Salaries

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

21,476 openings with posted pay · 506 companies · Updated Oct 1, 2026

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World Labs: median base salary $288k · Typical range $263k–$300k · 11 openings with pay.

world-labs

11 matching openings with posted pay
1
Research Engineer / Scientist (Robot Learning)

World Labs · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$250k–$350k / year
2
Research Engineer / Scientist (SLAM)

World Labs · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$250k–$350k / year
3$250k–$350k / year
4
Research Engineer / Scientist (3D Tech Lead)

World Labs · San Francisco, CA · Staff / Principal

$250k–$350k / year
5
Product Engineer

World Labs · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$275k–$325k / year
6
Rendering Systems Engineer - Simulation & Synthetic Data

World Labs · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$250k–$325k / year
7
Research Scientist (Generative Modeling)

World Labs · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$250k–$325k / year
8
Senior Product Engineer (Tech Lead)

World Labs · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$250k–$325k / year

Median base salary

$178k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$135k–$228k

25th to 75th percentile

21,476 openings with pay data across 506 companies · 49% of 44,135 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
215
$50k–$100k
2,404
$100k–$150k
4,281
$150k–$200k
6,172
$200k–$250k
4,549
$250k–$300k
2,149
$300k–$400k
1,362
$400k+
344

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,116 openings
Typical range $183k–$279k
$230k
Software & Data5,371 openings
Typical range $165k–$253k
$205k
Typical range $160k–$253k
$204k
Typical range $155k–$230k
$193k
Typical range $135k–$241k
$184k
Marketing & Design697 openings
Typical range $153k–$220k
$181k
Electrical & Firmware1,580 openings
Typical range $138k–$216k
$175k
Typical range $115k–$221k
$161k
Typical range $125k–$185k
$158k
Typical range $113k–$186k
$150k
Typical range $107k–$183k
$147k
Typical range $105k–$170k
$142k
Typical range $75k–$148k
$109k

By experience level

Intern665 openings
Typical range $60k–$94k
$71k
Entry-Level1,985 openings
Typical range $74k–$164k
$113k
Mid-Level6,044 openings
Typical range $118k–$200k
$150k
Senior8,461 openings
Typical range $160k–$232k
$193k
Staff / Principal1,719 openings
Typical range $193k–$271k
$230k
Manager1,692 openings
Typical range $150k–$235k
$186k
Director838 openings
Typical range $215k–$295k
$250k
Executive72 openings
Typical range $260k–$317k
$294k

By funding stage

Seed476 openings
Typical range $125k–$190k
$157k
Series A1,308 openings
Typical range $125k–$200k
$163k
Series B1,373 openings
Typical range $135k–$225k
$178k
Series C+13,885 openings
Typical range $143k–$235k
$185k
Public4,394 openings
Typical range $120k–$220k
$168k

By sector

AI Research1,743 openings
Typical range $215k–$351k
$278k
Typical range $177k–$262k
$218k
AI App3,037 openings
Typical range $170k–$260k
$215k
Fintech754 openings
Typical range $146k–$246k
$196k
Robotics577 openings
Typical range $128k–$210k
$178k
Public Services140 openings
Typical range $138k–$225k
$171k
Defense3,199 openings
Typical range $143k–$210k
$170k
Typical range $135k–$215k
$170k
Bio & Health469 openings
Typical range $124k–$219k
$165k
Transportation1,444 openings
Typical range $109k–$221k
$164k
Agriculture164 openings
Typical range $115k–$168k
$160k
Supply Chain254 openings
Typical range $112k–$212k
$158k
Energy & Climate1,553 openings
Typical range $120k–$188k
$158k
Aerospace4,558 openings
Typical range $108k–$180k
$146k
Manufacturing735 openings
Typical range $96k–$176k
$137k
Education40 openings
Typical range $78k–$170k
$116k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Anthropic339 roles$363k
2Aaru19 roles$353k
3Thinking Machines Lab33 roles$325k
4OpenAI677 roles$308k
5Periodic Labs21 roles$300k
6Normal Computing18 roles$300k
7Goodfire12 roles$300k
8Lambda87 roles$288k
9World Labs11 roles$288k
10Wispr Flow29 roles$285k
11Wayve66 roles$282k
12Oxide13 roles$275k
13Generalist AI12 roles$275k
14Gimlet Labs11 roles$270k
15Luma AI13 roles$265k

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 49% 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 $178k per year, across 21,476 live openings at 506 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $135k and $228k.
Which startup roles pay the most?
AI & Autonomy roles lead at a $230k median, followed by Software & Data ($205k) and Infrastructure, IT, & Security ($204k), 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 49% 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 21,476 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.