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Salaries

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

20,214 openings with posted pay · 500 companies · Updated Sep 23, 2026

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Sorted by top of posted range

AI Research: median base salary $278k · Typical range $213k–$352k · 1,649 openings with pay.

AI Research

1,649 matching openings with posted pay
1
Research Engineer, Chip Design RL (Reinforcement Learning)

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$500k–$850k / year
2
Research Engineer, Computer Use

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$500k–$850k / year
3
Research Engineer, Universes

Anthropic · Remote · Senior

$500k–$850k / year
4
Research Engineer, Machine Learning (RL Velocity)

Anthropic · Remote · Senior

$500k–$850k / year
5
Research Engineer, Code RL (Reinforcement Learning)

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$500k–$850k / year
6
Research Engineer, RL Engineering

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$500k–$850k / year
7
Pre-training Data Infrastructure Engineer

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Staff / Principal

$500k–$850k / year
8
Research Engineer, Machine Learning (Reinforcement Learning)

Anthropic · San Francisco, CA · Senior

$500k–$850k / year

Median base salary

$180k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$136k–$229k

25th to 75th percentile

20,214 openings with pay data across 500 companies · 47% of 43,396 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
200
$50k–$100k
2,146
$100k–$150k
4,002
$150k–$200k
5,812
$200k–$250k
4,381
$250k–$300k
2,033
$300k–$400k
1,297
$400k+
343

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,029 openings
Typical range $186k–$283k
$234k
Infrastructure, IT, & Security1,552 openings
Typical range $160k–$254k
$205k
Software & Data5,668 openings
Typical range $162k–$250k
$203k
Product, Programs, & Systems1,634 openings
Typical range $160k–$235k
$193k
Business Development & Customer Ops1,944 openings
Typical range $136k–$242k
$185k
Marketing & Design638 openings
Typical range $150k–$220k
$181k
Electrical & Firmware1,398 openings
Typical range $144k–$218k
$177k
Finance, Legal, & Compliance1,007 openings
Typical range $123k–$223k
$167k
Mechanical & Physical Systems1,353 openings
Typical range $125k–$185k
$158k
Business & People Operations861 openings
Typical range $113k–$185k
$148k
Test, Quality, & Reliability1,289 openings
Typical range $105k–$182k
$145k
Supply Chain & Procurement630 openings
Typical range $100k–$170k
$140k
Manufacturing & Production1,211 openings
Typical range $75k–$148k
$110k

By experience level

Intern527 openings
Typical range $60k–$92k
$70k
Entry-Level1,968 openings
Typical range $79k–$175k
$120k
Mid-Level5,969 openings
Typical range $120k–$200k
$155k
Senior7,900 openings
Typical range $160k–$232k
$193k
Staff / Principal1,524 openings
Typical range $195k–$275k
$231k
Manager1,502 openings
Typical range $150k–$236k
$188k
Director755 openings
Typical range $215k–$295k
$250k
Executive69 openings
Typical range $260k–$317k
$300k

By funding stage

Seed460 openings
Typical range $123k–$190k
$155k
Series A1,280 openings
Typical range $125k–$198k
$163k
Series B1,267 openings
Typical range $138k–$225k
$180k
Series C+13,111 openings
Typical range $144k–$236k
$187k
Public4,060 openings
Typical range $123k–$220k
$170k

By sector

AI Research1,649 openings
Typical range $213k–$352k
$278k
Compute & Semiconductors2,604 openings
Typical range $177k–$261k
$218k
AI App2,958 openings
Typical range $172k–$260k
$215k
Fintech705 openings
Typical range $146k–$249k
$198k
Robotics572 openings
Typical range $125k–$210k
$175k
Transportation1,205 openings
Typical range $115k–$228k
$173k
Public Services149 openings
Typical range $140k–$220k
$170k
Defense2,909 openings
Typical range $144k–$210k
$170k
Construction & Housing111 openings
Typical range $135k–$215k
$170k
Bio & Health440 openings
Typical range $125k–$219k
$165k
Agriculture165 openings
Typical range $115k–$170k
$165k
Energy & Climate1,489 openings
Typical range $120k–$189k
$155k
Supply Chain248 openings
Typical range $109k–$207k
$147k
Aerospace4,282 openings
Typical range $109k–$182k
$147k
Manufacturing688 openings
Typical range $101k–$183k
$140k
Education40 openings
Typical range $73k–$170k
$106k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Anthropic290 roles$363k
2Aaru19 roles$353k
3Thinking Machines Lab27 roles$325k
4OpenAI670 roles$308k
5Normal Computing18 roles$300k
6Goodfire12 roles$300k
7Polymarket64 roles$295k
8Wayve68 roles$290k
9World Labs11 roles$288k
10Wispr Flow30 roles$285k
11Lambda84 roles$282k
12Periodic Labs10 roles$281k
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 47% 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 $180k per year, across 20,214 live openings at 500 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $136k and $229k.
Which startup roles pay the most?
AI & Autonomy roles lead at a $234k 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 ($325k), among companies with eight or more openings that post pay.
Do startup job postings include salary?
About 47% 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 20,214 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.

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