Updated
PERM occupation, SOC 11-9041, #157 of 1,410 by filings
Architectural and Engineering Managers
- Biggest sponsor
- INTEL CORPORATION · 5% of its filings
- Busiest state
- CA · 26% of its filings
- Major group
- Management · SOC 11
Weighing an offer for this job?
Where it falls among certified offers, and the four wage levels DOL sets for it by area.
This rate is level with the field
Over 299 decided filings, this rate can't be told apart from the field in either direction.
Why
The 95% interval runs up to a 5.2% denial rate, which still covers the 3.20% the field as a whole records.
Median wage
$153,878
all PERM $103,272
Filings
308
#157 of 1,410
Approval
97.3%
field 96.8%
Median days
386
91 faster than the field
What it pays
Where its median offer sits among every occupation, then the whole ladder of certified offers by year and by state.
Median offered wage
$153,878above 93%
Approval rate
97.3%ahead of 57%
Median days to decision
386 daysahead of 86%
Each bar counts occupations at that value. More
Who files it
The sponsors and firms with the most PERM filings under this code, the places the work sits, and who the workers were.
Sponsors filing it
- INTEL CORPORATION 16 filings
- NVIDIA CORPORATION 9 filings
- KRONES INC. 8 filings
- VALEO NORTH AMERICA, INC. 7 filings
- RIVIAN AUTOMOTIVE, LLC 6 filings
- LUCID USA, INC. 5 filings
How this is counted
The employers with the most applications under this code. 51 of 308 filings, 17% of the total.
Firms filing it
- Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen Loewy, LLP 78 filings · 98.7% approved
- Berry Appleman Leiden LLP 13 filings
- Honigman LLP 9 filings
- Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak Stewart, P.C. 9 filings
- Grzeca Law Group, SC 8 filings
- Tafapolsky Smith LLP 7 filings
How this is counted
The law firms named on the most applications under this code. 124 of 308 filings, 40% of the total.
Where the jobs are
- California 80
- Michigan 40
- Texas 40
- Florida 22
- Wisconsin 12
- Georgia 10
How this is counted
The worksite state on the application, which is where the job is and not where the company is headquartered. Volume by state across everyone is on the state map. These 6 states cover 204 of 308 filings.
Where the work is
- Santa Clara, CA 13
- Houston, TX 10
- San Jose, CA 9
- Troy, MI 9
- Dallas, TX 8
- Franklin, WI 8
How this is counted
The worksite city on the application, which is where the job is. These 6 cities cover 57 of 308 filings.
- Every sponsor that files it, by state, approval rate, offered wage and time to a decision
- Every filing for it, PERM, wage requests and H-1B, case by case
Who filled these jobs, FY2016 to FY2023
From DOL's old form; the form in use since mid-2023 doesn't carry them. Top six of each.
Country of citizenship
- India 1,367
- Canada 497
- Mexico 240
- China 144
- Venezuela 137
- United Kingdom 127
Worker's education
- Master's 1,703
- Bachelor's 1,627
- Doctorate 143
- None 119
- Other 72
- Associate's 33
Visa held when filed
- H-1B 2,219
- L-1 616
- TN 259
- E-2 200
- F-1 57
- NOT IN USA 48
Schools
- UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 42
- UNIVERSITY OF WINDSOR 27
- ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY 26
- SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY 26
- WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY 25
- NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY 24
Fields of study
- MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 655
- ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING 474
- CIVIL ENGINEERING 163
- CHEMICAL ENGINEERING 117
- ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING 113
- INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING 112
The job itself
What O*NET says the work is, what the market pays it by BLS's survey, its outlook, and DOL's wage levels year by year.
- United States220,260 jobs
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CASanta Clara, San Jose
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TXHouston
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MITroy
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXDallas
- Milwaukee-Waukesha, WIFranklin
- middle half of pay (BLS)
- median
- 10th to 90th percentile
- DOL's Levels I to IV, left to right
- median PERM offer
| Area | BLS median | Level I | Level II | Level III | Level IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $171,270 | ||||
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $234,590 | $186,264 | $219,315 | $252,366 | $285,418 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $172,020 | $133,390 | $164,362 | $195,354 | $226,325 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $168,550 | $127,941 | $150,405 | $172,890 | $195,354 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $172,160 | $124,758 | $153,504 | $182,229 | $210,974 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | $143,570 | $113,901 | $134,098 | $154,274 | $174,470 |
How these figures fit together
BLS surveys employers on what they pay everyone in a job; DOL builds its four levels from the same survey a year later (the July 2026 wage year uses BLS's May 2025 estimates). DOL publishes levels by area, not nationally, so the United States line has none. Levels are hourly in DOL's tables; here they're shown a year at 2,080 hours, as DOL computes them. The metros are the ones holding the most of this job's PERM filings, placed by Census's county files.
The block is the middle half of what employers report paying everyone in this job, citizen or not; the ticks under it are DOL's four prevailing wage levels for that metro, the floors a PERM or H-1B offer is held to. More
DOL's levels for this job in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, year by year
Each July DOL resets the four levels from BLS's newest survey. A determination keeps the figures of the year it was issued in.
| Wage year | Level I | Level II | Level III | Level IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | $186,264 | $219,315 | $252,366 | $285,418 |
| 2025-26 | $178,818 | $213,512 | $248,186 | $282,880 |
| 2024-25 | $172,994 | $208,125 | $243,256 | $278,387 |
| 2023-24 | High Wage | — | — | — |
| 2022-23 | $156,998 | $192,317 | $227,656 | $262,974 |
| 2021-22 | $152,859 | $189,883 | $226,928 | $263,952 |
What the job is
Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as architecture and engineering or research and development in these fields.
- Preparation
- Extensive Preparation Needed
- O*NET Job Zone 5
- DOL's education basis
- Bachelor's degree
- Wage year 2026-27, on DOL's Appendix A list
- Jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +5.5%
- About 14,900 openings a year (BLS)
- Typical entry
- Bachelor's degree
- 5 years or more of related work (BLS)
Bright Outlook O*NET OnLine lists this job for rapid growth.
The work, most important first
- Manage the coordination and overall integration of technical activities in architecture or engineering projects.
- Direct, review, or approve project design changes.
- Consult or negotiate with clients to prepare project specifications.
- Prepare budgets, bids, or contracts.
- Present and explain proposals, reports, or findings to clients.
- Confer with management, production, or marketing staff to discuss project specifications or procedures.
The education workers in it report
- 46%
Bachelor's Degree
- 27%
Master's Degree
- 12%
Post-Master's Certificate
- 12%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.
Titles people use for it
Engineering Director, Engineering Program Manager, Project Engineering Manager, Project Manager, Civil Engineering Manager, Electrical Engineering Manager, Engineering Group Manager, Mechanical Engineering Manager.
O*NET also describes Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers under this SOC code.
Related jobs: Project Management Specialists, Industrial Engineers, Logistics Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary, Architectural and Civil Drafters.
This section includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database and O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. PERM Tracker has modified some of this information (the shares are rounded and only the top tasks are shown); what changed. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Against other jobs
Where this sits in the ranking
Ranked 157 of 1,410 by volume: 156 filed at least as many filings, and 1,253 filed no more.
- Just above
- Biostatisticians 308 filings
- Just below
- Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants 305 filings
Other management roles
Occupations sharing this one's SOC major group, which is carried in the first two digits of the code. More
Occupations sharing this one's SOC major group, which is carried in the first two digits of the code. Wages inside a group still swing hard, because the group holds every seniority level and every metro.
- #162 Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers 294 filings · 26 denied
- #146 General and Operations Managers 335 filings · 37 denied
- #170 Financial Managers 274 filings · 13 denied
- #140 Quality Control Systems Managers 363 filings · 6 denied
- #180 Purchasing Managers 243 filings · 7 denied
- #197 Sales Manager 219 filings · 13 denied
The same job on H-1B
13,512 certified H-1B labor condition applications for this occupation since FY2020, offering a median of $167,087 a year; the middle half ran $139,088 to $202,761. By state and year in the salary explorer.
Notes on these numbers
Reading the wage
A floor, not a salary survey: every level and metro mixed. DOL's four wage levels for this job, by area.
What the median is
The median wage employers committed to in federal filings for this occupation. It mixes every experience level and every metro, and it's a floor: the employer must offer at least the prevailing wage DOL determines for the occupation, level and county. Across all PERM filings the middle half of offered wages runs $45,178 to $141,357, so a figure inside that band is unremarkable whichever occupation it belongs to. The levels page reads DOL's OFLC wage search live.
What these numbers don't say
4 notes
- The code is the identity
- This one is SOC 11-9041. Two SOC codes can carry the same job title, so a title that looks duplicated on the ranking is two different occupations. Match on the code when you're checking a specific filing.
- A median isn’t an offer
- It's the middle of all 308 wages committed to for this occupation across the country, entry level and principal alike. The same role's medians swing hard by worksite, which the state map shows directly.
- Approval isn’t about the occupation
- The denial rate moves with what happened in the filing rather than with the job title, so nothing here is a property of Architectural and Engineering Managers. The measured factors are on the denial risk page, published as separate rates.
- Nothing here is pending
- All 308 counted here carry a decision date, because every case in DOL's disclosure files does, so a case still waiting is in none of them. The largest filer of this occupation is INTEL CORPORATION. Where the queue stands today is on the processing times page.
The window these figures cover: DOL's PERM disclosure files for fiscal years 2024 to 2026, through the third quarter of 2026, 373,939 decided cases. Nothing pending is counted here. How each figure is built
Weighing an offer?
Compare it against this median, then check the state map, where the same occupation's medians swing hard by worksite.
Setting one?
All 1,410 occupations sort together on the wages page, and denial rates show how outcome moves with the offered wage.
Filings newer than DOL's last published file can't be attributed to this occupation until DOL publishes them. The live list on the case search page carries them by employer.
Case data: DOL quarterly disclosure files (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jun 30, 2026 · quarterly
Employers and firms: Derived from DOL's disclosure files · data through Jun 30, 2026 · rebuilt with each quarterly load
O*NET occupation data: O*NET Database, USDOL/ETA (onetcenter.org) · data through Aug 16, 2026 · twice a year
BLS market pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (bls.gov) · data through May 31, 2025 · yearly, each spring
BLS employment projections: BLS Employment Projections (bls.gov) · data through Dec 31, 2025 · yearly, each autumn
DOL wage tables: DOL OFLC wage data downloads (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jul 1, 2026 · yearly, each july
What each source includes
Case data: Decided PERM cases only. A case still waiting isn't in here, so counts and durations describe finished cases.
Employers and firms: Employers, law firms and occupations ranked from decided cases only.
O*NET occupation data: What O*NET says each occupation is and takes: its description, tasks, Job Zone and the education workers report. A description of the job everywhere, not of any one employer's opening.
BLS market pay: What employers report paying everyone in each job, nationally, by state and by metro, from BLS's yearly survey (May of the year named). Citizens and immigrants alike; not PERM offers.
BLS employment projections: BLS's ten-year projection of each job's employment and yearly openings, and the entry education it calls typical. A projection, not a count.
DOL wage tables: The four prevailing wage levels DOL publishes for every job in every area, each wage year from 2021-22, as DOL's own tables print them. The floors an offer is held to, not what anyone was paid.
Cite this page
Waiting on a PERM case?
- When it'll likely be decided
- An email when DOL moves it