Salaries / Software & Data in Defense

Software & Data in Defense Salaries

Live posted base-salary benchmarks for software & data roles at defense companies.

478 openings with posted pay · Updated Sep 5, 2026

Median base salary

$193k

Posted range midpoint

Typical range

$174k–$222k

25th to 75th percentile

Openings with pay

478

72% of 665 live openings

Companies disclosing

45

From their own postings

Annual base salary in USD. Equity and bonus excluded.

Highest-paying live openings

Sorted by posted range
1
Principal Engineer, AI Infrastructure (R4941)

Shield AI · San Francisco, CA · Staff / Principal

$320k–$490k
2
Dir, Engineering - Pathfinder

Twenty · Washington, D.C. · Director

$224k–$470k
3
Staff Backend Engineer

Twenty · Arlington, VA · Staff / Principal

$192k–$455k
4
Staff Data Engineer

Twenty · New York, NY · Staff / Principal

$192k–$455k
5
Staff Data Engineer - TS/SCI Cleared

Twenty · Arlington, VA · Staff / Principal

$192k–$455k
6
Staff Frontend Engineer

Twenty · Washington, D.C. · Staff / Principal

$192k–$455k
7
Senior/Staff Forward Deployed Software Engineer - TS/SCI Cleared

Twenty · Arlington, VA · Staff / Principal

$192k–$455k
8
Senior Staff Engineer, ML Ops (R4941)

Shield AI · San Mateo, CA · Staff / Principal

$280k–$420k
View all 478 openings →

Methodology

BuildList pulls salary ranges from company applicant tracking systems hourly. Nothing is self-reported or estimated.

Non-USD pay is converted to USD, and hourly, weekly, and monthly pay is annualized. Figures are medians and quartiles of each posting's range midpoint, weighted by currently open roles.

Base salary only. Equity and bonus are excluded. Groups with fewer than 30 salaried openings are withheld.

Browse the live openings behind these benchmarks.

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