Hardware Engineer H-1B salary at Intel — 315 certified filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 9
- Filings · FY2025
- $145k
- Median base · FY2025
- $134k–$164k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- −4%
- vs market median · all years
Intel filed 9 certified H-1B LCAs for Hardware Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $145k and the middle 50% of offers between $134k and $164k. Across all years its $111k median is 4% below the $115k market median for Hardware Engineer. It has filed 315 Hardware Engineer LCAs since FY2016, most often in Santa Clara, CA.
How much does Intel pay a Hardware Engineer?
Certified base salary for Hardware Engineer at Intel by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $145k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Intel pay Hardware Engineers above the market?
Intel's all-years median against every employer's certified Hardware Engineer LCAs — 4% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Intel | 315 | $111k |
| All employers · Hardware Engineer | 2,939 | $115k |
How has Intel's Hardware Engineer hiring changed by year?
42 certified Hardware Engineer filings in FY2016 → 3 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 3 | −67% | $139k |
| FY2025 | 9 | −55% | $145k |
| FY2024 | 20 | 0% | $141k |
| FY2023 | 20 | −49% | $116k |
| FY2022 | 39 | −11% | $129k |
| FY2021 | 44 | +63% | $111k |
| FY2020 | 27 | −48% | $109k |
| FY2019 | 52 | +126% | $107k |
| FY2018 | 23 | −36% | $119k |
| FY2017 | 36 | −14% | $103k |
| FY2016 | 42 | — | $92k |
Which wage levels does Intel file for Hardware Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 64% of Intel's Hardware Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 178 Hardware Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level II36.0%64
- Level III52.8%94
- Level IV11.2%20
Where does Intel 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 | 187 | $122k |
| Oregon | 92 | $97k |
| Arizona | 18 | $101k |
| Texas | 15 | $106k |
| Colorado | 1 | $163k |
| Massachusetts | 1 | $105k |
| Washington | 1 | $83k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara, CA | 106 | $133k |
| Hillsboro, OR | 90 | $97k |
| Folsom, CA | 60 | $100k |
| San Jose, CA | 19 | $136k |
| Chandler, AZ | 18 | $101k |
| Austin, TX | 15 | $106k |
| Aloha, OR | 2 | $89k |
| Bellevue, WA | 1 | $83k |
Also filed as
Intel's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Hardware Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Intel
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Component Design Engineer | 5,930 | $111k |
| Software Engineer | 5,159 | $118k |
| Process Engineer | 4,361 | $103k |
| Product Engineer | 1,051 | $102k |
| Graphics Hardware Engineer | 1,007 | $113k |
| System Validation Engineer | 768 | $104k |
| Packaging Engineer | 755 | $106k |
| Analog Engineer | 752 | $107k |
| Engineering Manager | 743 | $163k |
| Graphics Software Engineer | 496 | $119k |
Top Hardware Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | 390 | $145k |
| 275 | $167k | |
| Qualcomm Technologies | 268 | $95k |
| Cisco Systems | 211 | $124k |
| 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 Intel
- How much does Intel pay a Hardware Engineer on an H-1B?
- Intel's median certified H-1B base salary for Hardware Engineer is $145k in FY2025, from 9 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $134k and $164k. Across all years the median is $111k.
- How many Hardware Engineer H-1B LCAs has Intel filed?
- Intel has 315 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Hardware Engineer on record (FY2016–FY2026), 3 of them in FY2026. That is 1% of its 27,019 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Intel pay Hardware Engineers above the market?
- Intel's all-years median of $111k is 4% below the $115k median for Hardware Engineer across all H-1B employers (2,939 certified filings).
- Where does Intel hire H-1B Hardware Engineers?
- Intel's Hardware Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Oregon, Arizona; the top cities are Santa Clara, CA, Hillsboro, OR, Folsom, 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.
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 →