Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering H-1B salary at Western Digital Technologies — 83 certified filings (FY2017–FY2025)
- 5
- Filings · FY2025
- $156k
- Median base · FY2025
- $150k–$156k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- ±0%
- vs market median · all years
Western Digital Technologies filed 5 certified H-1B LCAs for Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering in FY2025 (down 58% from the year before), with a median base salary of $156k and the middle 50% of offers between $150k and $156k. Across all years its $141k median is in line with the $140k market median for Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering. It has filed 83 Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering LCAs since FY2017, most often in Irvine, CA.
How much does Western Digital Technologies pay a Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering?
Certified base salary for Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering at Western Digital Technologies by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $156k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Western Digital Technologies pay Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineerings above the market?
Western Digital Technologies's all-years median against every employer's certified Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering LCAs — in line with 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Western Digital Technologies | 83 | $141k |
| All employers · Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering | 94 | $140k |
How has Western Digital Technologies's Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering hiring changed by year?
8 certified Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering filings in FY2017 → 5 in FY2025. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 5 | −58% | $156k |
| FY2024 | 12 | +9% | $141k |
| FY2023 | 11 | +22% | $134k |
| FY2022 | 9 | −55% | $140k |
| FY2021 | 20 | +567% | $145k |
| FY2020 | 3 | +50% | $157k |
| FY2019 | 2 | −85% | $130k |
| FY2018 | 13 | +63% | $134k |
| FY2017 | 8 | — | $127k |
Which wage levels does Western Digital Technologies file for Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 72% of Western Digital Technologies's Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 65 Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering filings with a wage level · all years
- Level II27.7%18
- Level III24.6%16
- Level IV47.7%31
Where does Western Digital Technologies hire H-1B Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineerings?
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 | 69 | $143k |
| Colorado | 10 | $115k |
| Arizona | 2 | $126k |
| Minnesota | 1 | $155k |
| Virginia | 1 | $145k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Irvine, CA | 23 | $137k |
| Milpitas, CA | 23 | $150k |
| San Jose, CA | 12 | $150k |
| Colorado Springs, CO | 4 | $136k |
| Longmont, CO | 4 | $110k |
| Chandler, AZ | 2 | $126k |
| Newark, CA | 2 | $131k |
| Eden Prairie, MN | 1 | $155k |
Also filed as
Western Digital Technologies's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Western Digital Technologies
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Engineer, Industrial Engineering | 199 | $91k |
| Staff Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering | 172 | $131k |
| Staff Engineer, R&d Engineering | 132 | $132k |
| Senior Engineer, Electronic Design Engineering | 95 | $105k |
| Principal Engineer, R&d Engineering | 86 | $147k |
| Staff Engineer, Industrial Engineering | 78 | $108k |
| Staff Engineer, Product Design Engineering | 67 | $125k |
| Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering | 62 | $148k |
| Staff Engineer, Systems Design Engineering | 58 | $127k |
| Analyst 4, Business Applications | 56 | $145k |
Top Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Hgst | 7 | $119k |
| Sandisk Technologies | 4 | $148k |
Common questions about Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering H-1B pay at Western Digital Technologies
- How much does Western Digital Technologies pay a Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering on an H-1B?
- Western Digital Technologies's median certified H-1B base salary for Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering is $156k in FY2025, from 5 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $150k and $156k. Across all years the median is $141k.
- How many Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering H-1B LCAs has Western Digital Technologies filed?
- Western Digital Technologies has 83 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering on record (FY2017–FY2025), 5 of them in FY2025. That is 2% of its 3,477 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Western Digital Technologies pay Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineerings above the market?
- Western Digital Technologies's all-years median of $141k is in line with the $140k median for Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering across all H-1B employers (94 certified filings).
- Where does Western Digital Technologies hire H-1B Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineerings?
- Western Digital Technologies's Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Colorado, Arizona; the top cities are Irvine, CA, Milpitas, CA, San Jose, 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.
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Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification — certified LCA disclosure data through June 2026 (FY2017–FY2025). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →