Entry-level Sales Engineer salary in San Jose, CA
Based on 66 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level I in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto.
Also listed as: Solutions Engineer
Salary range
| Percentile | Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th | $108,722 |
| 25th | $108,722 |
| 50th (median) | $109,491 |
| 75th | $119,250 |
| 90th | $135,389 |
Salary by year
Median salary
Filings per year
Show as table
| Fiscal year | Median | P25 | P75 | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $91,749 | $91,749 | $92,253 | 16 |
| FY2021 | $99,025 | $94,120 | $116,520 | 15 |
| FY2022 | $107,557 | $107,557 | $110,000 | 20 |
| FY2023 | $102,669 | $102,669 | $103,000 | 17 |
| FY2024 | $110,219 | $100,734 | $117,643 | 25 |
| FY2025 | $109,491 | $108,722 | $115,954 | 43 |
| FY2026 | $109,491 | $109,491 | $121,000 | 23 |
Cost of living
San Jose's median entry-level Sales Engineer salary of $109,491 is worth about $99,200 at national average prices.
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; San Jose = 110.4).
Compared with all workers here
All Sales Engineers in the San Jose, CA area earned a median of $177,490 in May 2025 (1,600 employed). The H-1B median here is $109,491, 38% lower.
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
| Employer | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA | too few | 6 |
| too few | 4 | |
| Siemens | too few | 3 |
| Cadence Design Systems | too few | 3 |
| GMI Cloud | too few | 3 |
| Advantest America | too few | 2 |
| Becton, Dickinson and Company | too few | 2 |
| Luxshare-ICT | too few | 2 |
| Matrice.AI | too few | 2 |
| Penn Engineering & Manufacturing | too few | 2 |
Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.
By experience level
| Wage level | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level · Level I | $109,491 | 66 |
| Mid-level · Level II | $140,000 | 161 |
| Senior · Level III | $171,018 | 182 |
| Expert · Level IV | $200,304 | 238 |
Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.
Minimum H-1B salary by level
| Wage level | Prevailing wage (most common) | Median offered salary | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry-level · Level I | $108,722 | $109,491 | 66 |
| Mid-level · Level II | $139,235 | $140,000 | 161 |
| Senior · Level III | $168,958 | $171,018 | 182 |
| Expert · Level IV | $198,702 | $200,304 | 238 |
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.