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Salaries

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

19,089 openings with posted pay · 456 companies · Updated Sep 10, 2026

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Sorted by top of posted range

Mechanical & Physical Systems in Washington, D.C.: median base salary $174k · Typical range $134k–$200k · 58 openings with pay.

Mechanical & Physical Systems · Washington, D.C.

57 matching openings with posted pay
1
Principal Engineer, Fluid & Thermal Systems (R4793)

Shield AI · Seattle, WA · Staff / Principal

$250k–$370k / year
2
Director, Aerostructures X-BAT

Shield AI · Seattle, WA · Director

$210k–$320k / year
3
Sr. Staff Thermal Engineer - Aircraft Avionics & Thermal Systems (R3930)

Shield AI · Seattle, WA · Staff / Principal

$200k–$310k / year
4
Senior Staff Engineer, Weapons Systems (R5019)

Shield AI · Seattle, WA · Staff / Principal

$200k–$300k / year
5
Staff Loads Engineer (R4954)

Shield AI · Seattle, WA · Staff / Principal

$200k–$300k / year
6
Staff Engineer, Mechanical - Harness Design (R4594)

Shield AI · Seattle, WA · Staff / Principal

$166k–$300k / year
7
Principal Mechanical Engineer, Space Special Programs

Anduril Industries · Chantilly, VA · Staff / Principal

$220k–$292k / year
8
Principal Mechatronics Engineer, Space Special Programs

Anduril Industries · Chantilly, VA · Staff / Principal

$220k–$292k / year

Median base salary

$175k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$133k–$225k

25th to 75th percentile

19,089 openings with pay data across 456 companies · 46% of 41,643 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
207
$50k–$100k
2,144
$100k–$150k
3,994
$150k–$200k
5,546
$200k–$250k
3,961
$250k–$300k
1,886
$300k–$400k
1,148
$400k+
203

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy910 openings
Typical range $183k–$281k
$225k
Software & Data5,316 openings
Typical range $160k–$248k
$200k
Infrastructure, IT, & Security1,381 openings
Typical range $147k–$248k
$198k
Product, Programs, & Systems1,638 openings
Typical range $158k–$237k
$194k
Marketing & Design503 openings
Typical range $155k–$225k
$187k
Business Development & Customer Ops1,705 openings
Typical range $138k–$250k
$185k
Electrical & Firmware1,375 openings
Typical range $147k–$215k
$177k
Finance, Legal, & Compliance792 openings
Typical range $128k–$224k
$170k
Mechanical & Physical Systems1,292 openings
Typical range $122k–$185k
$155k
Business & People Operations819 openings
Typical range $109k–$182k
$143k
Test, Quality, & Reliability1,360 openings
Typical range $100k–$176k
$140k
Supply Chain & Procurement607 openings
Typical range $105k–$170k
$138k
Manufacturing & Production1,391 openings
Typical range $73k–$144k
$103k

By experience level

Intern356 openings
Typical range $62k–$95k
$71k
Entry-Level2,135 openings
Typical range $74k–$167k
$114k
Mid-Level5,604 openings
Typical range $118k–$197k
$150k
Senior7,443 openings
Typical range $160k–$232k
$193k
Staff / Principal1,412 openings
Typical range $193k–$263k
$225k
Manager1,402 openings
Typical range $145k–$230k
$182k
Director671 openings
Typical range $215k–$298k
$250k
Executive66 openings
Typical range $255k–$317k
$289k

By funding stage

Seed409 openings
Typical range $123k–$188k
$150k
Series A1,298 openings
Typical range $125k–$195k
$160k
Series B1,105 openings
Typical range $138k–$213k
$175k
Series C+11,541 openings
Typical range $142k–$234k
$185k
Public4,707 openings
Typical range $115k–$220k
$167k

By sector

AI Research1,321 openings
Typical range $208k–$338k
$273k
Compute & Semiconductors2,697 openings
Typical range $178k–$261k
$220k
AI App2,510 openings
Typical range $180k–$264k
$216k
Fintech511 openings
Typical range $153k–$253k
$204k
Robotics544 openings
Typical range $120k–$205k
$175k
Defense2,402 openings
Typical range $144k–$205k
$170k
Construction & Housing114 openings
Typical range $135k–$215k
$170k
Public Services137 openings
Typical range $140k–$225k
$165k
Agriculture171 openings
Typical range $115k–$175k
$165k
Energy & Climate1,390 openings
Typical range $120k–$190k
$155k
Bio & Health420 openings
Typical range $111k–$210k
$155k
Transportation1,578 openings
Typical range $92k–$207k
$148k
Aerospace4,411 openings
Typical range $112k–$179k
$147k
Manufacturing688 openings
Typical range $103k–$181k
$139k
Supply Chain155 openings
Typical range $80k–$171k
$127k
Education40 openings
Typical range $77k–$165k
$111k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Thinking Machines Lab21 roles$388k
2Magic8 roles$388k
3Anthropic77 roles$335k
4OpenAI661 roles$309k
5Normal Computing22 roles$300k
6Polymarket53 roles$295k
7Pika9 roles$293k
8Goodfire17 roles$288k
9Wayve69 roles$286k
10Wispr Flow22 roles$280k
11Lambda83 roles$276k
12Luma AI21 roles$275k
13Generalist AI12 roles$275k
14Dataminr12 roles$273k
15Gimlet Labs11 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 $175k per year, across 19,089 live openings at 456 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $133k and $225k.
Which startup roles pay the most?
AI & Autonomy roles lead at a $225k median, followed by Software & Data ($200k) and Infrastructure, IT, & Security ($198k), based on the ranges companies post on live openings.
Which companies building the future pay the highest salaries?
Thinking Machines Lab tops the list with a $388k median posted base salary, ahead of Magic ($388k) and Anthropic ($335k), 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 19,089 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.

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