Salaries

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

20,232 openings with posted pay · 500 companies · Updated Sep 21, 2026

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Sorted by top of posted range

Software & Data in Fintech: median base salary $216k · Typical range $165k$260k · 247 openings with pay.

Software & Data · Fintech

247 matching openings with posted pay
1
Director, Data Analytics

Polymarket · New York, NY · Director

$400k–$500k / year
2
Lead Mobile Engineer, Performance

Polymarket · New York, NY · Senior

$250k–$500k / year
3
Web Platform Lead Engineer

Polymarket · New York, NY · Senior

$250k–$500k / year
4
Staff Backend Engineer, Services

Polymarket · New York, NY · Staff / Principal

$250k–$500k / year
5
Senior Systems Engineer (C/C++), Exchange Core

Polymarket · New York, NY · Mid-Level

$250k–$500k / year
6
Senior Backend Engineer, Exchange Core

Polymarket · New York, NY · Senior

$250k–$500k / year
7
Staff Android Engineer

Polymarket · New York, NY · Staff / Principal

$250k–$500k / year
8
Senior Backend Engineer, Product Infrastructure

Polymarket · New York, NY · Senior

$250k–$500k / year

Median base salary

$179k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$135k–$228k

25th to 75th percentile

20,232 openings with pay data across 500 companies · 46% of 43,532 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
204
$50k–$100k
2,192
$100k–$150k
4,026
$150k–$200k
5,783
$200k–$250k
4,363
$250k–$300k
2,043
$300k–$400k
1,281
$400k+
340

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,019 openings
Typical range $188k$283k
$235k
Typical range $160k$253k
$205k
Software & Data5,791 openings
Typical range $160k$250k
$203k
Typical range $158k$232k
$193k
Typical range $135k$242k
$185k
Marketing & Design620 openings
Typical range $153k$220k
$183k
Electrical & Firmware1,375 openings
Typical range $145k$218k
$177k
Typical range $115k$223k
$164k
Typical range $125k$185k
$155k
Typical range $113k$183k
$148k
Typical range $109k$183k
$147k
Typical range $105k$170k
$143k
Typical range $73k$148k
$109k

By experience level

Intern501 openings
Typical range $60k$88k
$70k
Entry-Level2,067 openings
Typical range $78k$180k
$121k
Mid-Level5,994 openings
Typical range $120k$200k
$153k
Senior7,875 openings
Typical range $160k$233k
$193k
Staff / Principal1,517 openings
Typical range $195k$275k
$231k
Manager1,478 openings
Typical range $150k$236k
$188k
Director729 openings
Typical range $215k$295k
$250k
Executive71 openings
Typical range $260k$320k
$300k

By funding stage

Seed455 openings
Typical range $123k$188k
$155k
Series A1,266 openings
Typical range $125k$198k
$160k
Series B1,265 openings
Typical range $140k$225k
$180k
Series C+12,937 openings
Typical range $144k$238k
$187k
Public4,271 openings
Typical range $120k$220k
$168k

By sector

AI Research1,625 openings
Typical range $214k$356k
$280k
Typical range $177k$261k
$218k
AI App2,927 openings
Typical range $172k$260k
$215k
Fintech702 openings
Typical range $146k$249k
$198k
Robotics571 openings
Typical range $125k$210k
$175k
Defense2,812 openings
Typical range $145k$210k
$170k
Typical range $135k$215k
$170k
Public Services154 openings
Typical range $140k$213k
$168k
Agriculture165 openings
Typical range $115k$170k
$165k
Bio & Health438 openings
Typical range $123k$218k
$163k
Transportation1,382 openings
Typical range $103k$220k
$160k
Energy & Climate1,465 openings
Typical range $120k$189k
$155k
Aerospace4,238 openings
Typical range $109k$181k
$147k
Supply Chain247 openings
Typical range $103k$207k
$146k
Manufacturing680 openings
Typical range $101k$183k
$140k
Education41 openings
Typical range $77k$170k
$110k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Anthropic279 roles$363k
2Aaru18 roles$353k
3Thinking Machines Lab21 roles$330k
4OpenAI673 roles$308k
5Periodic Labs8 roles$300k
6Normal Computing18 roles$300k
7Goodfire13 roles$300k
8Polymarket66 roles$290k
9Wayve70 roles$290k
10World Labs9 roles$288k
11Wispr Flow30 roles$285k
12Lambda87 roles$279k
13Oxide12 roles$275k
14Generalist AI12 roles$275k
15Gimlet Labs10 roles$270k

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 46% 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 $179k per year, across 20,232 live openings at 500 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $135k and $228k.
Which startup roles pay the most?
AI & Autonomy roles lead at a $235k median, followed by Infrastructure, IT, & Security ($205k) and Software & Data ($203k), 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 ($330k), among companies with eight or more openings that post pay.
Do startup job postings include salary?
About 46% 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 20,232 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.