Data Engineer H-1B salary at IBM — 376 certified filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 65
- Filings · FY2025
- $115k
- Median base · FY2025
- $98k–$126k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- −10%
- vs market median · all years
IBM filed 65 certified H-1B LCAs for Data Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $115k and the middle 50% of offers between $98k and $126k. Across all years its $93k median is 10% below the $103k market median for Data Engineer. It has filed 376 Data Engineer LCAs since FY2016, most often in Newark, NJ.
How much does IBM pay a Data Engineer?
Certified base salary for Data Engineer at IBM by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $115k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does IBM pay Data Engineers above the market?
IBM's all-years median against every employer's certified Data Engineer LCAs — 10% below 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 |
|---|---|---|
| IBM | 376 | $93k |
| All employers · Data Engineer | 22,733 | $103k |
How has IBM's Data Engineer hiring changed by year?
2 certified Data Engineer filings in FY2016 → 10 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 10 | −85% | $142k |
| FY2025 | 65 | −24% | $115k |
| FY2024 | 85 | +55% | $108k |
| FY2023 | 55 | +41% | $98k |
| FY2022 | 39 | +30% | $90k |
| FY2021 | 30 | −40% | $76k |
| FY2020 | 50 | +35% | $77k |
| FY2019 | 37 | +1750% | $74k |
| FY2018 | 2 | +100% | $85k |
| FY2017 | 1 | −50% | $105k |
| FY2016 | 2 | — | $89k |
Which wage levels does IBM file for Data Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 40% of IBM's Data Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 374 Data Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level II59.9%224
- Level III35.6%133
- Level IV4.5%17
Where does IBM hire H-1B Data 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 |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 74 | $104k |
| Texas | 50 | $97k |
| California | 36 | $83k |
| Illinois | 31 | $84k |
| Virginia | 30 | $78k |
| Georgia | 29 | $98k |
| North Carolina | 21 | $85k |
| Pennsylvania | 14 | $75k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Newark, NJ | 31 | $118k |
| Richmond, VA | 30 | $78k |
| Atlanta, GA | 26 | $98k |
| San Antonio, TX | 22 | $91k |
| Bloomington, IL | 18 | $80k |
| El Segundo, CA | 18 | $70k |
| Whippany, NJ | 14 | $94k |
| Austin, TX | 12 | $91k |
Also filed as
IBM's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Data Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at IBM
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Application Developer | 3,199 | $86k |
| Software Developer | 1,263 | $110k |
| Managing Consultant | 854 | $124k |
| Software Engineer | 847 | $92k |
| Application Architect | 797 | $108k |
| Package Consultant | 730 | $104k |
| Test Specialist | 612 | $76k |
| Project Manager | 580 | $97k |
| IT Specialist | 420 | $81k |
| Senior Managing Consultant | 417 | $159k |
Top Data Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Meta Platforms | 1,089 | $187k |
| 754 | $160k | |
| Apple | 200 | $154k |
| Expedia | 180 | $128k |
| Caremark | 164 | $123k |
| Cisco Systems | 161 | $135k |
| Microsoft | 154 | $161k |
| Vista Applied Solutions Group | 152 | $101k |
| Aetna Resources | 145 | $110k |
Common questions about Data Engineer H-1B pay at IBM
- How much does IBM pay a Data Engineer on an H-1B?
- IBM's median certified H-1B base salary for Data Engineer is $115k in FY2025, from 65 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $98k and $126k. Across all years the median is $93k.
- How many Data Engineer H-1B LCAs has IBM filed?
- IBM has 376 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Data Engineer on record (FY2016–FY2026), 10 of them in FY2026. That is 2% of its 23,826 certified filings across all titles.
- Does IBM pay Data Engineers above the market?
- IBM's all-years median of $93k is 10% below the $103k median for Data Engineer across all H-1B employers (22,733 certified filings).
- Where does IBM hire H-1B Data Engineers?
- IBM's Data Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in New Jersey, Texas, California; the top cities are Newark, NJ, Richmond, VA, Atlanta, GA.
- 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 →