Roles we hire for

/

Leadership

/

Director of Engineering

Q: What is the average Director of Engineering salary at an AI startup?

The median pay for a Director of Engineering at an AI-native startup is $245K, with a range of $208K to $275K based on 367 public job postings collected in 2025–2026.

Director of Engineerings at high-growth companies earn $208K–$275K. Median: $245K. Based on 367 public job postings (2025–2026). Recruiting from Scratch's network includes 9,300+ director of engineerings, including 800+ with top-tier-company experience.

💰 $208K–$275K salary range

Median: $245K · Based on 367 public job postings · Updated September 10, 2026

What is a Director of Engineering?

A Director of Engineering manages a group of engineering teams — typically 2–4 teams with their own engineering managers. They're a management-of-managers role focused on delivery, team health, and cross-team coordination within a product domain or technology layer. Directors of Engineering bridge the gap between individual team execution (handled by EMs) and organizational strategy (owned by the VP of Engineering or CTO).

‍

At what stage should you hire a Director of Engineering?

Series B through Series D, when the engineering organization has grown to 20–40+ engineers and EMs need a management layer above them. Typically hired when the VP of Engineering's span of control is too wide, or when a major product area (platform, core product, data) needs dedicated senior engineering leadership.

‍

Common titles for this role

Director of Engineering
Senior Director of Engineering
Engineering Director
Head of Engineering (product area)

‍

What does a Director of Engineering do at a startup?

Manage 2–4 engineering managers and provide leadership and development
Own engineering delivery for a product area or technology domain
Partner with product directors on roadmap prioritization and resourcing
Drive hiring within their org: sourcing, interviewing, leveling, and offers
Resolve cross-team technical and organizational dependencies
Represent their teams in engineering leadership discussions
Maintain engineering standards and drive technical quality across teams

‍

Key skills and qualifications

8–15 years of engineering experience, with 3+ years managing engineering managers
Deep technical credibility — can engage substantively in architecture discussions
Track record of delivering complex cross-team projects on schedule
Strong hiring instincts: has built high-quality engineering teams
Excellent cross-functional partnership with product and design leadership
Data-driven approach to team health and engineering metrics

‍

Why hire your Director of Engineering through Recruiting from Scratch?

Engineering director searches require finding both technical depth and management-of-managers experience — we screen for both
29-day average time to hire — director-level engineering searches move faster with a warm network
300+ placements at VC-backed companies across all engineering leadership levels
Pre-vetted for delivery track record and management experience
No upfront fees

📊 Salary breakdown

Director of Engineering salary by location

All locations: $245K median ($208K–$275K typical range)
San Francisco: $280K median, $250K–$306K range (+14% vs. national)
New York: $258K median, $214K–$303K range (+5% vs. national)
Los Angeles: $250K median, $225K–$274K range (+2% vs. national)
Denver: $210K median, $205K–$240K range (-14% vs. national)
Seattle: $250K median, $243K–$261K range (+2% vs. national)
Austin: $203K median, $186K–$223K range (-17% vs. national)
Boston: $228K median, $206K–$271K range (-7% vs. national)
Atlanta: $170K median, $135K–$179K range (-31% vs. national)

Highest paying companies

San Francisco

Stellar: $276K median

Based on companies with 3+ active postings. Median of publicly advertised salary range.

What's typically included

Health insurance: 77% of postings
Equity (RSU/options): 74% of postings
Flexible PTO: 56% of postings
Parental leave: 29% of postings
Learning/education budget: 14% of postings
Visa sponsorship: 5% of postings

Typical experience required: 9–11 years.

Engineering salaries by seniority

What does a Director of Engineering do?

Director of Engineerings are engineers who design, build, and operate the core software systems. This benchmark reflects Director-level base compensation at high-growth and AI-native companies.

Common questions

What is the average Director of Engineering salary at an AI startup?
The median pay is $245K, with a typical range of $208K–$275K, based on 367 public job postings collected in 2025–2026.

What is the Director of Engineering salary in San Francisco?
San Francisco Director of Engineerings at AI-native startups earn a median of $280K, with a typical range of $250K–$306K (25th–75th percentile). That's 14% above the $245K US national median. Based on 51 qualifying postings, 2025–2026.

What is the Director of Engineering salary in New York?
New York Director of Engineerings at AI-native startups earn a median of $258K, with a typical range of $214K–$303K (25th–75th percentile). That's 5% above the $245K US national median. 8% below San Francisco's $280K. Based on 50 qualifying postings, 2025–2026.

Where does this salary data come from?
It is aggregated from public job postings on company career pages — no private placement or client data. We require a minimum of 15 postings per role.

Methodology

Figures are the midpoint of each posting's advertised USD salary range, aggregated from 367 public job postings (2025–2026). The range shown is the 25th–75th percentile; the median is the 50th percentile. Equity is separate and not included; where a posting's range reflects on-target earnings (OTE) for commission roles, that is included in the midpoint. Roles require at least 15 postings to be published. Last refreshed September 10, 2026.

Hiring Director of Engineerings? RFS recruiters specialize in Engineering placements at AI-native and high-growth startups. Talk to an RFS recruiter →

Are you a Director of Engineering? See open Director of Engineering roles →