Hiring a software engineer in Seattle? Across 1,354 live software engineer postings in Seattle, the market pays a $195K median salary (typically $170K–$223K). 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 Seattle means competing with the companies below.
What employers actually screen for, aggregated across 1,354 active software engineer postings in Seattle:
| Percentile | Base salary |
|---|---|
| 25th | $170K |
| Median | $195K |
| 75th | $223K |
Based on 809 software engineer postings in Seattle that disclose pay. Base only — equity is typically on top.
Seattle pays about 6% above the US median for this role ($184K).
Across the 626 software engineer postings in Seattle that spell out responsibilities:
The companies with the most live software engineer openings in Seattle, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | 140 | $177K | Python, Java, JavaScript |
| Amazon | 61 | $168K | AWS, Java, Python |
| SpaceX | 56 | $138K | Python, Go, TypeScript |
| Anthropic | 49 | $403K | Python, Go, Rust |
| Apple | 48 | — | Swift, Java, Go |
| Anduril | 47 | $222K | Python, Rust, Go |
| CoreWeave | 43 | $212K | Kubernetes, Go, Python |
| Oracle | 39 | $175K | Java, Python, Kubernetes |
| 29 | $214K | Python, Model Deployment, Swift | |
| Databricks | 22 | $215K | Spark, Databricks, AWS |
Where the software engineer demand sits across funding stages, across the 150 companies with the most live openings in Seattle:
| Stage | Companies hiring | Open roles | Median pay (disclosed) | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | 6 | 34 | $170K | Speechify, Rivet, NICE |
| Series A | 9 | 23 | $190K | Nooks, Aerostrat, AiM Future |
| Series B | 11 | 60 | $199K | Streamlit, Ditto, Read AI |
| Series C | 10 | 37 | $188K | NexHealth, Truveta, ExtraHop Networks |
| Series D+ | 34 | 330 | $215K | SpaceX, Anthropic, Anduril |
| Public | 50 | 552 | $190K | Microsoft, Amazon, Apple |
A further 30 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 Seattle command in 2026?Across 1,354 live postings in Seattle, a $195K median salary (typically $170K–$223K) — 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, Go, AWS, Kubernetes, CI/CD, Azure, 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.
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