Ginkgo Bioworks — 154 certified H-1B filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 13
- Filings · FY2025
- $109k
- Median base · FY2025
- Organism Engineer
- Top role · 13 all-time
- MA
- Top state · 145 all-time
Ginkgo Bioworks filed 13 certified H-1B LCAs in FY2025 (down 66% from the year before), with a median base salary of $109k and the middle 50% of offers between $105k and $139k. That is 3% above the market median for the same job titles. Across all years it has 154 certified filings since FY2016, most often for Organism Engineer in Massachusetts.
How much does Ginkgo Bioworks pay H-1B workers?
Certified base salary by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $109k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
How has Ginkgo Bioworks's H-1B hiring changed by year?
4 certified filings in FY2016 → 6 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 6 | −54% | $120k |
| FY2025 | 13 | −66% | $109k |
| FY2024 | 38 | +58% | $117k |
| FY2023 | 24 | +9% | $115k |
| FY2022 | 22 | −15% | $100k |
| FY2021 | 26 | +225% | $110k |
| FY2020 | 8 | +60% | $95k |
| FY2019 | 5 | +25% | $90k |
| FY2018 | 4 | 0% | $77k |
| FY2017 | 4 | 0% | $77k |
| FY2016 | 4 | — | $76k |
Which wage levels does Ginkgo Bioworks file?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 47% of Ginkgo Bioworks's filings sit at Level III–IV. A heavy I–II skew reads as entry-level or contractor-style hiring; a heavy IV skew as senior in-house roles — and higher levels earn more lottery entries.
Share of 149 filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I24.8%37
- Level II28.2%42
- Level III27.5%41
- Level IV19.5%29
What jobs does Ginkgo Bioworks sponsor for H-1B?
The most-filed job titles across all years (DOL titles, employer pay-grade codes stripped), with base-salary percentiles.
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Organism Engineer | 13 | $100k |
| Strain Engineer | 11 | $70k |
| Organism Engineer 3 | 7 | $100k |
| Associate Director, Commercial Operations | 5 | $136k |
| Senior Organism Engineer 2 | 4 | $139k |
| Senior Software Engineer | 4 | $150k |
| Test Engineer | 4 | $70k |
| Senior Organism Engineer | 4 | $110k |
| Senior Organism Engineer 1 | 4 | $117k |
| Organism Engineer 1 | 3 | $74k |
Where does Ginkgo Bioworks hire H-1B workers?
Worksite states on the certified filings, all years. Deeper pink = more filings; hover a state for its figures.
| State | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| MA | 145 | $105k |
| CA | 3 | $143k |
| IL | 3 | $178k |
| FL | 2 | $135k |
| NJ | 1 | $128k |
What has Ginkgo Bioworks filed recently?
The 50 most recent of 154 certified LCAs: job title, worksite, prevailing-wage level and the offered base salary.
Common questions about Ginkgo Bioworks's H-1B filings
- How much does Ginkgo Bioworks pay H-1B workers?
- Ginkgo Bioworks's median certified H-1B base salary is $109k (FY2025), from 13 filings. See the full salary distribution and percentiles above.
- How many H-1B workers does Ginkgo Bioworks sponsor?
- Ginkgo Bioworks has 154 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications on record (FY2016–FY2026).
- What jobs does Ginkgo Bioworks sponsor for H-1B?
- Ginkgo Bioworks's most-sponsored H-1B roles include Organism Engineer, Strain Engineer, Organism Engineer 3, Associate Director, Commercial Operations.
- Where does Ginkgo Bioworks hire H-1B workers?
- Ginkgo Bioworks's top H-1B worksite states are MA, CA, IL, FL.
- 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 (FY2016–FY2026). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →