Forward Deployed Engineer compensation
Forward Deployed Engineer Salary at AI Startups (2026)
The median Forward Deployed Engineer salary at AI startups is $180,656, based on 235 disclosed job postings ($58,850–$323,850 range). Updated September 2026. These are aggregate figures only; we never publish an individual company's offer.
$58,850Minimum
$180,656Median
$323,850Maximum
Sample size: based on 235 disclosed salaries.
01
Median Forward Deployed Engineer salary by funding stage
| Funding stage | Median salary | Sample size |
|---|---|---|
| Series C | $202,500 | 26 |
| Series D | $185,000 | 25 |
| Series G+ | $180,656 | 84 |
| Series A | $180,000 | 29 |
| Series B | $170,000 | 40 |
| Seed | $170,000 | 11 |
| Series F | $145,000 | 6 |
02
How we calculate this
Roughly a quarter of AI-startup postings disclose pay. We extract the USD range from those that do, normalize each to a midpoint, and aggregate across distinct postings (deduplicated by posting ID). The minimum, median, and maximum above are based on 235 disclosed salaries. We publish aggregate ranges only, never a single company's salary, so the numbers stay representative rather than anecdotal.
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