Software Engineering Salary Guide 2025
Comprehensive salary data for software engineering roles based on 500+ placements and market research. Updated quarterly.
Backend Engineer Salaries
| Level | Experience | Base Salary Range | Total Comp (with equity) | Remote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | 0-2 years | $75,000 - $95,000 | $80,000 - $105,000 | ✓ |
| Mid-Level | 3-5 years | $100,000 - $130,000 | $115,000 - $150,000 | ✓ |
| Senior | 5-10 years | $135,000 - $170,000 | $160,000 - $210,000 | ✓ |
| Staff/Principal | 10+ years | $175,000 - $220,000 | $220,000 - $300,000 | ✓ |
*Tech Stack Impact: +$10-20K for specialized skills (Go, Rust, Elixir)
Frontend Engineer Salaries
| Level | Experience | Base Salary Range | Total Comp (with equity) | Remote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | 0-2 years | $70,000 - $90,000 | $75,000 - $100,000 | ✓ |
| Mid-Level | 3-5 years | $95,000 - $125,000 | $110,000 - $145,000 | ✓ |
| Senior | 5-10 years | $130,000 - $165,000 | $155,000 - $200,000 | ✓ |
| Staff/Principal | 10+ years | $170,000 - $210,000 | $210,000 - $280,000 | ✓ |
Full Stack Engineer Salaries
| Level | Experience | Base Salary Range | Total Comp (with equity) | Remote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | 0-2 years | $80,000 - $100,000 | $85,000 - $110,000 | ✓ |
| Mid-Level | 3-5 years | $105,000 - $135,000 | $120,000 - $155,000 | ✓ |
| Senior | 5-10 years | $140,000 - $175,000 | $165,000 - $215,000 | ✓ |
| Staff/Principal | 10+ years | $180,000 - $230,000 | $230,000 - $310,000 | ✓ |
DevOps/Cloud Engineer Salaries
| Level | Experience | Base Salary Range | Total Comp (with equity) | Remote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | 0-2 years | $80,000 - $100,000 | $90,000 - $115,000 | ✓ |
| Mid-Level | 3-5 years | $110,000 - $140,000 | $125,000 - $165,000 | ✓ |
| Senior | 5-10 years | $145,000 - $185,000 | $175,000 - $230,000 | ✓ |
| Staff/Principal/SRE | 10+ years | $190,000 - $240,000 | $240,000 - $330,000 | ✓ |
Machine Learning Engineer Salaries
| Level | Experience | Base Salary Range | Total Comp (with equity) | Remote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | 0-2 years | $90,000 - $115,000 | $100,000 - $130,000 | ✓ |
| Mid-Level | 3-5 years | $120,000 - $155,000 | $140,000 - $185,000 | ✓ |
| Senior | 5-10 years | $160,000 - $200,000 | $195,000 - $260,000 | ✓ |
| Staff/Principal/Research | 10+ years / PhD | $205,000 - $270,000 | $270,000 - $380,000 | ✓ |
*PhD Premium: +$20-40K for research roles
Regional Salary Adjustments
Higher Cost Areas (+10-25%)
- San Francisco Bay Area
- New York City
- Seattle
- Boston
Lower Cost Areas (-10-20%)
- Midwest (excluding Chicago)
- Southeast (excluding Atlanta)
- Mountain West
- Remote positions (company dependent)
Salary Trends & Insights
Full Analysis: State of Software Engineering Hiring 2025📈 Growth Trends
- ↑ Overall software engineering salaries up 8% YoY
- ↑ ML/AI roles seeing 15-20% growth
- ↑ DevOps/Cloud roles up 12%
- ↑ Remote positions closing gap with on-site
💡 Hot Skills (Salary Premium)
- ★ LLM/Generative AI: +$30-50K
- ★ Kubernetes/Cloud-Native: +$20-30K
- ★ Rust/Go: +$15-25K
- ★ System Design at Scale: +$20-35K
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Get Your AssessmentFrequently Asked Questions
Where does OneCube source its salary data?
Our data is aggregated from thousands of recent placements, active job listings across major tech hubs, and anonymized surveys from our candidate network. We update our datasets quarterly to reflect real-time market shifts.
Do these figures represent base salary or total compensation?
The figures listed primarily represent base salary ranges. However, we provide separate multipliers and notes regarding equity packages, bonuses, and benefits, which can significantly alter the total compensation (TC) package, especially for senior roles.
How should I adjust these ranges for remote roles in lower cost-of-living areas?
While remote work has flattened salary curves, geographic differentials still exist. We recommend applying a 10-15% adjustment factor for fully remote roles based in Tier 2 or Tier 3 markets, though top-tier talent often commands national market rates regardless of location.
How accurate are these ranges for niche technologies?
For highly specialized or emerging technologies (e.g., Rust, AI/ML engineering), variance can be higher due to scarcity. In these cases, we recommend treating the 75th percentile as the baseline to attract qualified experts.