Salaries

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

20,166 openings with posted pay · 502 companies · Updated Sep 22, 2026

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Sorted by top of posted range

Energy & Climate: median base salary $156k · Typical range $120k$189k · 1,472 openings with pay.

Energy & Climate

1,472 matching openings with posted pay
1
Senior Sales Director

Crusoe Energy · San Francisco, CA · Director

$420k–$500k / year
2
Vice President, Product Management, Managed AI

Crusoe Energy · San Francisco, CA · Director

$345k–$385k / year
3
Vice President, Information Technology

Crusoe Energy · San Francisco, CA · Director

$330k–$360k / year
4
Senior Director, Analytics & Data Science

Crusoe Energy · San Francisco, CA · Director

$310k–$355k / year
5
VP, People & Culture

Sila Nanotechnologies · Alameda, CA · Executive

$290k–$350k / year
6
Vice President of Supply Chain

Commonwealth Fusion · Devens, MA · Executive

$275k–$350k / year
7
Senior Director, SPARC Plant Operations

Commonwealth Fusion · Devens, MA · Director

$250k–$350k / year
8
Vice President of Business Development

KoBold Metals · North America · Executive

$250k–$350k / year

Median base salary

$180k

All openings with posted pay

Typical range

$137k–$230k

25th to 75th percentile

20,166 openings with pay data across 502 companies · 47% of 43,202 tracked openings. Annual base salary. Equity and bonus excluded. Methodology

Distribution

Share of openings by posted midpoint

Under $50k
196
$50k–$100k
2,118
$100k–$150k
3,989
$150k–$200k
5,777
$200k–$250k
4,401
$250k–$300k
2,051
$300k–$400k
1,291
$400k+
343

By role

Bar shows 25th to 75th percentile

AI & Autonomy1,023 openings
Typical range $186k$283k
$234k
Typical range $160k$253k
$205k
Software & Data5,731 openings
Typical range $161k$250k
$203k
Typical range $160k$233k
$193k
Typical range $137k$243k
$185k
Marketing & Design634 openings
Typical range $150k$220k
$181k
Electrical & Firmware1,387 openings
Typical range $145k$218k
$177k
Typical range $125k$223k
$168k
Typical range $125k$185k
$157k
Typical range $113k$184k
$148k
Typical range $108k$184k
$147k
Typical range $105k$170k
$142k
Typical range $75k$148k
$110k

By experience level

Intern508 openings
Typical range $60k$92k
$71k
Entry-Level1,999 openings
Typical range $80k$180k
$123k
Mid-Level5,928 openings
Typical range $120k$200k
$155k
Senior7,890 openings
Typical range $161k$233k
$194k
Staff / Principal1,533 openings
Typical range $195k$275k
$231k
Manager1,488 openings
Typical range $150k$236k
$189k
Director750 openings
Typical range $215k$295k
$250k
Executive70 openings
Typical range $260k$318k
$300k

By funding stage

Seed463 openings
Typical range $123k$190k
$155k
Series A1,271 openings
Typical range $125k$198k
$163k
Series B1,263 openings
Typical range $140k$225k
$180k
Series C+12,995 openings
Typical range $144k$237k
$188k
Public4,137 openings
Typical range $125k$223k
$171k

By sector

AI Research1,631 openings
Typical range $214k$353k
$281k
Typical range $177k$261k
$218k
AI App2,942 openings
Typical range $172k$260k
$215k
Fintech704 openings
Typical range $146k$249k
$198k
Robotics575 openings
Typical range $125k$210k
$175k
Transportation1,194 openings
Typical range $120k$228k
$175k
Public Services157 openings
Typical range $140k$215k
$170k
Defense2,836 openings
Typical range $144k$210k
$170k
Typical range $135k$215k
$170k
Bio & Health438 openings
Typical range $125k$216k
$165k
Agriculture164 openings
Typical range $115k$170k
$165k
Energy & Climate1,472 openings
Typical range $120k$189k
$156k
Supply Chain244 openings
Typical range $109k$208k
$149k
Aerospace4,270 openings
Typical range $109k$183k
$147k
Manufacturing682 openings
Typical range $101k$183k
$140k
Education41 openings
Typical range $77k$170k
$110k

Top-paying companies

Median pay · 8+ openings each

1Anthropic285 roles$363k
2Aaru19 roles$353k
3Thinking Machines Lab28 roles$325k
4OpenAI663 roles$308k
5Periodic Labs9 roles$300k
6Normal Computing18 roles$300k
7Goodfire12 roles$300k
8Polymarket66 roles$290k
9Wayve70 roles$290k
10World Labs9 roles$288k
11Wispr Flow30 roles$285k
12Lambda86 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 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 20,166 live openings at 502 companies. The middle half of postings falls between $137k and $230k.
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 20,166 live openings. Browse the roles behind them.