Nikola — 253 certified H-1B filings (FY2020–FY2025)
- 8
- Filings · FY2025
- $143k
- Median base · FY2025
- Procurement Engineer
- Top role · 4 all-time
- AZ
- Top state · 246 all-time
Nikola filed 8 certified H-1B LCAs in FY2025 (down 90% from the year before), with a median base salary of $143k and the middle 50% of offers between $133k and $148k. That is 33% above the market median for the same job titles. Across all years it has 253 certified filings since FY2020, most often for Procurement Engineer in Arizona.
How much does Nikola 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. $143k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
How has Nikola's H-1B hiring changed by year?
14 certified filings in FY2020 → 8 in FY2025. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 8 | −90% | $143k |
| FY2024 | 79 | +72% | $130k |
| FY2023 | 46 | −30% | $135k |
| FY2022 | 66 | +65% | $115k |
| FY2021 | 40 | +186% | $100k |
| FY2020 | 14 | — | $108k |
Which wage levels does Nikola file?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 78% of Nikola'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 253 filings with a wage level · all years
- Level II21.7%55
- Level III51.0%129
- Level IV27.3%69
What jobs does Nikola 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Procurement Engineer | 4 | $110k |
| Mechanical Design Engineer, Chassis | 4 | $88k |
| Senior Systems Analyst | 4 | $120k |
| Material Planner | 3 | $90k |
| Purchasing Manager | 3 | $120k |
| Senior Validation Engineer | 3 | $130k |
| Senior Engineer, Thermal Testing and Validation | 2 | $110k |
| Software Project Manager | 2 | $125k |
| Industrial Accountant | 2 | $75k |
| Lead CAE Engineer, Crash Safety | 2 | $125k |
Where does Nikola 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 |
|---|---|---|
| AZ | 246 | $125k |
| CA | 6 | $150k |
| UT | 1 | $160k |
What has Nikola filed recently?
The 50 most recent of 253 certified LCAs: job title, worksite, prevailing-wage level and the offered base salary.
Common questions about Nikola's H-1B filings
- How much does Nikola pay H-1B workers?
- Nikola's median certified H-1B base salary is $143k (FY2025), from 8 filings. See the full salary distribution and percentiles above.
- How many H-1B workers does Nikola sponsor?
- Nikola has 253 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications on record (FY2020–FY2025).
- What jobs does Nikola sponsor for H-1B?
- Nikola's most-sponsored H-1B roles include Procurement Engineer, Mechanical Design Engineer, Chassis, Senior Systems Analyst, Material Planner.
- Where does Nikola hire H-1B workers?
- Nikola's top H-1B worksite states are AZ, CA, UT.
- 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–FY2025). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →