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Salaries

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

20,440 openings with posted pay · 499 companies · Updated Sep 24, 2026

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Sorted by top of posted range

Business & People Operations in AI Research: median base salary $193k · Typical range $133k–$238k · 62 openings with pay.

Business & People Ops · AI Research

62 matching openings with posted pay
1
Chief of Staff

Goodfire · San Francisco, CA · Director

$300k–$500k / year
2
Lead, Data Center Security Delivery (Construction to Operations)

Anthropic · Remote · Senior

$290k–$365k / year
3
Enforcement Operations Lead, Cloud Partners

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$285k–$330k / year
4
Safety Operations Lead

Thinking Machines Lab · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$250k–$300k / year
5
Business Operations Manager

Goodfire · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$175k–$300k / year
6
Recruiter, Mergers & Acquisitions

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$240k–$295k / year
7
Technical Recruiter, Infrastructure

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Mid-Level

$240k–$295k / year
8
Technical Recruiter

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Mid-Level

$240k–$295k / year

Median base salary

$180k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$136k–$230k

25th to 75th percentile

20,440 openings with pay data across 499 companies · 47% of 43,523 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
199
$50k–$100k
2,185
$100k–$150k
4,052
$150k–$200k
5,853
$200k–$250k
4,424
$250k–$300k
2,077
$300k–$400k
1,308
$400k+
342

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,033 openings
Typical range $185k–$282k
$234k
Infrastructure, IT, & Security1,581 openings
Typical range $160k–$255k
$205k
Software & Data5,636 openings
Typical range $162k–$250k
$204k
Product, Programs, & Systems1,658 openings
Typical range $160k–$235k
$193k
Business Development & Customer Ops1,988 openings
Typical range $137k–$243k
$185k
Marketing & Design649 openings
Typical range $153k–$219k
$182k
Electrical & Firmware1,435 openings
Typical range $140k–$218k
$177k
Finance, Legal, & Compliance1,020 openings
Typical range $125k–$223k
$168k
Mechanical & Physical Systems1,378 openings
Typical range $125k–$185k
$158k
Business & People Operations873 openings
Typical range $113k–$185k
$148k
Test, Quality, & Reliability1,317 openings
Typical range $104k–$181k
$145k
Supply Chain & Procurement648 openings
Typical range $102k–$170k
$140k
Manufacturing & Production1,224 openings
Typical range $75k–$148k
$110k

By experience level

Intern551 openings
Typical range $60k–$94k
$71k
Entry-Level1,968 openings
Typical range $78k–$175k
$120k
Mid-Level6,001 openings
Typical range $120k–$200k
$154k
Senior7,989 openings
Typical range $160k–$233k
$193k
Staff / Principal1,561 openings
Typical range $195k–$275k
$231k
Manager1,538 openings
Typical range $150k–$236k
$188k
Director761 openings
Typical range $215k–$295k
$250k
Executive71 openings
Typical range $260k–$317k
$297k

By funding stage

Seed459 openings
Typical range $123k–$190k
$155k
Series A1,282 openings
Typical range $125k–$200k
$163k
Series B1,289 openings
Typical range $138k–$225k
$180k
Series C+13,257 openings
Typical range $143k–$236k
$187k
Public4,117 openings
Typical range $123k–$221k
$170k

By sector

AI Research1,667 openings
Typical range $214k–$353k
$278k
Compute & Semiconductors2,642 openings
Typical range $177k–$261k
$218k
AI App2,988 openings
Typical range $172k–$260k
$215k
Fintech710 openings
Typical range $146k–$246k
$194k
Robotics578 openings
Typical range $125k–$210k
$175k
Construction & Housing111 openings
Typical range $135k–$215k
$175k
Transportation1,221 openings
Typical range $115k–$226k
$173k
Public Services148 openings
Typical range $140k–$215k
$170k
Defense2,947 openings
Typical range $143k–$210k
$170k
Bio & Health443 openings
Typical range $125k–$219k
$165k
Agriculture166 openings
Typical range $115k–$170k
$160k
Energy & Climate1,503 openings
Typical range $120k–$189k
$159k
Supply Chain251 openings
Typical range $110k–$207k
$148k
Aerospace4,323 openings
Typical range $109k–$181k
$147k
Manufacturing703 openings
Typical range $100k–$183k
$140k
Education39 openings
Typical range $73k–$174k
$102k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Anthropic300 roles$363k
2Aaru19 roles$353k
3Thinking Machines Lab27 roles$325k
4OpenAI673 roles$308k
5Normal Computing18 roles$300k
6Goodfire12 roles$300k
7Wayve69 roles$290k
8World Labs11 roles$288k
9Lambda86 roles$287k
10Wispr Flow29 roles$285k
11Periodic Labs10 roles$281k
12Oxide12 roles$275k
13Generalist AI12 roles$275k
14Gimlet Labs10 roles$270k
15Luma AI13 roles$265k

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 47% 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 20,440 live openings at 499 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $136k 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 ($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 ($325k), among companies with eight or more openings that post pay.
Do startup job postings include salary?
About 47% 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 20,440 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.

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