Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering H-1B salary at Western Digital Technologies — 62 certified filings (FY2019–FY2026)
- 20
- Filings · FY2025
- $162k
- Median base · FY2025
- $134k–$163k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +1%
- vs market median · all years
Western Digital Technologies filed 20 certified H-1B LCAs for Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering in FY2025, with a median base salary of $162k and the middle 50% of offers between $134k and $163k. Across all years its $148k median is in line with the $147k market median for Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering. It has filed 62 Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering LCAs since FY2019, most often in San Jose, CA.
How much does Western Digital Technologies pay a Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering?
Certified base salary for Principal Engineer, Hardware Development 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. $162k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Western Digital Technologies pay Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineerings above the market?
Western Digital Technologies's all-years median against every employer's certified Principal Engineer, Hardware Development 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 | 62 | $148k |
| All employers · Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering | 77 | $147k |
How has Western Digital Technologies's Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering hiring changed by year?
2 certified Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering filings in FY2019 → 6 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 6 | −70% | $150k |
| FY2025 | 20 | +67% | $162k |
| FY2024 | 12 | +200% | $147k |
| FY2023 | 4 | +33% | $147k |
| FY2022 | 3 | +50% | $169k |
| FY2021 | 2 | −85% | $120k |
| FY2020 | 13 | +550% | $125k |
| FY2019 | 2 | — | $110k |
Which wage levels does Western Digital Technologies file for Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 77% of Western Digital Technologies's Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 60 Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I5.0%3
- Level II18.3%11
- Level III38.3%23
- Level IV38.3%23
Where does Western Digital Technologies hire H-1B Principal Engineer, Hardware Development 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 | 61 | $148k |
| Idaho | 1 | $125k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | 20 | $147k |
| Fremont, CA | 14 | $159k |
| Milpitas, CA | 13 | $147k |
| Santa Clara, CA | 4 | $159k |
| Irvine, CA | 3 | $146k |
| Tustin, CA | 2 | $146k |
| Boise, ID | 1 | $125k |
| Mountain View, CA | 1 | $118k |
Also filed as
Western Digital Technologies's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Principal Engineer, Hardware Development 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 |
| Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering | 83 | $141k |
| Staff Engineer, Industrial Engineering | 78 | $108k |
| Staff Engineer, Product Design Engineering | 67 | $125k |
| Staff Engineer, Systems Design Engineering | 58 | $127k |
| Analyst 4, Business Applications | 56 | $145k |
Top Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Hgst | 11 | $130k |
| Sandisk Technologies | 2 | $164k |
| Western Digital Fremont | 2 | $121k |
Common questions about Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering H-1B pay at Western Digital Technologies
- How much does Western Digital Technologies pay a Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering on an H-1B?
- Western Digital Technologies's median certified H-1B base salary for Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering is $162k in FY2025, from 20 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $134k and $163k. Across all years the median is $148k.
- How many Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering H-1B LCAs has Western Digital Technologies filed?
- Western Digital Technologies has 62 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering on record (FY2019–FY2026), 6 of them in FY2026. That is 2% of its 3,477 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Western Digital Technologies pay Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineerings above the market?
- Western Digital Technologies's all-years median of $148k is in line with the $147k median for Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering across all H-1B employers (77 certified filings).
- Where does Western Digital Technologies hire H-1B Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineerings?
- Western Digital Technologies's Principal Engineer, Hardware Development Engineering LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Idaho; the top cities are San Jose, CA, Fremont, CA, Milpitas, 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 (FY2019–FY2026). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →