Salaries

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

22,300 openings with posted pay · 480 companies · Updated 9/8/2026

Browse jobs
On this page

Find high-paying roles

Sorted by top of posted range

Software & Data in Public Services: median base salary $200k · Typical range $165k$238k · 54 openings with pay.

Software & Data · Public Services

54 matching openings with posted pay
1
Head of Talent

Kaizen Labs · New York, NY · Mid-Level

$250k–$300k / year
2
Staff Software Engineer, Platform

Peregrine · San Francisco, CA · Staff / Principal

$240k–$300k / year
3
Senior Software Engineer, Mobile

GovWell · New York, NY · Senior

$200k–$300k / year
4
AI Product Engineer

GovWell · New York, NY · Mid-Level

$200k–$300k / year
5
Senior Software Engineer

GovWell · New York, NY · Senior

$200k–$300k / year
6
Senior Software Engineer, Payments

GovWell · New York, NY · Senior

$200k–$300k / year
7
Senior Cleared Software Engineer (TS/SCI)

Kaizen Labs · New York, NY · Senior

$220k–$280k / year
8
Staff Software Engineer, Applied AI

Peregrine · New York, NY · Staff / Principal

$200k–$275k / year

Median base salary

$176k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$135k–$225k

25th to 75th percentile

22,300 openings with pay data across 480 companies · 55% of 40,824 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
186
$50k–$100k
2,351
$100k–$150k
4,597
$150k–$200k
6,723
$200k–$250k
4,532
$250k–$300k
2,222
$300k–$400k
1,350
$400k+
339

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,092 openings
Typical range $183k$276k
$223k
Software & Data4,649 openings
Typical range $170k$256k
$212k
Typical range $163k$246k
$198k
Typical range $150k$241k
$193k
Typical range $133k$256k
$188k
Marketing & Design700 openings
Typical range $150k$227k
$184k
Electrical & Firmware1,847 openings
Typical range $149k$213k
$178k
Typical range $132k$235k
$175k
Typical range $130k$187k
$159k
Typical range $109k$187k
$148k
Typical range $107k$180k
$145k
Typical range $108k$173k
$143k
Typical range $77k$150k
$108k

By experience level

Intern417 openings
Typical range $62k$104k
$75k
Entry-Level1,409 openings
Typical range $66k$125k
$94k
Mid-Level6,115 openings
Typical range $115k$185k
$150k
Senior9,056 openings
Typical range $158k$226k
$191k
Staff / Principal2,164 openings
Typical range $194k$270k
$227k
Manager2,061 openings
Typical range $147k$236k
$183k
Director998 openings
Typical range $215k$294k
$248k
Executive80 openings
Typical range $256k$317k
$291k

By funding stage

Seed433 openings
Typical range $123k$188k
$153k
Series A1,425 openings
Typical range $125k$195k
$160k
Series B1,497 openings
Typical range $135k$207k
$170k
Series C+13,943 openings
Typical range $145k$235k
$186k
Public4,957 openings
Typical range $121k$220k
$167k

By sector

AI Research1,703 openings
Typical range $225k$356k
$285k
Typical range $177k$261k
$219k
AI App3,004 openings
Typical range $170k$260k
$214k
Fintech720 openings
Typical range $149k$250k
$198k
Robotics688 openings
Typical range $125k$200k
$170k
Public Services158 openings
Typical range $143k$225k
$170k
Defense3,483 openings
Typical range $140k$200k
$170k
Typical range $135k$208k
$170k
Agriculture172 openings
Typical range $115k$175k
$165k
Energy & Climate1,633 openings
Typical range $120k$189k
$158k
Bio & Health451 openings
Typical range $118k$213k
$158k
Transportation1,644 openings
Typical range $100k$214k
$155k
Aerospace4,708 openings
Typical range $116k$180k
$150k
Supply Chain215 openings
Typical range $102k$196k
$138k
Manufacturing714 openings
Typical range $101k$180k
$138k
Education42 openings
Typical range $77k$170k
$111k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Magic8 roles$388k
2Thinking Machines Lab20 roles$381k
3MatX37 roles$380k
4Anthropic447 roles$353k
5OpenAI651 roles$309k
6Normal Computing21 roles$300k
7Pika9 roles$293k
8Wayve66 roles$290k
9Goodfire13 roles$288k
10Polymarket47 roles$285k
11Wispr Flow22 roles$280k
12Lambda82 roles$276k
13Oxide12 roles$275k
14Luma AI23 roles$275k
15Generalist AI12 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 55% 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 $176k per year, across 22,300 live openings at 480 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $135k and $225k.
Which startup roles pay the most?
AI & Autonomy roles lead at a $223k median, followed by Software & Data ($212k) and Product, Programs, & Systems ($198k), based on the ranges companies post on live openings.
Which companies building the future pay the highest salaries?
Magic tops the list with a $388k median posted base salary, ahead of Thinking Machines Lab ($381k) and MatX ($380k), among companies with eight or more openings that post pay.
Do startup job postings include salary?
About 55% 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 22,300 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.