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Salaries

What companies building the future pay, straight from their own job postings.

20,485 openings with posted pay · 501 companies · Updated Sep 24, 2026

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Sorted by top of posted range

20,504 matching openings with posted pay
1
Research Engineer, Chip Design RL (Reinforcement Learning)

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$500k–$850k / year
2
Research Engineer, Computer Use

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$500k–$850k / year
3
Research Engineer, Universes

Anthropic · Remote · Senior

$500k–$850k / year
4
Staff+ Research Scientist, Multi-Agent

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Staff / Principal

$500k–$850k / year
5
Research Engineer, Machine Learning (RL Velocity)

Anthropic · Remote · Senior

$500k–$850k / year
6
Research Engineer, Code RL (Reinforcement Learning)

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$500k–$850k / year
7
Research Engineer, RL Engineering

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$500k–$850k / year
8
Pre-training Data Infrastructure Engineer

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Staff / Principal

$500k–$850k / year

Median base salary

$180k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$136k–$230k

25th to 75th percentile

20,485 openings with pay data across 501 companies · 47% of 43,529 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
198
$50k–$100k
2,178
$100k–$150k
4,054
$150k–$200k
5,874
$200k–$250k
4,428
$250k–$300k
2,094
$300k–$400k
1,314
$400k+
345

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,040 openings
Typical range $185k–$281k
$233k
Infrastructure, IT, & Security1,596 openings
Typical range $160k–$255k
$205k
Software & Data5,608 openings
Typical range $163k–$250k
$205k
Product, Programs, & Systems1,657 openings
Typical range $160k–$235k
$193k
Business Development & Customer Ops2,003 openings
Typical range $136k–$243k
$185k
Marketing & Design655 openings
Typical range $154k–$220k
$182k
Electrical & Firmware1,440 openings
Typical range $140k–$218k
$177k
Finance, Legal, & Compliance1,028 openings
Typical range $125k–$225k
$168k
Mechanical & Physical Systems1,383 openings
Typical range $126k–$185k
$158k
Business & People Operations873 openings
Typical range $113k–$185k
$148k
Test, Quality, & Reliability1,323 openings
Typical range $104k–$182k
$145k
Supply Chain & Procurement650 openings
Typical range $102k–$170k
$140k
Manufacturing & Production1,229 openings
Typical range $75k–$147k
$110k

By experience level

Intern549 openings
Typical range $60k–$94k
$71k
Entry-Level1,961 openings
Typical range $78k–$175k
$120k
Mid-Level6,013 openings
Typical range $120k–$200k
$155k
Senior8,006 openings
Typical range $160k–$235k
$193k
Staff / Principal1,566 openings
Typical range $195k–$275k
$231k
Manager1,549 openings
Typical range $150k–$236k
$188k
Director770 openings
Typical range $215k–$295k
$250k
Executive71 openings
Typical range $260k–$317k
$295k

By funding stage

Seed465 openings
Typical range $123k–$188k
$155k
Series A1,286 openings
Typical range $125k–$199k
$163k
Series B1,295 openings
Typical range $138k–$225k
$180k
Series C+13,300 openings
Typical range $143k–$237k
$187k
Public4,103 openings
Typical range $125k–$223k
$171k

By sector

AI Research1,669 openings
Typical range $214k–$353k
$280k
Compute & Semiconductors2,656 openings
Typical range $177k–$261k
$218k
AI App2,986 openings
Typical range $172k–$260k
$215k
Fintech724 openings
Typical range $147k–$246k
$194k
Robotics575 openings
Typical range $125k–$210k
$175k
Transportation1,208 openings
Typical range $115k–$228k
$173k
Public Services147 openings
Typical range $140k–$225k
$170k
Defense2,961 openings
Typical range $143k–$210k
$170k
Construction & Housing111 openings
Typical range $135k–$215k
$170k
Bio & Health443 openings
Typical range $124k–$219k
$165k
Agriculture165 openings
Typical range $115k–$170k
$160k
Energy & Climate1,511 openings
Typical range $120k–$190k
$159k
Supply Chain248 openings
Typical range $103k–$207k
$150k
Aerospace4,329 openings
Typical range $109k–$182k
$147k
Manufacturing713 openings
Typical range $100k–$183k
$139k
Education39 openings
Typical range $77k–$174k
$110k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Anthropic304 roles$363k
2Aaru19 roles$353k
3Thinking Machines Lab28 roles$325k
4OpenAI669 roles$308k
5Normal Computing18 roles$300k
6Goodfire12 roles$300k
7Wayve68 roles$290k
8World Labs11 roles$288k
9Lambda86 roles$287k
10Wispr Flow29 roles$285k
11Periodic Labs10 roles$281k
12Luma AI12 roles$276k
13Oxide12 roles$275k
14Generalist AI12 roles$275k
15Gimlet Labs10 roles$270k

Methodology

All figures come from salary ranges companies publish on their own job postings, pulled from their applicant tracking systems hourly. Nothing is self-reported or estimated.

Pay in other currencies is converted at fixed recent exchange rates. Hourly, weekly, and monthly pay is annualized. Everything is base salary only. Equity and bonus are excluded because postings rarely quantify them.

Stats are medians and quartiles of each posting's range midpoint, weighted by open roles. Groups with fewer than 30 openings (8 for a single company) are not shown.

Numbers reflect currently open roles, not historical offers. About 47% of tracked openings post pay. US pay-transparency laws drive most disclosure, so coverage skews to US roles. Explore hiring patterns in the hiring report.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median salary at companies building the future?
The median posted base salary is $180k per year, across 20,485 live openings at 501 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $136k and $230k.
Which startup roles pay the most?
AI & Autonomy roles lead at a $233k median, followed by Infrastructure, IT, & Security ($205k) and Software & Data ($205k), based on the ranges companies post on live openings.
Which companies building the future pay the highest salaries?
Anthropic tops the list with a $363k median posted base salary, ahead of Aaru ($353k) and Thinking Machines Lab ($325k), among companies with eight or more openings that post pay.
Do startup job postings include salary?
About 47% of the openings BuildList tracks post a pay range. Disclosure is highest at US companies covered by pay-transparency laws, so coverage skews to US roles.
Where does this salary data come from?
From the pay ranges companies publish on their own job postings, pulled hourly from their applicant tracking systems and normalized to annual base salary. Equity and bonus are excluded. Nothing is self-reported or estimated.

These numbers come from 20,485 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.

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