Senior Systems Engineer / Architect salary in Seattle, WA

Based on 1,430 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level III in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Bellevue, Redmond, Bothell, Kirkland, Issaquah.

Median salary$165,800
Middle 50%$139.3k–$182.1k
vs. all levels here+8%comparison median $153,000
Filings1,430FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $136,843 and $239,826.
PercentileSalary
10th$136,843
25th$139,298
50th (median)$165,800
75th$182,095
90th$195,940

Salary by year

Median salary

$120k $150k $180k FY2020: median $143,797 (819 filings) FY2021: median $145,307 (809 filings) FY2022: median $148,000 (1,075 filings) FY2023: median $144,706 (933 filings) FY2024: median $160,000 (1,273 filings) FY2025: median $166,300 (991 filings) FY2026: median $164,711 (439 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 819 filings FY20 FY2021: 809 filings FY21 FY2022: 1,075 filings FY22 FY2023: 933 filings FY23 FY2024: 1,273 filings FY24 FY2025: 991 filings FY25 FY2026: 439 filings FY26 1,273
Shaded: FY2025–FY2026, the years behind the figures above. Median shown for years with at least 10 filings. FY2026 covers Q1–Q3 only.
Show as table
Fiscal yearMedianP25P75Filings
FY2020$143,797$100,000$161,576819
FY2021$145,307$104,000$161,000809
FY2022$148,000$110,000$169,2671,075
FY2023$144,706$114,400$170,300933
FY2024$160,000$134,300$178,9391,273
FY2025$166,300$140,000$182,000991
FY2026$164,711$139,298$183,750439

Cost of living

Seattle's median senior Systems Engineer / Architect salary of $165,800 is worth about $149,200 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Seattle = 111.1).

Compared with all workers here

All Computer Systems Engineers/Architects in the Seattle, WA area earned a median of $136,120 in May 2025 (10,710 employed). The H-1B median here is $165,800, 22% higher.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS metropolitan area estimates. BLS wages include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are base salary.

Employers filing at this level

EmployerMedianFilings
Microsoft$180,000451
Amazon$161,900421
Infosys$139,29852
HCLTech$139,29848
Cognizant$136,84327
Salesforce$172,06423
Starbucks Coffee Company$171,37517
T-Mobile$158,00017
Walmart$203,50316
Meta$191,23814

Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $95,500 246
Mid-level · Level II $111,550 1,852
Senior · Level III $165,800 1,430
Expert · Level IV $188,590 1,148

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Entry-level · Level I$83,824$95,500246
Mid-level · Level II$108,098$111,5501,852
Senior · Level III$136,843$165,8001,430
Expert · Level IV$167,024$188,5901,148

The prevailing wage is the minimum an employer must pay for this job and area. Amounts vary by county within a metro and by wage source.