Hiring a software engineer in Austin? Across 691 live software engineer postings in Austin, the market pays a $180K median salary (typically $165K–$203K). 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 software engineer designs, builds, tests, and ships software across the stack as part of a product team. Hiring one in Austin means competing with the companies below.
What employers actually screen for, aggregated across 691 active software engineer postings in Austin:
| Percentile | Base salary |
|---|---|
| 25th | $165K |
| Median | $180K |
| 75th | $203K |
Based on 292 software engineer postings in Austin that disclose pay. Base only — equity is typically on top.
Across the 306 software engineer postings in Austin that spell out responsibilities:
The companies with the most live software engineer openings in Austin, with what each pays and screens for (medians shown only where at least 3 postings disclose pay):
| Company | Open software engineer roles | Median pay (disclosed) | Top skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | 61 | — | Java, Python, CI/CD |
| Oracle | 51 | $155K | Java, Python, Go |
| Saronic | 24 | — | Python, Rust, React |
| General Motors | 17 | — | JavaScript, Java, Spring |
| Rdccareers | 16 | — | AWS, React, Python |
| Tesla | 15 | — | Kubernetes |
| Cloudflare | 14 | — | Python, TypeScript, Go |
| Visa Inc | 14 | $171K | Spring, Kafka, MySQL |
| Currencycloud | 14 | $171K | Spring, Java, React |
| Amazon | 13 | $165K | AWS, Rust, Python |
Where the software engineer demand sits across funding stages, across the 150 companies with the most live openings in Austin:
| Stage | Companies hiring | Open roles | Median pay (disclosed) | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | 4 | 10 | $170K | Speechify, Reflex, Phare Health |
| Series A | 12 | 34 | $225K | Venmo, Optiver, QuoteWell |
| Series B | 10 | 26 | $241K | Ditto, Level, Cornelis Networks |
| Series C | 8 | 23 | $163K | Cadence Solutions, Steadily, CesiumAstro |
| Series D+ | 36 | 143 | $195K | Saronic, Currencycloud, Neuralink |
| Public | 42 | 311 | $170K | Apple, Oracle, General Motors |
A further 38 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 software 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 software engineer designs, builds, tests, and ships software across the stack as part of a product team.
What salary does a software engineer in Austin command in 2026?Across 691 live postings in Austin, a $180K median salary (typically $165K–$203K) — base only; equity is typically on top. Most postings expect 5+ years of experience.
What should you look for when hiring a software engineer?Depth in the skills these postings require (Python, Java, React, AWS, CI/CD, TypeScript, Kubernetes, Rust), plus solid engineering fundamentals, clean code, and the ability to own features from design to production. Recruiting from Scratch sends a shortlist of 3–5 genuinely qualified candidates, not resume volume.
Tell us about your open roles and we'll start sourcing within 48 hours.
