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Software & Data salaries

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

3,837 openings with posted pay · Updated Nov 2, 2026

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Software & Data

3,837 matching openings with posted pay
1
Pre-training Data Infrastructure Engineer

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Staff / Principal

$500k–$850k / year
2
Staff+ Research Engineer, RL Data Platform

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Staff / Principal

$500k–$850k / year
3
Engineering Manager, Research Data Platform

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Manager

$405k–$850k / year
4
Engineering Manager, Research Productivity

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Manager

$405k–$850k / year
5
TPU Performance Engineer

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$280k–$850k / year
6
Member of Technical Staff — iOS

Whop · Palo Alto, CA · Senior

$300k–$800k / year
7
Staff+ Software Engineer, Developer Productivity

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Staff / Principal

$405k–$625k / year
8
Software Engineer, Research Productivity

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$405k–$625k / year

Median base salary

$215k

3,837 openings with posted pay

Typical range

$170k–$256k

25th to 75th percentile

Across all 26,327 openings with posted pay, the median is $175k. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Software & Data by sector

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI Research449 openings
Typical range $243k–$366k
$310k
Compute & Semiconductors480 openings
Typical range $197k–$270k
$236k
Fintech195 openings
Typical range $171k–$260k
$217k
AI App798 openings
Typical range $185k–$265k
$216k
Bio & Health81 openings
Typical range $168k–$255k
$209k
Defense649 openings
Typical range $175k–$223k
$205k
Transportation223 openings
Typical range $161k–$243k
$204k
Robotics112 openings
Typical range $160k–$235k
$200k
Energy & Climate115 openings
Typical range $160k–$231k
$188k
Manufacturing81 openings
Typical range $150k–$220k
$183k

Software & Data by location

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

United Kingdom56 openings
Typical range $159k–$312k
$247k
NYC686 openings
Typical range $200k–$293k
$244k
SF Bay Area1,939 openings
Typical range $196k–$285k
$236k
Seattle380 openings
Typical range $188k–$283k
$223k
Remote484 openings
Typical range $168k–$250k
$215k
Boston158 openings
Typical range $178k–$223k
$203k
Washington, D.C.237 openings
Typical range $168k–$223k
$200k
Austin75 openings
Typical range $151k–$233k
$200k
Canada131 openings
Typical range $140k–$230k
$194k
Los Angeles599 openings
Typical range $159k–$222k
$193k
San Diego58 openings
Typical range $160k–$216k
$190k

By role

All openings · Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,582 openings
Typical range $181k–$283k
$230k
Software & Data3,837 openings
Typical range $170k–$256k
$215k
Infrastructure, IT, & Security2,269 openings
Typical range $160k–$250k
$200k
Product, Programs, & Systems2,170 openings
Typical range $163k–$238k
$195k
Business Development & Customer Ops3,383 openings
Typical range $135k–$248k
$185k
Marketing & Design1,040 openings
Typical range $150k–$225k
$183k
Electrical & Firmware2,227 openings
Typical range $146k–$218k
$177k
Finance, Legal, & Compliance1,359 openings
Typical range $128k–$228k
$170k
Mechanical & Physical Systems2,069 openings
Typical range $130k–$189k
$160k
Business & People Operations1,411 openings
Typical range $113k–$183k
$148k
Supply Chain & Procurement977 openings
Typical range $110k–$180k
$145k
Test, Quality, & Reliability2,277 openings
Typical range $97k–$175k
$140k
Manufacturing & Production1,726 openings
Typical range $79k–$155k
$117k

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 57% 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 26,327 live openings at 531 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $135k and $225k.
Which startup roles pay the most?
AI & Autonomy roles lead at a $230k median, followed by Software & Data ($215k) and Infrastructure, IT, & Security ($200k), based on the ranges companies post on live openings.
Which companies building the future pay the highest salaries?
MatX tops the list with a $394k median posted base salary, ahead of Aaru ($353k) and Anthropic ($345k), among companies with eight or more openings that post pay.
Do startup job postings include salary?
About 57% 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 26,327 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.

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