These 9 firms pay Austin-based software engineers upwards of $250,000 and they're hiring. Here a

Publish date: 2024-07-03

2021-01-25T19:25:16Z

Austin is booming as an alternative for tech firms fleeing the high prices of Silicon Valley.
One hot job in Austin: software engineers. Insider examined more than 2,000 visa applications to understand how software engineers are paid.
The analysis includes salary information and current job postings from firms like Apple, Google, Whole Foods and more.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Austin, TX, continues to establish itself as a new tech hotspot. Oracle recently changed its headquarters from Redwood City, CA, to Austin, Tesla founder Elon Musk personally moved to the city, and lots of Americans are making the move as well.

This influx of company interest in Austin means job opportunities are growing.

Insider examined visa applications published by the US Office of Foreign Labor Certification to understand how various companies paid software engineers in Austin. Our analysis includes pay information for companies like Google, Apple, Dell, Whole Foods, and more.

Insider pulled data from more than 2,000 visa applications filed in 2019 and 2020. It's worth noting the visa application data only includes information on base salary, and excludes things like bonuses, incentives, and benefits that employees typically receive as part of their total rewards package.

Take a look at the data below.

Apple currently has a number of positions open in Austin for software engineers. According to visa application data, the firm has recorded salaries of $110,000 to $250,000 for Austin-based software engineers.

Apple Genius bar employees assist customers at the company's Fifth Avenue store on Earth Day in Midtown Manhattan on April 22, 2014. John Moore/Getty Images

In 2019, Apple announced that it was opening a campus in Austin, TX. The $1 billion, 3-million square foot campus will house 5,000 employees initially, and is set to open in 2022. The press release notes that the presence of Apple employees in Austin had grown by 50% in the previous five years.

For software engineers looking for opportunities in Austin, there are many jobs currently posted on the Apple's careers website:

According to data from visa applications, Apple has applied for visas with salaries ranging from $110,000 to $250,000 for various levels of software engineers. A sample of some of the salaries are below:

Software Engineer: $165,000 - $185,000

Senior Software Engineer: $145,000

Software Engineer Applications: $110,000 - $202,800

Software Engineer Applications Manager: $160,000 - $250,000

Cisco currently has job postings for positions specializing in machine learning, big data, security, and more.

The Cisco Systems logo is displayed at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on February 25, 2019. GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images

Multinational technology firm Cisco has many job openings for software engineers in Austin. Opportunities are available in machine learning, big data, security, and more.

The firm, based in Silicon Valley, filed over 20 visa applications for Austin-based software engineers in 2019 and 2020, and recorded salaries between $83,928 and $163,800.

Below are some jobs that Cisco has currently posted on its job site:

According to visa data, Dell software engineers can expect salaries between $77,000 to $176,000, depending on the level of seniority.

Dell CEO Michael Dell Dell

Computer technology giant Dell, with its headquarters in Round Rock, TX, has a large and growing presence in Austin. Though the firm has been around since the 1980s, it continues to innovate, working with Moderna on technology to help the leading COVID-vaccine firm to become more efficient.

Dell's open positions include ones with remote work options — employees can work remote or in Austin. There are also opportunities for more senior level software engineers. Below, we've included a few currently open jobs. Visit Dell's careers site for more information.

Salaries at the tech firm vary, according to visa applications. For general software engineers, candidates can expect a salary from around $77,000 to $176,000, depending on the level.

Software Engineer: $76,725

Software Engineer 1: $80,300 - $82,500

Software Engineer 2: $86,000 - $131,500

Software Engineer 2 - IT: $85,000

Senior Software Engineer - IT: $95,000 - $100,000

Principal Software Engineer - IT: $114,000

Technical Staff, Software Engineering: $165,240 - $176,400

Manager 2, Software Engineering: $150,000

Software engineers in eBay's Austin offices can expect salaries between $90,000 and over $170,000.

An eBay delivery parcel is prepared for shipping at an eBay seller warehouse Ki Price/Getty

Like many e-commerce firms, eBay has experienced success during the pandemic — in May 2020, the firm recorded a 50% increase in new business seller registration. Software engineering talent is an asset to the firm's seller-oriented platform.

According to visa data, software engineers earned anywhere from $90,000 to $177,905. More detailed data is listed below. Note that "MTS" typically stands for "member of technical staff," and means different things for different companies.

MTS 1, Software Engineer: $124,663 - $173,356

MTS 1, Software Engineer, Quality: $130,000 - $135,000

MTS 2, Software Engineer: $144,654 - $177,905

Software Engineer 2: $100,000 - $113,381

Software Engineer 2, Quality: $90,000 - $94,059

Software Engineer 3: $112,000 - $139,622

Software Engineer 3, Quality: $119,000

eBay currently has multiple job postings for software engineers in Austin. A few are below, but visit eBay's job site for a full listing.

In 2019, Google leased two new office spaces in Austin. Austin-based software engineers at the firm were hired at salaries between $110,000 and around $150,000, according to 2019 and 2020 visa applications.

Courtesy of Comparably

In 2019, the firm leased two new office spaces in Austin, one currently open and one set to open in 2023. The firm had 1,100 employees in Austin in 2019, but it continues to hire many positions to build up its Austin presence. In the past two years alone, the firm applied to hire nearly 70 software engineers through foreign worker visas. Salaries ranged between $110,000 and $146,000.

Below are a few positions open for software engineers. For a full listing of opportunities at Google, visit its careers page.

Home Depot applied to hire Austin-based software engineers at salaries between about $90,000 and nearly $180,000.

Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images

Home Depot's jobs site lists many opportunities for Austin-based software engineers. According to job descriptions, software engineers will work with other teams, like user experience, engineering, and product management, writing custom code to support the firm's infrastructure. A few of the posted jobs are listed below, but more are available on Home Depot's career page.

According to visa applications, Home Depot hires various positions for software engineers at salaries from about $90,000 to nearly $180,000, with higher salaries reflecting management positions.

Software Engineer: $88,483

Software Engineer II: $120,000

Staff Software Engineer: $122,925 - $150,000

Senior Software Engineer: $102,000 - $147,000

Software Engineer, Principal: $169,000

Software Engineer Manager: $178,900

Since 2019, Indeed has applied for visa applications covering a number of positions —from a general software engineer to a lead engineer to management.

Indeed CEO Chris Hyams Photo by Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images

If you want to help people find a perfect job, Indeed might be the place for you. The job-search firm currently has only one posting for a software engineer in Austin, but the company has hired quite a few software engineers in the past few years, so it may have openings soon.

According to visa application data, software engineers made between $76,274 and $175,000.

Manager, Software Engineering: $138,000 - $174,000

Senior Software Engineer: $116,000 - $166,900

Software Engineer: $76,274 - $161,000

Software Engineer - Search: $122,366 - $135,000

Software Engineer II: $116,000 - $142,000

Software Engineering Manager: $122,366 - $175,000

Staff Software Engineer: $88,483 - $150,500

If you're an early-career software engineer, PayPal might be a good fit. The firm currently has openings for software engineering interns.

Paypal executives PayPal; Ruobing Su/Business Insider

Whether you're an early-career software engineer or an experienced one, Paypal has opportunities for you. The online payments firm currently has openings for software engineers, from the internship level to the senior level. We've listed a few open positions below, but you can check out the PayPal jobs site for a full list of opportunities.

The firm has applied for visas for software engineers in Austin at salaries from $80,000 to $155,000.

Software Engineer 1: $80,000

Software Engineer 2: $89,000 - $110,000

Software Engineer 3: $100,062 - $144,228

Software Engineer 3, Quality: $112,741 - $155,000

Software Engineer: $140,000

MTS 1, Software Engineer: $124,019 - $161,017

MTS 1, Software Engineer, Quality: $130,000 - $135,200

MTS 2, Software Engineer: $144,654 - $172,000

MTS 2, Software Engineer Quality: $149,459

You could work as a software engineer behind-the-scenes on Whole Foods' supply chain, global distributions, perishable systems, and more. The firm currently has a number of positions open, paying up to $140,000.

Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Whole Foods uses software engineers to create programs that make its supply chain management more efficient, to design a technical approach to impact the global distribution and perishables systems, and more.

Essentially, software engineers are working behind-the-scenes to make the grocery store work — and they're paid well for it. According to visa applications, software engineers working in Austin for Whole Foods earned salaries anywhere from $95,000 to $140,000.

Principal Software Engineer: $140,000

Senior Software Engineer: $125,000

Senior Software Engineer (Custom): $107,300

Software Engineer: $95,000 - $125,000

Software Engineer (Packaged): $110,000

While a full list of Austin-based software engineering positions can be found on the firm's job site, we've listed a few open positions below:

Senior Software Development Engineer

Principal Software Engineer - .NET, Java, AWS

Lead Software Engineer - .NET, Java, AWS