From US job postings with disclosed pay at Series A startups, last 12 months. Updated October 2026.
Quick answer: At Series A startups, the typical posted base band is $170K–$230K for senior software engineers (midpoint $200K, 206 postings) and $200K–$260K for staff engineers (midpoint $230K, 78 postings). Series A pays almost exactly what Series B does: the senior midpoint is $200K at both. So a Series A startup isn't priced out on cash, but it also has no cash discount to lean on.
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| Role | Typical posted base band | Midpoint | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software engineer (all levels) | $170K–$230K | $200K | 312 |
| Senior software engineer | $170K–$230K | $200K | 206 |
| Staff software engineer | $200K–$260K | $230K | 78 |
| Forward deployed engineer | $150K–$220K | $180K | 71 |
Engineering manager, principal and VP Engineering postings at Series A are too few in our data to give a reliable band, so we don't. If you're hiring one of those roles, benchmark against staff pay and the candidate's current package.
How to read the band: it runs from the median posted minimum to the median posted maximum, so it's the band a typical Series A company advertises, not the full spread of what people are paid.
"We need senior engineers." What many Series A companies actually need is engineers who can move fast in ambiguity, not necessarily someone who has spent a decade in a highly structured environment. The two are not the same candidate pool.
"We'll pay market rate." The posted senior midpoint is $200K, but candidates ask for more than the posted midpoint. Engineers who choose a 12-person team over a big company also want meaningful equity, real ownership and a problem worth solving. Comp matters, but if you win on comp alone, you may have hired the wrong person.
"We'll promote from within." Early engineers are not always the right people to become your first engineering manager. Decide early whether you'll promote internally or hire externally for your first management layer.
Spending months trying to hire a unicorn ("staff engineer with an ML background who can also manage people and has built B2B product before"), then settling for a generalist because the ideal candidate didn't exist at any price.
Fix: start with the specific problem you need solved in the next six months, not the ideal combination of skills for every future problem.
The typical posted base band at Series A is $170K–$230K for senior software engineers (midpoint $200K) and $200K–$260K for staff engineers (midpoint $230K), from US postings with disclosed pay over the last 12 months.
Barely. The senior midpoint is $200K at both stages, and the staff midpoint is $230K at both. Stage matters less than location and specialty.
More than the posted midpoint. Staff engineers who booked a call with us asked for a median of $250K, and software engineers overall a median of $220K. Leave room above the midpoint for the candidates you most want.
Missing the fully diluted share count is a red flag for candidates who do their homework.
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