Software Engineer vs Machine Learning Engineer H-1B salaries
The median certified H-1B salary was $137,730 at Software Engineer and $170,000 at Machine Learning Engineer: Machine Learning Engineer paid 23% more. From filings received Jan 2023 to Jun 2026.
| Software Engineer | Machine Learning Engineer | |
|---|---|---|
| Certified filings | 81,689 | 2,578 |
| Median salary | $137,730 | $170,000 |
| Middle half | $105,000 to $182,000 | $135,403 to $203,875 |
| Top 10% earn over | $215,000 | $240,000 |
| Above prevailing wage | +4% | +6% |
| Median at Level I | $93,600 | $136,000 |
| Median at Level II | $120,000 | $150,000 |
| Median at Level III | $173,000 | $180,000 |
| Median at Level IV | $218,830 | $216,675 |
| Most filings for | Google LLC | Apple Inc. |
Same employers, both sides
| Employer | Software Engineer | Machine Learning Engineer |
|---|---|---|
| Google LLC (15,144 / 3) | $182,453 | $222,000 |
| Meta Platforms, Inc (8,579 / 96) | $208,000 | $214,016 |
| DoorDash, Inc. (674 / 45) | $176,000 | $174,304 |
| Cisco Systems, Inc. (521 / 28) | $135,800 | $177,600 |
| Netflix, Inc. (448 / 33) | $226,158 | $226,158 |
| Waymo LLC (416 / 12) | $202,000 | $240,000 |
| Uber Technologies, Inc. (385 / 14) | $178,000 | $193,600 |
| ByteDance Inc. (290 / 103) | $190,243 | $235,000 |
| Apple Inc. (21 / 334) | $152,964 | $190,486 |
| Adobe Inc. (17 / 325) | $152,250 | $187,741 |
| TikTok Inc. (203 / 128) | $182,500 | $198,500 |
| Stripe, Inc. (301 / 15) | $156,800 | $180,000 |
| PayPal, Inc. (256 / 20) | $138,123 | $142,829 |
| ServiceNow, Inc. (219 / 15) | $129,802 | $159,621 |
| Zoox Inc. (213 / 4) | $184,662 | $147,794 |
Median salary where both have at least 3 filings; the number of filings is in brackets.
Same cities
| City | Software Engineer | Machine Learning Engineer |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain View, CA | $186,000 | $190,000 |
| Sunnyvale, CA | $186,000 | $196,085 |
| New York, NY | $181,000 | $160,000 |
| Menlo Park, CA | $207,992 | $193,000 |
| San Francisco, CA | $180,000 | $181,636 |
| Seattle, WA | $168,400 | $174,304 |
| Bellevue, WA | $182,312 | $185,000 |
| San Jose, CA | $162,000 | $190,000 |
| Redmond, WA | $161,100 | $187,000 |
| Irving, TX | $102,000 | $118,396 |
By year
| Year filed | Software Engineer | Machine Learning Engineer |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $132,000 | $169,448 |
| 2024 | $131,095 | $172,032 |
| 2025 | $137,000 | $163,862 |
| 2026 | $151,840 | $167,485 |
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