Salaries

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

23,696 openings with posted pay · 510 companies · Updated Oct 17, 2026

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Normal Computing: median base salary $300k · Typical range $295k–$300k · 21 openings with pay.

normal-computing

21 matching openings with posted pay
1
Platform Engineer

Normal Computing · Palo Alto, CA · Senior

$200k–$400k / year
2
Silicon Software Lead

Normal Computing · New York, NY · Manager

$200k–$400k / year
3
Software Engineer, Terminal Interface

Normal Computing · New York, NY · Senior

$200k–$400k / year
4
Research Engineer, Domain Scaling

Normal Computing · New York, NY · Mid-Level

$200k–$400k / year
5
AI Engineer

Normal Computing · New York, NY · Senior

$200k–$400k / year
6
Software Engineer, Backend

Normal Computing · New York, NY · Senior

$200k–$400k / year
7
Research Engineer, Algorithms

Normal Computing · New York, NY · Mid-Level

$200k–$400k / year
8
ASIC Architect

Normal Computing · Palo Alto, CA · Staff / Principal

$200k–$400k / year

Median base salary

$175k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$133k–$226k

25th to 75th percentile

23,696 openings with pay data across 510 companies · 52% of 45,673 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
235
$50k–$100k
2,902
$100k–$150k
4,682
$150k–$200k
6,821
$200k–$250k
4,917
$250k–$300k
2,343
$300k–$400k
1,438
$400k+
358

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,256 openings
Typical range $185k–$280k
$233k
Software & Data5,111 openings
Typical range $166k–$255k
$208k
Typical range $158k–$250k
$202k
Typical range $161k–$234k
$193k
Marketing & Design833 openings
Typical range $150k–$223k
$183k
Typical range $130k–$241k
$180k
Electrical & Firmware1,800 openings
Typical range $140k–$218k
$175k
Typical range $129k–$228k
$170k
Typical range $125k–$185k
$158k
Typical range $110k–$186k
$149k
Typical range $100k–$170k
$137k
Typical range $92k–$174k
$136k
Typical range $73k–$150k
$104k

By experience level

Intern789 openings
Typical range $60k–$95k
$73k
Entry-Level2,114 openings
Typical range $68k–$150k
$104k
Mid-Level6,258 openings
Typical range $115k–$193k
$150k
Senior9,426 openings
Typical range $160k–$230k
$193k
Staff / Principal1,999 openings
Typical range $193k–$270k
$230k
Manager1,992 openings
Typical range $148k–$235k
$187k
Director1,043 openings
Typical range $215k–$295k
$248k
Executive75 openings
Typical range $259k–$322k
$297k

By funding stage

Seed510 openings
Typical range $125k–$195k
$160k
Series A1,396 openings
Typical range $125k–$200k
$163k
Series B1,473 openings
Typical range $133k–$223k
$175k
Series C+15,223 openings
Typical range $142k–$235k
$185k
Public5,040 openings
Typical range $111k–$218k
$163k

By sector

AI Research1,806 openings
Typical range $219k–$352k
$281k
Typical range $177k–$262k
$218k
AI App3,289 openings
Typical range $170k–$260k
$214k
Fintech847 openings
Typical range $144k–$246k
$194k
Typical range $135k–$224k
$173k
Supply Chain291 openings
Typical range $118k–$216k
$170k
Robotics644 openings
Typical range $125k–$205k
$170k
Defense3,799 openings
Typical range $142k–$208k
$170k
Bio & Health489 openings
Typical range $130k–$219k
$168k
Public Services159 openings
Typical range $120k–$225k
$165k
Agriculture163 openings
Typical range $115k–$165k
$160k
Energy & Climate1,686 openings
Typical range $121k–$189k
$159k
Aerospace4,880 openings
Typical range $108k–$180k
$146k
Transportation1,836 openings
Typical range $90k–$212k
$146k
Education38 openings
Typical range $80k–$180k
$137k
Manufacturing799 openings
Typical range $86k–$175k
$133k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Anthropic404 roles$353k
2Aaru19 roles$353k
3Thinking Machines Lab36 roles$330k
4Whop11 roles$325k
5OpenAI654 roles$308k
6Normal Computing21 roles$300k
7Goodfire13 roles$300k
8Lambda89 roles$288k
9World Labs11 roles$288k
10MatX41 roles$288k
11Luma AI15 roles$288k
12Wispr Flow31 roles$285k
13Wayve71 roles$285k
14Periodic Labs26 roles$281k
15Oxide14 roles$275k

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 52% 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 $175k per year, across 23,696 live openings at 510 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $133k and $226k.
Which startup roles pay the most?
AI & Autonomy roles lead at a $233k median, followed by Software & Data ($208k) and Infrastructure, IT, & Security ($202k), based on the ranges companies post on live openings.
Which companies building the future pay the highest salaries?
Anthropic tops the list with a $353k median posted base salary, ahead of Aaru ($353k) and Thinking Machines Lab ($330k), among companies with eight or more openings that post pay.
Do startup job postings include salary?
About 52% 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 23,696 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.