carolina, Texas; the top cities are San Jose, CA, Cary, NC, Austin, TX.
- 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
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Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification — certified LCA disclosure data through June 2026 (FY2016–FY2026). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →