The FDE Pay Report (Oct 2026)

What you get

• The short answer: median posted base, median total comp and the FDE vs software engineer gap, each from a named tracker with its date.
• The numbers compared: Lightcast (via CNBC and Fortune), Level, latchhire and levels.fyi side by side, and why they differ.
• Pay by company: posted ranges at OpenAI, Anthropic, Databricks, Palantir, Scale AI, Ramp, Glean, Baseten, Together AI and Anduril, from their own postings or the tracker that recorded them.
• Pay by level and outside the US: what public data shows for early-career to manager roles, plus UK, eurozone and Canada medians.
• FDE vs Sales Engineer vs Solution Architect vs Deployment Strategist: pay side by side.
• A 4-step negotiation checklist built on the same data.

Every number keeps its source link and date. Nothing is estimated.

How to get it

1. Enter your email in the form below.
2. Confirm your subscription.
3. Your welcome email has the link to the report.