Salaries

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

24,035 openings with posted pay · 514 companies · Updated Oct 21, 2026

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Sorted by top of posted range

Infrastructure, IT, & Security in Austin: median base salary $209k · Typical range $179k–$250k · 52 openings with pay.

Infrastructure, IT, & Security · Austin

52 matching openings with posted pay
1$220k–$405k / year
2
Production Engineer, Compute Team Lead

Fluidstack · San Francisco, CA · Manager

$225k–$351k / year
3
Security Architect, AI Infrastructure

Fluidstack · San Francisco, CA · Staff / Principal

$275k–$344k / year
4
Security Engineer, OT

Fluidstack · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$275k–$344k / year
5
Security Engineer, Incident Response

Fluidstack · Austin, TX · Senior

$275k–$344k / year
6
Production Engineer, IaaS Team Lead

Fluidstack · San Francisco, CA · Manager

$224k–$344k / year
7
Staff Detection Engineer

Fluidstack · New York, NY · Staff / Principal

$224k–$344k / year
8
Production Engineer, Facilities Team Lead

Fluidstack · San Francisco, CA · Manager

$224k–$344k / year

Median base salary

$176k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$133k–$225k

25th to 75th percentile

24,035 openings with pay data across 514 companies · 53% of 45,589 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
249
$50k–$100k
2,899
$100k–$150k
4,759
$150k–$200k
6,940
$200k–$250k
5,003
$250k–$300k
2,351
$300k–$400k
1,463
$400k+
371

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,279 openings
Typical range $183k–$276k
$230k
Software & Data4,997 openings
Typical range $168k–$255k
$210k
Typical range $159k–$250k
$201k
Typical range $160k–$236k
$194k
Marketing & Design846 openings
Typical range $148k–$223k
$183k
Typical range $131k–$241k
$181k
Electrical & Firmware1,850 openings
Typical range $140k–$216k
$174k
Typical range $128k–$230k
$170k
Typical range $125k–$187k
$159k
Typical range $110k–$186k
$150k
Typical range $105k–$175k
$142k
Typical range $92k–$175k
$136k
Typical range $75k–$150k
$106k

By experience level

Intern854 openings
Typical range $61k–$95k
$73k
Entry-Level2,094 openings
Typical range $67k–$145k
$103k
Mid-Level6,306 openings
Typical range $116k–$191k
$150k
Senior9,559 openings
Typical range $160k–$229k
$192k
Staff / Principal2,037 openings
Typical range $194k–$270k
$228k
Manager2,027 openings
Typical range $150k–$235k
$190k
Director1,087 openings
Typical range $218k–$295k
$250k
Executive71 openings
Typical range $263k–$325k
$297k

By funding stage

Seed516 openings
Typical range $123k–$193k
$159k
Series A1,410 openings
Typical range $125k–$199k
$161k
Series B1,443 openings
Typical range $131k–$220k
$175k
Series C+15,609 openings
Typical range $142k–$234k
$185k
Public4,995 openings
Typical range $112k–$218k
$163k

By sector

AI Research1,824 openings
Typical range $220k–$356k
$282k
Typical range $175k–$262k
$218k
AI App3,267 openings
Typical range $170k–$260k
$214k
Fintech858 openings
Typical range $142k–$246k
$191k
Typical range $135k–$215k
$173k
Defense4,025 openings
Typical range $143k–$211k
$172k
Supply Chain298 openings
Typical range $119k–$207k
$171k
Robotics652 openings
Typical range $125k–$207k
$170k
Bio & Health503 openings
Typical range $128k–$219k
$168k
Public Services157 openings
Typical range $120k–$225k
$165k
Agriculture159 openings
Typical range $115k–$165k
$160k
Energy & Climate1,706 openings
Typical range $120k–$188k
$159k
Transportation1,827 openings
Typical range $91k–$212k
$150k
Aerospace4,934 openings
Typical range $108k–$180k
$145k
Education34 openings
Typical range $80k–$180k
$140k
Manufacturing802 openings
Typical range $86k–$176k
$133k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Aaru19 roles$353k
2Anthropic437 roles$350k
3Thinking Machines Lab36 roles$330k
4OpenAI650 roles$308k
5Simile10 roles$300k
6Goodfire13 roles$300k
7Lambda94 roles$288k
8World Labs11 roles$288k
9MatX40 roles$288k
10Wispr Flow31 roles$285k
11Wayve74 roles$285k
12Periodic Labs26 roles$281k
13Whop19 roles$275k
14Oxide14 roles$275k
15Generalist AI10 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 53% 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 $176k per year, across 24,035 live openings at 514 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $133k and $225k.
Which startup roles pay the most?
AI & Autonomy roles lead at a $230k median, followed by Software & Data ($210k) and Infrastructure, IT, & Security ($201k), based on the ranges companies post on live openings.
Which companies building the future pay the highest salaries?
Aaru tops the list with a $353k median posted base salary, ahead of Anthropic ($350k) and Thinking Machines Lab ($330k), among companies with eight or more openings that post pay.
Do startup job postings include salary?
About 53% 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 24,035 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.