Project Engineer H-1B salary at Optimal Cae — 192 certified filings (FY2016–FY2020)
- 20
- Filings · FY2020
- $81k
- Median base · FY2020
- $66k–$87k
- Middle 50% · FY2020
- +3%
- vs market median · all years
Optimal Cae filed 20 certified H-1B LCAs for Project Engineer in FY2020 (down 26% from the year before), with a median base salary of $81k and the middle 50% of offers between $66k and $87k. Across all years its $80k median is 3% above the $78k market median for Project Engineer. It has filed 192 Project Engineer LCAs since FY2016, most often in Dearborn, MI.
How much does Optimal Cae pay a Project Engineer?
Certified base salary for Project Engineer at Optimal Cae by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $81k median in FY2020. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Optimal Cae pay Project Engineers above the market?
Optimal Cae's all-years median against every employer's certified Project Engineer LCAs — 3% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Optimal Cae | 192 | $80k |
| All employers · Project Engineer | 11,265 | $78k |
How has Optimal Cae's Project Engineer hiring changed by year?
34 certified Project Engineer filings in FY2016 → 20 in FY2020. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | 20 | −26% | $81k |
| FY2019 | 27 | −39% | $83k |
| FY2018 | 44 | −34% | $80k |
| FY2017 | 67 | +97% | $79k |
| FY2016 | 34 | — | $77k |
Which wage levels does Optimal Cae file for Project Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 17% of Optimal Cae's Project Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 154 Project Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I37.7%58
- Level II45.5%70
- Level III13.0%20
- Level IV3.9%6
Where does Optimal Cae hire H-1B Project 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 191 | $80k |
| Washington | 1 | $80k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Dearborn, MI | 110 | $81k |
| Plymouth, MI | 28 | $75k |
| Auburn Hills, MI | 22 | $77k |
| Livonia, MI | 8 | $87k |
| Warren, MI | 7 | $69k |
| Pontiac, MI | 4 | $68k |
| Superior Charter Twp, MI | 4 | $75k |
| Allen Park, MI | 3 | $69k |
Also filed as
Optimal Cae's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Project Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Optimal Cae
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Product Engineer | 33 | $79k |
Top Project Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Detroit Engineered Products | 352 | $72k |
| Dpr Construction a General Partnership | 134 | $79k |
| Fev North America | 101 | $77k |
| Neelam Construction | 64 | $67k |
| Moss Associates | 64 | $68k |
| Saiful Bouquet Structural Engineers | 64 | $68k |
| Intertek Testing Services NA | 60 | $76k |
| Webcor Construction | 60 | $79k |
| Easi | 57 | $67k |
Common questions about Project Engineer H-1B pay at Optimal Cae
- How much does Optimal Cae pay a Project Engineer on an H-1B?
- Optimal Cae's median certified H-1B base salary for Project Engineer is $81k in FY2020, from 20 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $66k and $87k. Across all years the median is $80k.
- How many Project Engineer H-1B LCAs has Optimal Cae filed?
- Optimal Cae has 192 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Project Engineer on record (FY2016–FY2020), 20 of them in FY2020. That is 63% of its 304 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Optimal Cae pay Project Engineers above the market?
- Optimal Cae's all-years median of $80k is 3% above the $78k median for Project Engineer across all H-1B employers (11,265 certified filings).
- Where does Optimal Cae hire H-1B Project Engineers?
- Optimal Cae's Project Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in Michigan, Washington; the top cities are Dearborn, MI, Plymouth, MI, Auburn Hills, MI.
- 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
Calculate your H-1B lottery odds →orCheck out the insights →
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification — certified LCA disclosure data through June 2026 (FY2016–FY2020). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →