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Salaries

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

23,746 openings with posted pay · 510 companies · Updated Oct 19, 2026

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Sorted by top of posted range

Electrical & Firmware in Defense: median base salary $170k · Typical range $150k–$222k · 282 openings with pay.

Electrical & Firmware · Defense

282 matching openings with posted pay
1
Principal Electrical Engineer

Neros · Torrance, CA · Staff / Principal

$255k–$357k / year
2
Principal Connectivity Engineer

Neros · Torrance, CA · Staff / Principal

$255k–$357k / year
3
Director, Avionics Engineering, V-BAT

Shield AI · Dallas, TX · Director

$220k–$340k / year
4
Principal Digital Hardware Engineer (FPGA/VHDL)

Anduril Industries · Costa Mesa, CA · Staff / Principal

$253k–$336k / year
5
Lead, Electrical Engineering (R5116)

Shield AI · Seattle, WA · Senior

$217k–$325k / year
6
Director, Electrical Engineering

CHAOS Industries · El Segundo, CA · Director

$233k–$321k / year
7
Flight Software Manager

Neros · Torrance, CA · Manager

$226k–$316k / year
8
Embedded Engineering Manager - Storage Systems

Verkada · San Mateo, CA · Manager

$200k–$315k / year

Median base salary

$175k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$133k–$226k

25th to 75th percentile

23,746 openings with pay data across 510 companies · 52% of 45,667 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
234
$50k–$100k
2,918
$100k–$150k
4,695
$150k–$200k
6,827
$200k–$250k
4,937
$250k–$300k
2,338
$300k–$400k
1,437
$400k+
360

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,258 openings
Typical range $185k–$280k
$233k
Software & Data5,106 openings
Typical range $166k–$254k
$209k
Infrastructure, IT, & Security1,887 openings
Typical range $158k–$250k
$201k
Product, Programs, & Systems2,003 openings
Typical range $161k–$235k
$193k
Marketing & Design831 openings
Typical range $150k–$223k
$183k
Business Development & Customer Ops2,532 openings
Typical range $130k–$241k
$180k
Electrical & Firmware1,796 openings
Typical range $140k–$218k
$175k
Finance, Legal, & Compliance1,168 openings
Typical range $128k–$228k
$170k
Mechanical & Physical Systems1,697 openings
Typical range $125k–$185k
$158k
Business & People Operations1,157 openings
Typical range $110k–$185k
$148k
Supply Chain & Procurement821 openings
Typical range $100k–$170k
$137k
Test, Quality, & Reliability1,902 openings
Typical range $92k–$174k
$136k
Manufacturing & Production1,588 openings
Typical range $73k–$150k
$103k

By experience level

Intern788 openings
Typical range $60k–$95k
$73k
Entry-Level2,129 openings
Typical range $67k–$148k
$103k
Mid-Level6,253 openings
Typical range $115k–$193k
$150k
Senior9,439 openings
Typical range $160k–$230k
$193k
Staff / Principal2,014 openings
Typical range $193k–$270k
$229k
Manager2,003 openings
Typical range $148k–$235k
$187k
Director1,045 openings
Typical range $217k–$295k
$249k
Executive75 openings
Typical range $259k–$317k
$290k

By funding stage

Seed516 openings
Typical range $123k–$195k
$160k
Series A1,394 openings
Typical range $125k–$200k
$163k
Series B1,460 openings
Typical range $133k–$220k
$175k
Series C+15,270 openings
Typical range $142k–$235k
$185k
Public5,045 openings
Typical range $111k–$218k
$163k

By sector

AI Research1,807 openings
Typical range $219k–$352k
$281k
Compute & Semiconductors2,858 openings
Typical range $177k–$262k
$218k
AI App3,300 openings
Typical range $170k–$260k
$214k
Fintech855 openings
Typical range $143k–$245k
$194k
Construction & Housing118 openings
Typical range $135k–$224k
$173k
Supply Chain294 openings
Typical range $118k–$215k
$170k
Robotics644 openings
Typical range $125k–$207k
$170k
Defense3,813 openings
Typical range $140k–$208k
$170k
Bio & Health488 openings
Typical range $130k–$219k
$168k
Public Services160 openings
Typical range $120k–$225k
$165k
Energy & Climate1,687 openings
Typical range $121k–$189k
$159k
Agriculture158 openings
Typical range $115k–$165k
$159k
Aerospace4,887 openings
Typical range $108k–$180k
$146k
Transportation1,838 openings
Typical range $90k–$212k
$146k
Education36 openings
Typical range $78k–$175k
$137k
Manufacturing803 openings
Typical range $86k–$175k
$133k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Anthropic406 roles$353k
2Aaru19 roles$353k
3Thinking Machines Lab36 roles$330k
4Whop11 roles$325k
5OpenAI652 roles$308k
6Normal Computing22 roles$300k
7Goodfire13 roles$300k
8Lambda89 roles$288k
9World Labs11 roles$288k
10MatX42 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 23,746 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 ($209k) and Infrastructure, IT, & Security ($201k), 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 23,746 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.

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