How Much Do Research Scientist Jobs Pay in San Jose? (November 2026)
As of November 2026, the median Research Scientist salary in San Jose is $234,150 a year. Most roles pay between $168,000 and $281,050 (the 10th–90th percentile), drawn from 17 live salaried listings across 7 companies. All figures are converted to annual US dollars so different sources compare like-for-like.
How pay has moved
Median base salary by month, from our monthly salary snapshots.
Highest-paying employers
- All Etched roles →
- Applied Researcher 5 (AI Foundations - LLM, Optimization and Finetuning)Applied Researcher 5 (AI Foundations, LLM Core and Agentic AI)Applied Researcher 5 (AI Foundations, LLM Core and Agentic AI)Applied Researcher 4 (AI Foundations - LLM, Optimization and Finetuning)Applied Researcher 4 (AI Foundations, LLM Core and Agentic AI)All Capital One roles →
- All Archer Aviation roles →
Employers ranked by median advertised base among those with at least two salaried listings in San Jose; each one’s best-paying open roles are listed beneath it.
Methodology: Research Scientist listings in San Jose with a published salary, updated daily. Figures come from roles that are open right now. Ranges and single figures are converted to an annual US-dollar midpoint; hourly rates are annualised and out-of-band values dropped. Salary data is self-reported by employers and covers the roles that disclose pay — treat it as a directional guide, not a guarantee.