Senior Materials Engineer salary in Boston, MA

Based on 19 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level III in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Woburn, Cambridge, Billerica, Gloucester, Malden.

Median salary$127,728
Middle 50%$120k–$136k
vs. all levels here+6%comparison median $120,000
Filings19FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $79,702 and $151,555.
PercentileSalary
10th$110,839
25th$120,000
50th (median)$127,728
75th$136,000
90th$141,162

Cost of living

Boston's median senior Materials Engineer salary of $127,728 is worth about $118,000 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Boston = 108.3).

Compared with all workers here

All Materials Engineers in the Boston, MA area earned a median of $111,480 in May 2025 (1,020 employed). The H-1B median here is $127,728, 15% 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
Applied Materialstoo few4
Daqus Energytoo few2
Massachusetts Institute of Technologytoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $89,211 12
Mid-level · Level II – 0
Senior · Level III $127,728 19
Expert · Level IV $155,000 11

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$83,554$89,21112
Senior · Level III$118,227$127,72819
Expert · Level IV$134,389$155,00011

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.