Salaries

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

23,937 openings with posted pay · 512 companies · Updated Oct 21, 2026

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Software & Data in Aerospace: median base salary $170k · Typical range $143k–$200k · 642 openings with pay.

Software & Data · Aerospace

642 matching openings with posted pay
1
Vice President Defense and Intelligence Engineering

Planet Labs · San Francisco, CA · Executive

$293k–$366k / year
2
Staff Engineer (Defense)

ASI · Boston, MA · Staff / Principal

$260k–$355k / year
3
Chief Financial Officer

Xona Space Systems · Burlingame, CA · Entry-Level

$250k–$350k / year
4
Principal Software Engineer, Power Optimization (Starlink)

SpaceX · Redmond, WA · Staff / Principal

$210k–$345k / year
5
Principal RF Software Engineer (Starshield)

SpaceX · Hawthorne, CA · Staff / Principal

$210k–$340k / year
6$90k–$325k / year
7
Vice President Defense and Intelligence Engineering

Planet Labs · Arlington, VA · Executive

$257k–$322k / year
8
Vice President Defense and Intelligence Engineering

Planet Labs · Denver, CO · Executive

$257k–$322k / year

Median base salary

$175k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$133k–$225k

25th to 75th percentile

23,937 openings with pay data across 512 companies · 52% of 45,713 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
244
$50k–$100k
2,969
$100k–$150k
4,745
$150k–$200k
6,874
$200k–$250k
4,943
$250k–$300k
2,353
$300k–$400k
1,447
$400k+
362

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,276 openings
Typical range $183k–$275k
$231k
Software & Data5,018 openings
Typical range $167k–$255k
$210k
Typical range $158k–$250k
$200k
Typical range $160k–$234k
$193k
Marketing & Design835 openings
Typical range $148k–$222k
$181k
Typical range $130k–$241k
$180k
Electrical & Firmware1,824 openings
Typical range $140k–$216k
$174k
Typical range $128k–$232k
$170k
Typical range $125k–$185k
$158k
Typical range $110k–$185k
$150k
Typical range $103k–$170k
$139k
Typical range $92k–$174k
$136k
Typical range $73k–$148k
$102k

By experience level

Intern856 openings
Typical range $60k–$95k
$73k
Entry-Level2,131 openings
Typical range $67k–$145k
$103k
Mid-Level6,296 openings
Typical range $115k–$191k
$150k
Senior9,454 openings
Typical range $160k–$229k
$192k
Staff / Principal2,024 openings
Typical range $193k–$270k
$227k
Manager2,021 openings
Typical range $148k–$236k
$188k
Director1,082 openings
Typical range $218k–$295k
$250k
Executive73 openings
Typical range $260k–$322k
$290k

By funding stage

Seed512 openings
Typical range $123k–$195k
$160k
Series A1,400 openings
Typical range $125k–$199k
$160k
Series B1,432 openings
Typical range $132k–$220k
$175k
Series C+15,495 openings
Typical range $141k–$234k
$185k
Public5,036 openings
Typical range $110k–$218k
$163k

By sector

AI Research1,805 openings
Typical range $220k–$355k
$281k
Typical range $175k–$262k
$218k
AI App3,280 openings
Typical range $170k–$260k
$214k
Fintech861 openings
Typical range $142k–$246k
$194k
Supply Chain307 openings
Typical range $118k–$207k
$171k
Robotics653 openings
Typical range $125k–$207k
$170k
Defense3,891 openings
Typical range $143k–$210k
$170k
Typical range $135k–$215k
$170k
Bio & Health502 openings
Typical range $130k–$220k
$168k
Public Services158 openings
Typical range $120k–$225k
$165k
Agriculture158 openings
Typical range $115k–$165k
$160k
Energy & Climate1,702 openings
Typical range $120k–$188k
$158k
Transportation1,874 openings
Typical range $90k–$211k
$146k
Aerospace4,931 openings
Typical range $106k–$180k
$145k
Education34 openings
Typical range $80k–$175k
$137k
Manufacturing804 openings
Typical range $86k–$176k
$133k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Aaru19 roles$353k
2Anthropic429 roles$348k
3Thinking Machines Lab36 roles$330k
4OpenAI646 roles$308k
5Goodfire13 roles$300k
6Normal Computing25 roles$295k
7Lambda94 roles$288k
8World Labs11 roles$288k
9MatX40 roles$288k
10Wispr Flow31 roles$285k
11Wayve74 roles$285k
12Periodic Labs26 roles$281k
13Whop19 roles$275k
14Oxide14 roles$275k
15Generalist AI10 roles$275k

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 52% 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 23,937 live openings at 512 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $133k and $225k.
Which startup roles pay the most?
AI & Autonomy roles lead at a $231k median, followed by Software & Data ($210k) and Infrastructure, IT, & Security ($200k), based on the ranges companies post on live openings.
Which companies building the future pay the highest salaries?
Aaru tops the list with a $353k median posted base salary, ahead of Anthropic ($348k) and Thinking Machines Lab ($330k), among companies with eight or more openings that post pay.
Do startup job postings include salary?
About 52% 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 23,937 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.