Mechanical Engineers, R&D
SOC code 17-2144 · 789 certified H-1B positions, FY2023–FY2026.
789
certified positions
$85,000
Median pay
$67,795
25th pct
$104,607
75th pct
$128,553
90th pct
$59,107
10th pct
Estimates from public U.S. Department of Labor records — wages are
employer-attested offered wages, not verified salaries paid; counts are filings, not
people. Not legal, financial, or career advice. See our
disclaimer & terms.
Data: DOL filings FY2023–FY2026 (through June 2026) · Page updated October 2026
$64,480
Median prevailing wage
$59,107$85,000 median$128,553
Quarterly median pay 2022-Q4 → 2026-Q2 · ▲ 42.5%
Wage-level mix DOL prevailing-wage levels on these filings
Level I · Entry — 247 (34%), med $65,000Level II · Qualified — 205 (28%), med $91,538Level III · Experienced — 204 (28%), med $97,379Level IV · Fully competent — 74 (10%), med $118,000
Top employers hiring
| Employer | Positions | Median |
|---|---|---|
| UT-BATTELLE, LLC (OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY) | 70 | $119,590 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 52 | $72,400 |
| UChicago Argonne LLC | 46 | $90,063 |
| WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY | 39 | $70,000 |
| Battelle Memorial Institute | 34 | $99,298 |
| Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC | 32 | $92,150 |
| Southwest Research Institute | 31 | $97,870 |
| The Trustees of Princeton University | 27 | $81,459 |
| University of Michigan | 25 | $63,000 |
| Brookhaven National Laboratory | 24 | $139,720 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | 20 | $93,496 |
| TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH CENTER INC | 20 | $90,000 |
| Leland Stanford Jr. Univ/SLAC National Accelerator Lab | 17 | $116,000 |
| University of Connecticut | 16 | $61,258 |
| The University of Texas at Austin | 16 | $93,925 |
Top states
| State | Positions |
|---|---|
| Tennessee | 74 |
| Massachusetts | 73 |
| Texas | 72 |
| Illinois | 69 |
| California | 54 |
| Colorado | 46 |
| New York | 43 |
| Kansas | 39 |
| Michigan | 33 |
| Ohio | 31 |
| Washington | 30 |
| New Jersey | 26 |
| Maryland | 19 |
| Georgia | 19 |
| Indiana | 16 |