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Salaries

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

20,912 openings with posted pay · 502 companies · Updated Sep 29, 2026

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Sorted by top of posted range

Electrical & Firmware in Energy & Climate: median base salary $170k · Typical range $125k–$203k · 137 openings with pay.

Electrical & Firmware · Energy & Climate

137 matching openings with posted pay
1
Director of Engineering, Modules

Helion Energy · Everett, WA · Director

$272k–$320k / year
2
Principal Embedded Software Engineer

Radiant · El Segundo, CA · Staff / Principal

$201k–$314k / year
3
Principal Electrical Engineer, Integration & Test

Radiant · El Segundo, CA · Staff / Principal

$201k–$314k / year
4
Principal Power Systems Engineer

Radiant · El Segundo, CA · Staff / Principal

$201k–$314k / year
5
Head of Embedded Software

Peak Energy · Burlingame, CA · Director

$235k–$300k / year
6
Senior Staff Software Engineer, Founding BMC

Crusoe Energy · Sunnyvale, CA · Senior

$237k–$288k / year
7
Senior Manager, Power Systems

Radiant · El Segundo, CA · Manager

$209k–$284k / year
8
Engineering Manager, Electronics

Radiant · El Segundo, CA · Manager

$209k–$284k / year

Median base salary

$180k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$135k–$229k

25th to 75th percentile

20,912 openings with pay data across 502 companies · 48% of 43,769 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
198
$50k–$100k
2,285
$100k–$150k
4,129
$150k–$200k
5,979
$200k–$250k
4,518
$250k–$300k
2,106
$300k–$400k
1,353
$400k+
344

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,091 openings
Typical range $185k–$281k
$232k
Software & Data5,539 openings
Typical range $163k–$250k
$205k
Infrastructure, IT, & Security1,659 openings
Typical range $160k–$255k
$205k
Product, Programs, & Systems1,708 openings
Typical range $160k–$235k
$193k
Business Development & Customer Ops2,035 openings
Typical range $137k–$244k
$188k
Marketing & Design670 openings
Typical range $154k–$220k
$182k
Electrical & Firmware1,514 openings
Typical range $140k–$217k
$177k
Finance, Legal, & Compliance1,041 openings
Typical range $125k–$225k
$168k
Mechanical & Physical Systems1,435 openings
Typical range $125k–$185k
$158k
Business & People Operations928 openings
Typical range $113k–$185k
$148k
Test, Quality, & Reliability1,387 openings
Typical range $102k–$181k
$145k
Supply Chain & Procurement653 openings
Typical range $100k–$170k
$140k
Manufacturing & Production1,252 openings
Typical range $75k–$148k
$109k

By experience level

Intern602 openings
Typical range $60k–$94k
$71k
Entry-Level1,949 openings
Typical range $78k–$170k
$115k
Mid-Level6,025 openings
Typical range $120k–$200k
$153k
Senior8,213 openings
Typical range $160k–$233k
$193k
Staff / Principal1,650 openings
Typical range $194k–$273k
$230k
Manager1,614 openings
Typical range $150k–$236k
$188k
Director788 openings
Typical range $218k–$296k
$250k
Executive71 openings
Typical range $260k–$317k
$297k

By funding stage

Seed475 openings
Typical range $125k–$190k
$155k
Series A1,319 openings
Typical range $125k–$198k
$163k
Series B1,340 openings
Typical range $138k–$225k
$180k
Series C+13,560 openings
Typical range $143k–$236k
$187k
Public4,182 openings
Typical range $123k–$220k
$170k

By sector

AI Research1,714 openings
Typical range $215k–$351k
$276k
Compute & Semiconductors2,672 openings
Typical range $177k–$262k
$218k
AI App3,009 openings
Typical range $173k–$260k
$215k
Fintech724 openings
Typical range $147k–$249k
$196k
Robotics581 openings
Typical range $125k–$210k
$175k
Construction & Housing109 openings
Typical range $135k–$215k
$175k
Transportation1,228 openings
Typical range $113k–$228k
$173k
Public Services142 openings
Typical range $140k–$225k
$171k
Defense3,108 openings
Typical range $143k–$208k
$170k
Bio & Health459 openings
Typical range $124k–$219k
$165k
Agriculture164 openings
Typical range $115k–$168k
$160k
Energy & Climate1,524 openings
Typical range $120k–$189k
$159k
Supply Chain250 openings
Typical range $103k–$212k
$153k
Aerospace4,480 openings
Typical range $108k–$180k
$146k
Manufacturing710 openings
Typical range $100k–$180k
$138k
Education38 openings
Typical range $77k–$174k
$111k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Anthropic315 roles$363k
2Aaru19 roles$353k
3Thinking Machines Lab31 roles$325k
4OpenAI682 roles$308k
5Normal Computing18 roles$300k
6Goodfire12 roles$300k
7Wayve69 roles$290k
8World Labs11 roles$288k
9Lambda86 roles$287k
10Wispr Flow29 roles$285k
11Dataminr13 roles$283k
12Luma AI12 roles$276k
13Periodic Labs20 roles$275k
14Oxide13 roles$275k
15Generalist AI12 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 48% 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 20,912 live openings at 502 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $135k and $229k.
Which startup roles pay the most?
AI & Autonomy roles lead at a $232k median, followed by Software & Data ($205k) and Infrastructure, IT, & Security ($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 48% 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 20,912 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.

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