Research Software Engineer H-1B wages
Filings decided July 2025 to June 2026. Most are classified as Software Developers (SOC 15-1252).
Employers filed 30 wage applications for Research Software Engineer jobs from July 2025 to June 2026, across 15 employers. The median offered wage was $133,236, 22.7% above the government's prevailing wage for the job. IBM Corporation filed the most (6, median $230,614).
- Filings
- 30
- Positions covered
- 30
- Employers
- 15
- Median offered
- $133,236
- Median prevailing wage
- $104,062
- Filings since FY2020
- 131
- Median offer change since FY2020
- +29%
Offered wage since 2020
The median wage offered for Research Software Engineer jobs rose 29%, from $102,541 in fiscal 2020 to $132,000 in fiscal 2026 so far. In fiscal 2026 it was 18.9% above the prevailing wage. Filings peaked in fiscal 2020, with 22 filings.
Middle half of offered wagesMedian offered wageMedian prevailing wageFilings per year
Fiscal years run October to September. Fiscal 2026 is still running: these figures cover October 2025 to June 2026.
Research Software Engineer by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Filings | Median offered | vs year before | Median prevailing | vs prevailing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Oct to Jun) | 25 | $132,000 | +18.1% | $100,006 | +18.9% |
| 2025 | 17 | $111,780 | −32.5% | $79,290 | +48.8% |
| 2024 | 14 | $165,636 | +87.2% | $106,808 | +18.8% |
| 2023 | 19 | $88,500 | −21.4% | $74,381 | +17.0% |
| 2022 | 18 | $112,548 | −1.2% | $92,581 | +18.0% |
| 2021 | 16 | $113,859 | +11.0% | $110,552 | at the minimum |
| 2020 | 22 | $102,541 | n/a | $98,311 | at the minimum |
Employers that file for this title
Middle half of offered wagesMedian offered wageMedian prevailing wage
| Employer | Filings | Median offered | Offered range and prevailing wage | vs prevailing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBM Corporation | 6 | $230,614 | +35.4% | |
| University of Illinois | 6 | $90,191 | +16.6% | |
| Johns Hopkins University | 5 | $210,000 | +81.1% | |
| Ut-Battelle, LLC (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) | 2 | $132,000 | +49.3% | |
| Google LLC | 1 | $210,000 | +11.9% | |
| Arizona State University | 1 | $67,184 | at the minimum | |
| Battelle Memorial Institute | 1 | $134,471 | +24.4% | |
| The University of Chicago | 1 | $125,000 | +33.9% | |
| University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development | 1 | $135,190 | +0.8% | |
| California Institute of Technology | 1 | $111,780 | +21.1% | |
| Parkview Hospital, Inc. | 1 | $97,203 | +167.0% | |
| Northern Arizona University | 1 | $84,000 | +37.8% | |
| Code for Science & Society, Inc. | 1 | $115,630 | +15.6% | |
Showing the 13 employers with the most filings of 15. Employers with fewer than 5 filings in total are counted but not named.
Where Research Software Engineer jobs are filed
| Worksite | Filings | Median offered | Offered range and prevailing wage | vs prevailing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urbana, IL | 6 | $90,191 | +16.6% | |
| Baltimore, MD | 5 | $210,000 | +81.1% | |
| Cambridge, MA | 2 | $295,654 | +92.4% | |
| Oak Ridge, TN | 2 | $132,000 | +49.3% | |
| Yorktown Heights, NY | 2 | $241,355 | +79.8% | |
| Amherst, MA | 1 | $115,630 | +15.6% | |
| Chicago, IL | 1 | $125,000 | +33.9% | |
| Cypress, TX | 1 | $100,000 | +18.9% | |
| Flagstaff, AZ | 1 | $84,000 | +37.8% | |
| Fort Wayne, IN | 1 | $97,203 | +167.0% | |
| Menlo Park, CA | 1 | $175,000 | +12.5% | |
| Mountain View, CA | 1 | $210,000 | +11.9% | |
| Phoenix, AZ | 1 | $67,184 | at the minimum | |
| Pleasanton, CA | 1 | $135,190 | +0.8% | |
| Richland, WA | 1 | $134,471 | +24.4% | |
| Riverdale Park, MD | 1 | $111,780 | +21.1% | |
| San Francisco, CA | 1 | $229,469 | +7.5% | |
| San Jose, CA | 1 | $196,983 | +4.9% | |
Seniority of the jobs filed
The government assigns each job one of four wage levels. A higher level means a higher legal minimum.
What these numbers are
- They are wages employers attested to on Labor Condition Applications (Form ETA-9035), not paychecks. Bonuses and stock are not included.
- A filing is not a visa or a hire. One filing can cover several positions, and some are later withdrawn. Wage figures use certified filings only.
- The prevailing wage is the minimum the employer must pay for that job in that area, set from government wage surveys.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, OFLC disclosure data. How we clean and count it.
Related job titles
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- Staff Software Engineer$191,634
- Senior Data Engineer$139,152
- Senior Software Developer$129,667
- Software Dev Engineer III$204,700
- Software Engineer II$131,627