Staff Software Development Engineer H-1B salary at Tesla — 229 certified filings (FY2019–FY2026)
- 53
- Filings · FY2025
- $214k
- Median base · FY2025
- $200k–$224k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +15%
- vs market median · all years
Tesla filed 53 certified H-1B LCAs for Staff Software Development Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $214k and the middle 50% of offers between $200k and $224k. Across all years its $197k median is 15% above the $171k market median for Staff Software Development Engineer. It has filed 229 Staff Software Development Engineer LCAs since FY2019, most often in Fremont, CA.
How much does Tesla pay a Staff Software Development Engineer?
Certified base salary for Staff Software Development Engineer at Tesla by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $214k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Tesla pay Staff Software Development Engineers above the market?
Tesla's all-years median against every employer's certified Staff Software Development Engineer LCAs — 15% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla | 229 | $197k |
| All employers · Staff Software Development Engineer | 799 | $171k |
How has Tesla's Staff Software Development Engineer hiring changed by year?
3 certified Staff Software Development Engineer filings in FY2019 → 22 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 22 | −58% | $217k |
| FY2025 | 53 | +18% | $214k |
| FY2024 | 45 | +41% | $194k |
| FY2023 | 32 | 0% | $197k |
| FY2022 | 32 | +14% | $182k |
| FY2021 | 28 | +100% | $175k |
| FY2020 | 14 | +367% | $175k |
| FY2019 | 3 | — | $170k |
Which wage levels does Tesla file for Staff Software Development Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 100% of Tesla's Staff Software Development Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 145 Staff Software Development Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level III9.0%13
- Level IV91.0%132
Where does Tesla hire H-1B Staff Software Development 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 | 186 | $198k |
| Texas | 31 | $190k |
| Washington | 9 | $220k |
| Utah | 3 | $163k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Fremont, CA | 128 | $194k |
| Palo Alto, CA | 37 | $198k |
| Austin, TX | 25 | $190k |
| Bellevue, WA | 7 | $220k |
| Pflugerville, TX | 4 | $190k |
| Draper, UT | 3 | $163k |
| Milpitas, CA | 3 | $202k |
| San Diego, CA | 3 | $229k |
Also filed as
Tesla's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Staff Software Development Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Tesla
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Software Development Engineer | 437 | $140k |
| Mechanical Design Engineer | 354 | $122k |
| Process Engineer | 300 | $103k |
| Manufacturing Engineer | 284 | $114k |
| Senior Software Development Engineer | 274 | $157k |
| Manufacturing Equipment Engineer | 245 | $108k |
| Software Engineer | 154 | $130k |
| Senior Mechanical Design Engineer | 139 | $130k |
| Sr Software Development Engineer | 139 | $183k |
| Sourcing Engineer | 137 | $123k |
Top Staff Software Development Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| CVS Pharmacy | 111 | $180k |
| Fortinet | 67 | $157k |
| Aetna Resources | 63 | $159k |
| CVS Shared Services Resources | 61 | $150k |
| Zscaler | 41 | $175k |
| Caremark | 41 | $151k |
| Risk Management Solutions | 15 | $169k |
| Procare Pharmacy | 15 | $150k |
| Infinera | 12 | $160k |
Common questions about Staff Software Development Engineer H-1B pay at Tesla
- How much does Tesla pay a Staff Software Development Engineer on an H-1B?
- Tesla's median certified H-1B base salary for Staff Software Development Engineer is $214k in FY2025, from 53 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $200k and $224k. Across all years the median is $197k.
- How many Staff Software Development Engineer H-1B LCAs has Tesla filed?
- Tesla has 229 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Staff Software Development Engineer on record (FY2019–FY2026), 22 of them in FY2026. That is 2% of its 13,893 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Tesla pay Staff Software Development Engineers above the market?
- Tesla's all-years median of $197k is 15% above the $171k median for Staff Software Development Engineer across all H-1B employers (799 certified filings).
- Where does Tesla hire H-1B Staff Software Development Engineers?
- Tesla's Staff Software Development Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Texas, Washington; the top cities are Fremont, CA, Palo Alto, CA, Austin, TX.
- 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 (FY2019–FY2026). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →