Salaries

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

22,170 openings with posted pay · 512 companies · Updated Oct 6, 2026

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Sorted by top of posted range

Marketing & Design in Seattle: median base salary $193k · Typical range $160k–$232k · 50 openings with pay.

Marketing & Design · Seattle

50 matching openings with posted pay
1
Product Designer, Safeguards

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Mid-Level

$305k–$385k / year
2
User Experience Researcher, Platform

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$305k–$385k / year
3
Product Designer, Claude Developer Platform

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Mid-Level

$305k–$385k / year
4
Director, Product Design

Whatnot · San Francisco, CA · Director

$310k–$365k / year
5
Lead Technical Artist

Epic Games · New York, NY · Manager

$196k–$345k / year
6$183k–$305k / year
7
Senior Director, Developer Advocacy

Crusoe Energy · Seattle, WA · Senior

$280k–$300k / year
8
Senior Manager of Product Design, AI Platform

Rippling · Seattle, WA · Manager

$177k–$295k / year

Median base salary

$177k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$134k–$226k

25th to 75th percentile

22,170 openings with pay data across 512 companies · 50% of 44,464 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
226
$50k–$100k
2,594
$100k–$150k
4,400
$150k–$200k
6,390
$200k–$250k
4,657
$250k–$300k
2,194
$300k–$400k
1,361
$400k+
348

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,177 openings
Typical range $183k–$280k
$230k
Software & Data5,287 openings
Typical range $165k–$253k
$208k
Typical range $160k–$255k
$204k
Typical range $158k–$230k
$193k
Marketing & Design742 openings
Typical range $150k–$219k
$180k
Typical range $129k–$236k
$178k
Electrical & Firmware1,674 openings
Typical range $139k–$216k
$175k
Typical range $126k–$228k
$168k
Typical range $123k–$183k
$155k
Typical range $113k–$185k
$148k
Typical range $99k–$177k
$143k
Typical range $99k–$170k
$138k
Typical range $76k–$148k
$109k

By experience level

Intern727 openings
Typical range $60k–$95k
$71k
Entry-Level1,976 openings
Typical range $72k–$160k
$109k
Mid-Level6,183 openings
Typical range $116k–$195k
$150k
Senior8,682 openings
Typical range $160k–$230k
$193k
Staff / Principal1,846 openings
Typical range $193k–$270k
$228k
Manager1,790 openings
Typical range $148k–$235k
$185k
Director891 openings
Typical range $215k–$295k
$248k
Executive75 openings
Typical range $265k–$317k
$300k

By funding stage

Seed518 openings
Typical range $125k–$190k
$160k
Series A1,325 openings
Typical range $125k–$200k
$163k
Series B1,465 openings
Typical range $132k–$223k
$175k
Series C+14,157 openings
Typical range $143k–$235k
$185k
Public4,666 openings
Typical range $117k–$220k
$167k

By sector

AI Research1,743 openings
Typical range $215k–$350k
$280k
Typical range $177k–$262k
$218k
AI App3,092 openings
Typical range $170k–$260k
$215k
Fintech841 openings
Typical range $138k–$245k
$191k
Robotics596 openings
Typical range $128k–$210k
$175k
Public Services138 openings
Typical range $140k–$225k
$171k
Defense3,369 openings
Typical range $143k–$208k
$170k
Typical range $135k–$215k
$170k
Bio & Health486 openings
Typical range $125k–$220k
$168k
Supply Chain248 openings
Typical range $112k–$207k
$160k
Agriculture156 openings
Typical range $115k–$168k
$159k
Energy & Climate1,577 openings
Typical range $118k–$188k
$155k
Transportation1,633 openings
Typical range $95k–$215k
$152k
Aerospace4,636 openings
Typical range $108k–$180k
$146k
Manufacturing735 openings
Typical range $98k–$176k
$135k
Education39 openings
Typical range $78k–$175k
$123k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Anthropic357 roles$363k
2Aaru19 roles$353k
3Thinking Machines Lab37 roles$330k
4OpenAI658 roles$308k
5Normal Computing17 roles$300k
6Goodfire12 roles$300k
7Lambda87 roles$288k
8World Labs11 roles$288k
9Periodic Labs23 roles$288k
10MatX46 roles$288k
11Wispr Flow30 roles$285k
12Wayve48 roles$285k
13Gimlet Labs12 roles$279k
14Luma AI12 roles$276k
15Oxide12 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 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 $177k per year, across 22,170 live openings at 512 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $134k and $226k.
Which startup roles pay the most?
AI & Autonomy roles lead at a $230k median, followed by Software & Data ($208k) 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 ($330k), 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 22,170 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.