Research Scientist H-1B salary at Nvidia — 327 certified filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 86
- Filings · FY2025
- $184k
- Median base · FY2025
- $160k–$225k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +53%
- vs market median · all years
Nvidia filed 86 certified H-1B LCAs for Research Scientist in FY2025, with a median base salary of $184k and the middle 50% of offers between $160k and $225k. Across all years its $168k median is 53% above the $110k market median for Research Scientist. It has filed 327 Research Scientist LCAs since FY2016, most often in Santa Clara, CA.
How much does Nvidia pay a Research Scientist?
Certified base salary for Research Scientist at Nvidia by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $184k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Nvidia pay Research Scientists above the market?
Nvidia's all-years median against every employer's certified Research Scientist LCAs — 53% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Nvidia | 327 | $168k |
| All employers · Research Scientist | 12,917 | $110k |
How has Nvidia's Research Scientist hiring changed by year?
4 certified Research Scientist filings in FY2016 → 73 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 73 | −15% | $168k |
| FY2025 | 86 | +91% | $184k |
| FY2024 | 45 | +25% | $163k |
| FY2023 | 36 | +24% | $180k |
| FY2022 | 29 | +93% | $164k |
| FY2021 | 15 | 0% | $155k |
| FY2020 | 15 | +88% | $142k |
| FY2019 | 8 | −43% | $132k |
| FY2018 | 14 | +600% | $128k |
| FY2017 | 2 | −50% | $122k |
| FY2016 | 4 | — | $96k |
Which wage levels does Nvidia file for Research Scientist?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 44% of Nvidia's Research Scientist filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 263 Research Scientist filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I10.3%27
- Level II46.0%121
- Level III21.3%56
- Level IV22.4%59
Where does Nvidia hire H-1B Research Scientists?
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 | 169 | $168k |
| Washington | 73 | $177k |
| Texas | 18 | $160k |
| Massachusetts | 17 | $168k |
| New York | 10 | $160k |
| Maryland | 8 | $175k |
| Utah | 6 | $184k |
| Illinois | 5 | $198k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara, CA | 154 | $168k |
| Seattle, WA | 36 | $172k |
| Redmond, WA | 33 | $177k |
| Austin, TX | 17 | $160k |
| Westford, MA | 15 | $156k |
| New York, NY | 9 | $160k |
| Rockville, MD | 6 | $195k |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 6 | $184k |
Also filed as
Nvidia's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Research Scientist LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Nvidia
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | 1,830 | $171k |
| Hardware Engineer, Electronics | 731 | $164k |
| Engineer Senior Systems Software | 590 | $181k |
| Engineer Senior ASIC | 225 | $170k |
| Architect | 211 | $180k |
| Program Manager | 195 | $181k |
| Verification Engineer | 185 | $156k |
| Product Manager | 171 | $186k |
| Hardware Engineer | 166 | $125k |
| ASIC Engineer | 147 | $170k |
Top Research Scientist sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Meta Platforms | 2,093 | $186k |
| 890 | $160k | |
| 685 | $192k | |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 497 | $78k |
| Intel | 409 | $131k |
| UT Southwestern Medical Center | 156 | $62k |
| Bytedance | 153 | $215k |
| University of Pittsburgh | 142 | $60k |
| The University of Virginia | 135 | $67k |
Common questions about Research Scientist H-1B pay at Nvidia
- How much does Nvidia pay a Research Scientist on an H-1B?
- Nvidia's median certified H-1B base salary for Research Scientist is $184k in FY2025, from 86 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $160k and $225k. Across all years the median is $168k.
- How many Research Scientist H-1B LCAs has Nvidia filed?
- Nvidia has 327 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Research Scientist on record (FY2016–FY2026), 73 of them in FY2026. That is 3% of its 9,816 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Nvidia pay Research Scientists above the market?
- Nvidia's all-years median of $168k is 53% above the $110k median for Research Scientist across all H-1B employers (12,917 certified filings).
- Where does Nvidia hire H-1B Research Scientists?
- Nvidia's Research Scientist LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Washington, Texas; the top cities are Santa Clara, CA, Seattle, WA, Redmond, WA.
- 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 →