Google, a long-standing leader in generous compensation packages within Silicon Valley has recently adjusted its pay processes to weed out low performers, a trend being mirrored by other industry giants like Meta and Microsoft.
While the tech giant keeps salary data confidential, publicly available data from federal work-visa filings for the first quarter of 2025 offers a glimpse into how much it pays for certain roles.
It’s important to note that these figures represent only base salaries of Google employees and do not include additional equity or bonuses, which can increase their total compensation.
AI talent war benefits SDE roles
Amidst the ongoing AI boom, software engineers can earn as much as $340,000 as talent in this field is highly in demand right now.
Despite these substantial salaries, an internal spreadsheet obtained in 2023 showed that many employees still felt underpaid, even with bonuses and equity factored in.
Here’s a list of how much Google is paying across key roles, based on those roughly 6,800 visa applications from the first quarter of 2025.
Engineers: Leading the pack with highest earnings
Software engineers remain at the forefront of Google’s compensation, with top employees earning as high as $340,000.
Even within its autonomous vehicle unit, Waymo, software engineers command competitive salaries.
- Software engineer: $109,180 to $340,000
- Software engineer (Waymo): $150,000 to $282,000
- Software engineer manager: $199,000 to $316,000
- Software engineer, site reliability engineer: $133,000 to $258,000
- Staff software engineer: $220,000 to $323,000
- Application engineer: $138,000 to $199,000
- Customer engineer: $85,009.60 to $228,000
- Customer solutions engineer: $108,000 to $228,000
- Data engineer: $111,000 to $175,000
- Electrical engineer: $119,000 to $203,000
- Hardware engineer: $130,000 to $284,000
- Network engineer: $108,000 to $195,000
- Research engineer: $153,000 to $265,000
- Security engineer: $97,000 to $233,000
- Senior software engineer: $187,000 to $253,000
- Silicon design verification engineer: $126,000 to $207,050
- Silicon engineer: $146,000 to $252,000
- Silicon generalist: $144,000 to $223,000
Scientists: Robust pay for research & data expertise
Research and data scientists are also largely valued and compensated by Google, with salaries reflecting their contributions in the data-driven industry.
- Research scientist: $155,000 to $303,000
- Data scientist: $133,000 to $260,000
Managers: Product and program leadership roles
Managers overseeing products and programmes also command massive figures of salary. The tech giant’s highest-paid product managers can make as much as $280,000.
- Product manager: $136,000 to $280,000
- Program manager: $125,000 to $236,000
- Technical program manager: $116,000 to $270,000
Consultants: High compensation for solutions
Consulting roles, particularly in technical solutions are also well-compensated for their specialised knowledge in the field.
- Solutions consultant: $100,000 to $282,000
- Technical solutions consultant: $110,000 to $253,000
Business and analyst: Financial judgement and quality assurance
Financial analysts and other business-focused roles also show robust earning potential.
- Account manager: $85,500 to $166,000
- Business systems analyst: $141,000 to $201,885
- Financial analyst: $102,000 to $225,230
- Search quality analyst: $120,000 to $235,000
Designers: Valuing user experience
Design professionals focusing on user experience can also pocket a decent amount for their contributions to product usability and aesthetics.
- UX designer: $124,000 to $230,000
- UX researcher: $124,000 to $224,000