Know what the role actually pays
Pay ranges by experience level and metro area, plus the specific skills that move the number — so you walk into the negotiation with a figure you can source.
These guides give indicative US base-salary ranges for 2026 across seven roles, broken out by experience level and adjusted for twelve major metro areas. AI engineers have the highest median at $168,000, followed by cloud architects at $172,000 for senior-level design roles, DevOps engineers at $138,000, software engineers at $132,000, Python developers at $128,000, Java developers at $125,000, and project managers at $108,000. Every figure is base salary only and excludes bonus and equity.
Median pay side by side
National median base salary and the full range across all experience levels.
| Role | Range | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud Architect | $135K – $275K | $172,000 |
| AI Engineer | $110K – $350K | $168,000 |
| DevOps Engineer | $88K – $250K | $138,000 |
| Software Engineer | $78K – $215K | $132,000 |
| Python Developer | $82K – $230K | $128,000 |
| Java Developer | $80K – $225K | $125,000 |
| Project Manager | $65K – $190K | $108,000 |
Indicative US base-salary ranges for 2026, compiled from publicly posted pay ranges and published industry salary surveys. Figures are base salary only — they exclude bonus, equity and benefits — and actual pay varies by employer, metro, industry and individual experience.
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