Salaries

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

20,040 openings with posted pay · 500 companies · Updated Sep 21, 2026

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Sorted by top of posted range

Marketing & Design in AI App: median base salary $195k · Typical range $173k$228k · 216 openings with pay.

Marketing & Design · AI App

216 matching openings with posted pay
1
Chief Marketing Officer

EliseAI · New York, NY · Executive

$300k–$450k / year
2
Cinematics Director

Epic Games · United States · Director

$225k–$375k / year
3
VP, Growth Marketing

Glean · Mountain View, CA · Executive

$311k–$355k / year
4
VP of Marketing

EliseAI · New York, NY · Executive

$275k–$350k / year
5
Director of Product Design

Replit · Foster City, CA · Director

$275k–$350k / year
6
VP of Growth

EliseAI · New York, NY · Executive

$275k–$350k / year
7
Head of Product Marketing

Fireworks AI · San Mateo, CA · Director

$270k–$340k / year
8
Senior Director, Global Brand Experiences

Legora · New York, NY · Director

$272k–$320k / year

Median base salary

$180k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$137k–$230k

25th to 75th percentile

20,040 openings with pay data across 500 companies · 46% of 43,142 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
189
$50k–$100k
2,104
$100k–$150k
3,967
$150k–$200k
5,754
$200k–$250k
4,357
$250k–$300k
2,042
$300k–$400k
1,286
$400k+
341

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,017 openings
Typical range $188k$283k
$234k
Typical range $160k$253k
$205k
Software & Data5,761 openings
Typical range $160k$250k
$203k
Typical range $160k$235k
$193k
Typical range $135k$243k
$185k
Marketing & Design619 openings
Typical range $154k$220k
$183k
Electrical & Firmware1,372 openings
Typical range $145k$218k
$177k
Typical range $125k$224k
$168k
Typical range $125k$185k
$155k
Typical range $113k$183k
$148k
Typical range $109k$183k
$147k
Typical range $106k$170k
$145k
Typical range $75k$148k
$110k

By experience level

Intern497 openings
Typical range $60k$88k
$69k
Entry-Level2,021 openings
Typical range $80k$180k
$125k
Mid-Level5,934 openings
Typical range $120k$200k
$155k
Senior7,806 openings
Typical range $161k$234k
$194k
Staff / Principal1,512 openings
Typical range $195k$275k
$231k
Manager1,463 openings
Typical range $150k$236k
$190k
Director736 openings
Typical range $215k$295k
$250k
Executive71 openings
Typical range $260k$320k
$300k

By funding stage

Seed456 openings
Typical range $123k$188k
$155k
Series A1,272 openings
Typical range $125k$198k
$160k
Series B1,267 openings
Typical range $140k$225k
$180k
Series C+12,950 openings
Typical range $144k$238k
$187k
Public4,057 openings
Typical range $125k$223k
$171k

By sector

AI Research1,633 openings
Typical range $214k$356k
$280k
Typical range $177k$261k
$218k
AI App2,929 openings
Typical range $173k$260k
$215k
Fintech700 openings
Typical range $146k$249k
$198k
Transportation1,165 openings
Typical range $120k$228k
$175k
Robotics571 openings
Typical range $125k$210k
$175k
Defense2,812 openings
Typical range $145k$210k
$170k
Typical range $135k$215k
$169k
Public Services154 openings
Typical range $140k$213k
$168k
Agriculture165 openings
Typical range $115k$170k
$165k
Bio & Health438 openings
Typical range $123k$218k
$163k
Energy & Climate1,465 openings
Typical range $120k$188k
$155k
Aerospace4,243 openings
Typical range $109k$181k
$147k
Supply Chain249 openings
Typical range $103k$207k
$146k
Manufacturing682 openings
Typical range $101k$183k
$140k
Education41 openings
Typical range $77k$170k
$110k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Anthropic283 roles$363k
2Aaru18 roles$353k
3Thinking Machines Lab21 roles$330k
4OpenAI673 roles$308k
5Periodic Labs8 roles$300k
6Normal Computing18 roles$300k
7Goodfire13 roles$300k
8Polymarket66 roles$290k
9Wayve72 roles$288k
10World Labs9 roles$288k
11Wispr Flow30 roles$285k
12Lambda87 roles$279k
13Oxide12 roles$275k
14Generalist AI12 roles$275k
15Gimlet Labs10 roles$270k

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 46% 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 20,040 live openings at 500 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $137k and $230k.
Which startup roles pay the most?
AI & Autonomy roles lead at a $234k median, followed by Infrastructure, IT, & Security ($205k) and Software & Data ($203k), 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 46% 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 20,040 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.