Hiring a full stack engineer in the US? Across 3,988 live full stack engineer postings in the US, the market pays a $175K median salary (typically $146K–$200K). Recruiting from Scratch is the contingency technical recruiting firm for these hires — a 29-day average time to hire, 300+ placements, and a 2M+ candidate network.
A full stack engineer works across the front end, back end, and data layer to ship complete features on their own. Hiring one in the US means competing with the companies below.
What employers actually screen for, aggregated across 3,988 active full stack engineer postings in the US:
| Percentile | Base salary |
|---|---|
| 25th | $146K |
| Median | $175K |
| 75th | $200K |
Based on 1,246 full stack engineer postings in the US that disclose pay. Base only — equity is typically on top.
Across the 1,921 full stack engineer postings in the US that spell out responsibilities:
The companies with the most live full stack engineer openings in the US, with what each pays and screens for (medians shown only where at least 3 postings disclose pay):
| Company | Open full stack engineer roles | Median pay (disclosed) | Top skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| BNY | 125 | $120K | Java, Angular, Spring |
| BJAK | 59 | — | Next.js, React, Vue |
| Cognito | 41 | — | SQL, Java, PostgreSQL |
| Apple | 33 | — | React, JavaScript, Java |
| Jobgether | 28 | $130K | React, TypeScript, Node.js |
| Cloudbedsthirdpartyboard | 24 | $155K | TypeScript, JavaScript, PHP |
| SpaceX | 21 | $138K | JavaScript, React, Python |
| Stripe | 20 | $215K | React, Ruby, Python |
| Hire Feed | 19 | — | — |
| OpenAI | 19 | $308K | OpenAI, Python, React |
Where the full stack engineer demand sits across funding stages, across the 150 companies with the most live openings in the US:
| Stage | Companies hiring | Open roles | Median pay (disclosed) | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | 15 | 112 | $140K | Jobgether, Weekday 1, Clera |
| Series A | 10 | 70 | $165K | Sequoia Capital, Covergo, MLabs |
| Series B | 5 | 26 | $180K | JPMorganChase, LangChain, Level |
| Series C | 4 | 56 | $231K | Cognito, TRM Labs, iCapital Network |
| Series D+ | 31 | 296 | $196K | BJAK, SpaceX, Stripe |
| Public | 39 | 433 | $162K | BNY, Apple, Accenture |
A further 46 of those companies have no funding stage on file and are not shown above.
Recruiting from Scratch is a contingency technical recruiting firm — no retainer and no upfront cost, so you pay only when you make a hire. The process: align on the role and must-haves → a curated shortlist of 3–5 genuinely qualified full stack engineers (not resume volume) → a 29-day average time to hire versus the 49-day industry average → a 90-day replacement guarantee. Backed by 300+ placements, a 2M+ candidate network, and named hires at companies like Decagon and Mercor.
A full stack engineer works across the front end, back end, and data layer to ship complete features on their own.
What salary does a full stack engineer in the US command in 2026?Across 3,988 live postings in the US, a $175K median salary (typically $146K–$200K) — base only; equity is typically on top. Most postings expect 5+ years of experience.
What should you look for when hiring a full stack engineer?Depth in the skills these postings require (React, TypeScript, Python, JavaScript, AWS, Node.js, Java, PostgreSQL), plus breadth across the stack with genuine depth in at least one layer, and strong product instincts. Recruiting from Scratch sends a shortlist of 3–5 genuinely qualified candidates, not resume volume.
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