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Salaries

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

20,508 openings with posted pay · 476 companies · Updated 9/9/2026

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Sorted by top of posted range

Electrical & Firmware in Energy & Climate: median base salary $171k · Typical range $140k–$200k · 152 openings with pay.

Electrical & Firmware · Energy & Climate

152 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
Director Instrumentation, Control, and Electrical – Power Conversion

Valar Atomics · Torrance, CA · Senior

$225k–$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

$175k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$135k–$225k

25th to 75th percentile

20,508 openings with pay data across 476 companies · 50% of 41,032 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
178
$50k–$100k
2,157
$100k–$150k
4,328
$150k–$200k
6,163
$200k–$250k
4,144
$250k–$300k
2,039
$300k–$400k
1,252
$400k+
247

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,025 openings
Typical range $176k–$278k
$225k
Software & Data4,540 openings
Typical range $165k–$250k
$205k
Product, Programs, & Systems1,633 openings
Typical range $160k–$248k
$198k
Infrastructure, IT, & Security1,590 openings
Typical range $150k–$243k
$195k
Marketing & Design659 openings
Typical range $153k–$230k
$188k
Business Development & Customer Ops1,912 openings
Typical range $130k–$251k
$180k
Electrical & Firmware1,657 openings
Typical range $148k–$213k
$178k
Finance, Legal, & Compliance904 openings
Typical range $133k–$230k
$175k
Mechanical & Physical Systems1,732 openings
Typical range $130k–$188k
$158k
Business & People Operations1,179 openings
Typical range $111k–$191k
$149k
Test, Quality, & Reliability1,547 openings
Typical range $105k–$180k
$144k
Supply Chain & Procurement722 openings
Typical range $108k–$170k
$140k
Manufacturing & Production1,408 openings
Typical range $77k–$148k
$108k

By experience level

Intern368 openings
Typical range $62k–$109k
$77k
Entry-Level1,393 openings
Typical range $67k–$125k
$95k
Mid-Level6,038 openings
Typical range $118k–$190k
$150k
Senior8,198 openings
Typical range $158k–$230k
$192k
Staff / Principal1,827 openings
Typical range $193k–$268k
$226k
Manager1,773 openings
Typical range $145k–$233k
$181k
Director839 openings
Typical range $215k–$293k
$246k
Executive72 openings
Typical range $255k–$314k
$287k

By funding stage

Seed431 openings
Typical range $123k–$188k
$155k
Series A1,391 openings
Typical range $125k–$196k
$160k
Series B1,374 openings
Typical range $135k–$211k
$175k
Series C+12,455 openings
Typical range $143k–$235k
$185k
Public4,814 openings
Typical range $121k–$220k
$167k

By sector

AI Research1,517 openings
Typical range $215k–$345k
$280k
Compute & Semiconductors2,788 openings
Typical range $177k–$263k
$220k
AI App2,548 openings
Typical range $170k–$260k
$215k
Fintech712 openings
Typical range $149k–$249k
$198k
Robotics650 openings
Typical range $125k–$205k
$170k
Public Services153 openings
Typical range $143k–$225k
$170k
Defense2,892 openings
Typical range $138k–$200k
$170k
Construction & Housing91 openings
Typical range $135k–$208k
$170k
Agriculture163 openings
Typical range $115k–$170k
$165k
Bio & Health401 openings
Typical range $113k–$215k
$160k
Energy & Climate1,412 openings
Typical range $120k–$188k
$156k
Transportation1,644 openings
Typical range $100k–$214k
$155k
Aerospace4,571 openings
Typical range $118k–$180k
$150k
Supply Chain210 openings
Typical range $103k–$196k
$138k
Manufacturing725 openings
Typical range $98k–$178k
$137k
Education31 openings
Typical range $80k–$170k
$123k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Magic8 roles$388k
2Thinking Machines Lab20 roles$381k
3MatX37 roles$380k
4Anthropic268 roles$334k
5OpenAI656 roles$309k
6Normal Computing21 roles$300k
7Pika9 roles$293k
8Goodfire14 roles$288k
9Wayve69 roles$286k
10Wispr Flow22 roles$280k
11Lambda82 roles$276k
12Oxide12 roles$275k
13Luma AI23 roles$275k
14Generalist AI12 roles$275k
15Dataminr12 roles$273k

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 50% 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 20,508 live openings at 476 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $135k and $225k.
Which startup roles pay the most?
AI & Autonomy roles lead at a $225k median, followed by Software & Data ($205k) and Product, Programs, & Systems ($198k), based on the ranges companies post on live openings.
Which companies building the future pay the highest salaries?
Magic tops the list with a $388k median posted base salary, ahead of Thinking Machines Lab ($381k) and MatX ($380k), among companies with eight or more openings that post pay.
Do startup job postings include salary?
About 50% 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 20,508 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.

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