Lead Software Engineer H-1B salary at Caterpillar — 58 certified filings (FY2019–FY2026)
- 13
- Filings · FY2025
- $149k
- Median base · FY2025
- $149k–$151k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +9%
- vs market median · all years
Caterpillar filed 13 certified H-1B LCAs for Lead Software Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $149k and the middle 50% of offers between $149k and $151k. Across all years its $145k median is 9% above the $132k market median for Lead Software Engineer. It has filed 58 Lead Software Engineer LCAs since FY2019, most often in Chicago, IL.
How much does Caterpillar pay a Lead Software Engineer?
Certified base salary for Lead Software Engineer at Caterpillar by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $149k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Caterpillar pay Lead Software Engineers above the market?
Caterpillar's all-years median against every employer's certified Lead Software Engineer LCAs — 9% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Caterpillar | 58 | $145k |
| All employers · Lead Software Engineer | 9,478 | $132k |
How has Caterpillar's Lead Software Engineer hiring changed by year?
1 certified Lead Software Engineer filings in FY2019 → 11 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 11 | −15% | $153k |
| FY2025 | 13 | +44% | $149k |
| FY2024 | 9 | +29% | $139k |
| FY2023 | 7 | −42% | $145k |
| FY2022 | 12 | +500% | $142k |
| FY2021 | 2 | −33% | $130k |
| FY2020 | 3 | +200% | $142k |
| FY2019 | 1 | — | $125k |
Which wage levels does Caterpillar file for Lead Software Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 82% of Caterpillar's Lead Software Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 57 Lead Software Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level II17.5%10
- Level III26.3%15
- Level IV56.1%32
Where does Caterpillar hire H-1B Lead Software 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 44 | $145k |
| Texas | 8 | $135k |
| Georgia | 2 | $122k |
| North Carolina | 2 | $151k |
| New Jersey | 1 | $180k |
| Virginia | 1 | $151k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL | 34 | $149k |
| Peoria, IL | 9 | $132k |
| Irving, TX | 6 | $135k |
| Charlotte, NC | 2 | $151k |
| Roswell, GA | 2 | $122k |
| Cedar Park, TX | 1 | $166k |
| East Peoria, IL | 1 | $157k |
| Manassas, VA | 1 | $151k |
Also filed as
Caterpillar's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Lead Software Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Caterpillar
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | 134 | $108k |
| Senior Software Engineer | 82 | $130k |
| Senior Engineer - Design | 65 | $104k |
| Embedded Software Engineer | 63 | $93k |
| Senior Engineer | 56 | $100k |
| Embedded Software Senior Engineer | 49 | $113k |
| Control Systems Engineer | 35 | $92k |
| Data Scientist | 34 | $95k |
| Performance / Simulation / Application Engineer | 34 | $96k |
| Control Systems Senior Engineer | 33 | $103k |
Top Lead Software Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Globallogic | 740 | $113k |
| Epam Systems | 636 | $115k |
| Capital One Services | 457 | $103k |
| Optum Services | 276 | $133k |
| Lowe S Companies | 270 | $134k |
| Impetus Technologies | 187 | $108k |
| Salesforce Com | 186 | $158k |
| Mastercard Technologies | 181 | $138k |
| Cadence Design Systems | 177 | $121k |
| Cox Automotive Corporate Services | 176 | $153k |
Common questions about Lead Software Engineer H-1B pay at Caterpillar
- How much does Caterpillar pay a Lead Software Engineer on an H-1B?
- Caterpillar's median certified H-1B base salary for Lead Software Engineer is $149k in FY2025, from 13 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $149k and $151k. Across all years the median is $145k.
- How many Lead Software Engineer H-1B LCAs has Caterpillar filed?
- Caterpillar has 58 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Lead Software Engineer on record (FY2019–FY2026), 11 of them in FY2026. That is 3% of its 2,255 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Caterpillar pay Lead Software Engineers above the market?
- Caterpillar's all-years median of $145k is 9% above the $132k median for Lead Software Engineer across all H-1B employers (9,478 certified filings).
- Where does Caterpillar hire H-1B Lead Software Engineers?
- Caterpillar's Lead Software Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in Illinois, Texas, Georgia; the top cities are Chicago, IL, Peoria, IL, Irving, 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
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 (FY2019–FY2026). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →