Hardware Engineer H-1B salary at Cisco Systems — 211 certified filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 12
- Filings · FY2025
- $133k
- Median base · FY2025
- $128k–$150k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +7%
- vs market median · all years
Cisco Systems filed 12 certified H-1B LCAs for Hardware Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $133k and the middle 50% of offers between $128k and $150k. Across all years its $124k median is 7% above the $115k market median for Hardware Engineer. It has filed 211 Hardware Engineer LCAs since FY2016, most often in San Jose, CA.
How much does Cisco Systems pay a Hardware Engineer?
Certified base salary for Hardware Engineer at Cisco Systems by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $133k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Cisco Systems pay Hardware Engineers above the market?
Cisco Systems's all-years median against every employer's certified Hardware Engineer LCAs — 7% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cisco Systems | 211 | $124k |
| All employers · Hardware Engineer | 2,939 | $115k |
How has Cisco Systems's Hardware Engineer hiring changed by year?
22 certified Hardware Engineer filings in FY2016 → 28 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 28 | +133% | $157k |
| FY2025 | 12 | −20% | $133k |
| FY2024 | 15 | −12% | $130k |
| FY2023 | 17 | −26% | $125k |
| FY2022 | 23 | +229% | $124k |
| FY2021 | 7 | −71% | $135k |
| FY2020 | 24 | +71% | $112k |
| FY2019 | 14 | −39% | $107k |
| FY2018 | 23 | −12% | $111k |
| FY2017 | 26 | +18% | $106k |
| FY2016 | 22 | — | $99k |
Which wage levels does Cisco Systems file for Hardware Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 46% of Cisco Systems's Hardware Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 137 Hardware Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I1.5%2
- Level II52.6%72
- Level III36.5%50
- Level IV9.5%13
Where does Cisco Systems hire H-1B Hardware 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 | 130 | $130k |
| North Carolina | 18 | $97k |
| Pennsylvania | 16 | $102k |
| Texas | 15 | $106k |
| Massachusetts | 13 | $106k |
| New Jersey | 11 | $127k |
| Ohio | 7 | $83k |
| Maryland | 1 | $101k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | 105 | $130k |
| Allentown, PA | 16 | $102k |
| Research Triangle Park, NC | 16 | $97k |
| Carlsbad, CA | 11 | $129k |
| Boxborough, MA | 9 | $106k |
| Holmdel, NJ | 9 | $133k |
| Richardson, TX | 8 | $100k |
| Austin, TX | 7 | $109k |
Also filed as
Cisco Systems's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Hardware Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Cisco Systems
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | 1,899 | $127k |
| Technical Leader | 357 | $145k |
| Technical Consulting Engineer | 299 | $98k |
| Consulting Engineer | 278 | $105k |
| Software Engineering Technical Leader | 226 | $179k |
| Product Manager | 176 | $135k |
| Software QA Engineer | 173 | $130k |
| Technical Marketing Engineer | 171 | $130k |
| Project Manager | 165 | $112k |
| Engineering Product Manager | 164 | $141k |
Top Hardware Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | 390 | $145k |
| Intel | 315 | $111k |
| 275 | $167k | |
| Qualcomm Technologies | 268 | $95k |
| L T Technology Services | 195 | $82k |
| Nvidia | 166 | $125k |
| Qualcomm Atheros | 53 | $97k |
| Arista Networks | 53 | $131k |
| Juniper Networks | 36 | $108k |
Common questions about Hardware Engineer H-1B pay at Cisco Systems
- How much does Cisco Systems pay a Hardware Engineer on an H-1B?
- Cisco Systems's median certified H-1B base salary for Hardware Engineer is $133k in FY2025, from 12 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $128k and $150k. Across all years the median is $124k.
- How many Hardware Engineer H-1B LCAs has Cisco Systems filed?
- Cisco Systems has 211 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Hardware Engineer on record (FY2016–FY2026), 28 of them in FY2026. That is 2% of its 13,067 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Cisco Systems pay Hardware Engineers above the market?
- Cisco Systems's all-years median of $124k is 7% above the $115k median for Hardware Engineer across all H-1B employers (2,939 certified filings).
- Where does Cisco Systems hire H-1B Hardware Engineers?
- Cisco Systems's Hardware Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in California, North Carolina, Pennsylvania; the top cities are San Jose, CA, Allentown, PA, Research Triangle Park, NC.
- 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 →