Software QA Engineer H-1B salary at Cisco Systems — 173 certified filings (FY2020–FY2026)
- 29
- Filings · FY2025
- $131k
- Median base · FY2025
- $122k–$157k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +44%
- vs market median · all years
Cisco Systems filed 29 certified H-1B LCAs for Software QA Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $131k and the middle 50% of offers between $122k and $157k. Across all years its $130k median is 44% above the $90k market median for Software QA Engineer. It has filed 173 Software QA Engineer LCAs since FY2020, most often in San Jose, CA.
How much does Cisco Systems pay a Software QA Engineer?
Certified base salary for Software QA Engineer at Cisco Systems by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $131k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Cisco Systems pay Software QA Engineers above the market?
Cisco Systems's all-years median against every employer's certified Software QA Engineer LCAs — 44% 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 | 173 | $130k |
| All employers · Software QA Engineer | 2,746 | $90k |
How has Cisco Systems's Software QA Engineer hiring changed by year?
1 certified Software QA Engineer filings in FY2020 → 23 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 23 | −21% | $139k |
| FY2025 | 29 | 0% | $131k |
| FY2024 | 29 | −29% | $128k |
| FY2023 | 41 | −11% | $123k |
| FY2022 | 46 | +1050% | $116k |
| FY2021 | 4 | +300% | $101k |
| FY2020 | 1 | — | $131k |
Which wage levels does Cisco Systems file for Software QA Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 44% of Cisco Systems's Software QA Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 160 Software QA Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I1.3%2
- Level II54.4%87
- Level III43.1%69
- Level IV1.3%2
Where does Cisco Systems hire H-1B Software QA 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 | 98 | $139k |
| Texas | 22 | $115k |
| North Carolina | 14 | $111k |
| Massachusetts | 13 | $123k |
| Maryland | 7 | $136k |
| Georgia | 3 | $115k |
| Ohio | 3 | $100k |
| Arizona | 2 | $100k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | 46 | $142k |
| San Francisco, CA | 18 | $138k |
| Milpitas, CA | 16 | $151k |
| Richardson, TX | 12 | $122k |
| Austin, TX | 9 | $99k |
| Boxborough, MA | 9 | $123k |
| Fulton, MD | 7 | $136k |
| Research Triangle Park, NC | 7 | $111k |
Also filed as
Cisco Systems's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Software QA 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 |
| Hardware Engineer | 211 | $124k |
| Product Manager | 176 | $135k |
| Technical Marketing Engineer | 171 | $130k |
| Project Manager | 165 | $112k |
| Engineering Product Manager | 164 | $141k |
Top Software QA Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Innominds Software | 100 | $90k |
| Apple | 76 | $120k |
| Palo Alto Networks | 61 | $130k |
| Utis | 57 | $91k |
| IT Division | 57 | $61k |
| Enterprise IT Resources | 54 | $70k |
| Tesla | 48 | $116k |
| Tanvi IT Solutions | 40 | $92k |
| System Soft Technologies | 38 | $82k |
Common questions about Software QA Engineer H-1B pay at Cisco Systems
- How much does Cisco Systems pay a Software QA Engineer on an H-1B?
- Cisco Systems's median certified H-1B base salary for Software QA Engineer is $131k in FY2025, from 29 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $122k and $157k. Across all years the median is $130k.
- How many Software QA Engineer H-1B LCAs has Cisco Systems filed?
- Cisco Systems has 173 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Software QA Engineer on record (FY2020–FY2026), 23 of them in FY2026. That is 1% of its 13,067 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Cisco Systems pay Software QA Engineers above the market?
- Cisco Systems's all-years median of $130k is 44% above the $90k median for Software QA Engineer across all H-1B employers (2,746 certified filings).
- Where does Cisco Systems hire H-1B Software QA Engineers?
- Cisco Systems's Software QA Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Texas, North Carolina; the top cities are San Jose, CA, San Francisco, CA, Milpitas, 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 (FY2020–FY2026). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →