BuildList

Salaries

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

22,216 openings with posted pay · 480 companies · Updated 9/8/2026

Browse jobs
On this page

Find high-paying roles

Sorted by top of posted range

Mechanical & Physical Systems in Defense: median base salary $170k · Typical range $150k–$200k · 305 openings with pay.

Mechanical & Physical Systems · Defense

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

Shield AI · Seattle, WA · Staff / Principal

$250k–$370k / year
2
Principal Aerostructures Design Engineer (R5163)

Shield AI · Seattle, WA · Staff / Principal

$240k–$360k / year
3
Sr. Staff Mechanical Engineer - BlueSky (R5825)

Shield AI · Remote · Staff / Principal

$240k–$350k / year
4
Chief Engineer, Autonomous Airpower

Anduril Industries · Costa Mesa, CA · Director

$254k–$336k / year
5
Director of Advanced Design

Anduril Industries · Costa Mesa, CA · Director

$254k–$336k / year
6
Principal Propulsion Engineer, Air Vehicles (Air Breathing Engine Integration)

Anduril Industries · Costa Mesa, CA · Staff / Principal

$253k–$336k / year
7
Head of Radar, Space

Anduril Industries · Costa Mesa, CA · Director

$253k–$336k / year
8
Principal Propulsion Engineer, Air Vehicles (Solid Rocket Motor Integration)

Anduril Industries · Costa Mesa, CA · Staff / Principal

$253k–$336k / year

Median base salary

$177k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$135k–$225k

25th to 75th percentile

22,216 openings with pay data across 480 companies · 54% of 40,941 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
188
$50k–$100k
2,330
$100k–$150k
4,572
$150k–$200k
6,698
$200k–$250k
4,516
$250k–$300k
2,222
$300k–$400k
1,348
$400k+
342

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,111 openings
Typical range $181k–$276k
$223k
Software & Data4,708 openings
Typical range $170k–$255k
$211k
Product, Programs, & Systems1,913 openings
Typical range $162k–$246k
$196k
Infrastructure, IT, & Security1,646 openings
Typical range $150k–$245k
$195k
Business Development & Customer Ops2,111 openings
Typical range $133k–$256k
$188k
Marketing & Design708 openings
Typical range $150k–$228k
$185k
Electrical & Firmware1,800 openings
Typical range $148k–$213k
$178k
Finance, Legal, & Compliance1,046 openings
Typical range $132k–$235k
$175k
Mechanical & Physical Systems1,839 openings
Typical range $129k–$185k
$158k
Business & People Operations1,319 openings
Typical range $110k–$188k
$148k
Test, Quality, & Reliability1,658 openings
Typical range $106k–$179k
$144k
Supply Chain & Procurement855 openings
Typical range $108k–$170k
$141k
Manufacturing & Production1,502 openings
Typical range $77k–$150k
$109k

By experience level

Intern408 openings
Typical range $62k–$104k
$77k
Entry-Level1,432 openings
Typical range $67k–$125k
$94k
Mid-Level6,146 openings
Typical range $116k–$185k
$150k
Senior9,028 openings
Typical range $158k–$227k
$192k
Staff / Principal2,145 openings
Typical range $193k–$270k
$227k
Manager2,005 openings
Typical range $147k–$236k
$183k
Director976 openings
Typical range $215k–$291k
$248k
Executive76 openings
Typical range $258k–$317k
$294k

By funding stage

Seed432 openings
Typical range $123k–$188k
$154k
Series A1,427 openings
Typical range $125k–$195k
$160k
Series B1,468 openings
Typical range $135k–$208k
$170k
Series C+13,933 openings
Typical range $145k–$236k
$186k
Public4,911 openings
Typical range $121k–$220k
$167k

By sector

AI Research1,715 openings
Typical range $223k–$356k
$284k
Compute & Semiconductors2,869 openings
Typical range $177k–$261k
$219k
AI App3,012 openings
Typical range $170k–$260k
$214k
Fintech724 openings
Typical range $149k–$249k
$198k
Robotics665 openings
Typical range $125k–$205k
$170k
Public Services152 openings
Typical range $143k–$225k
$170k
Defense3,497 openings
Typical range $140k–$200k
$170k
Construction & Housing90 openings
Typical range $135k–$208k
$170k
Agriculture172 openings
Typical range $115k–$175k
$165k
Bio & Health457 openings
Typical range $120k–$213k
$158k
Energy & Climate1,615 openings
Typical range $120k–$189k
$157k
Transportation1,634 openings
Typical range $100k–$214k
$155k
Aerospace4,638 openings
Typical range $117k–$180k
$150k
Supply Chain217 openings
Typical range $103k–$199k
$138k
Manufacturing717 openings
Typical range $101k–$180k
$138k
Education42 openings
Typical range $77k–$170k
$111k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Magic8 roles$388k
2Thinking Machines Lab20 roles$381k
3MatX37 roles$380k
4Anthropic452 roles$353k
5OpenAI656 roles$309k
6Normal Computing21 roles$300k
7Pika9 roles$293k
8Wayve66 roles$290k
9Goodfire13 roles$288k
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 54% 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 22,216 live openings at 480 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $135k and $225k.
Which startup roles pay the most?
AI & Autonomy roles lead at a $223k median, followed by Software & Data ($211k) and Product, Programs, & Systems ($196k), 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 54% 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 22,216 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.

Browse JobsGet Weekly Jobs