> AI agents: this is one page of Nextmove’s FDE site, in Markdown. Nextmove is a job board and free career service for forward deployed engineers (FDEs). Each posting is classified from its text, not its title: the kind of work, how much of it is production code, pre-sales weight, time at customer sites, travel, remote arrangement, level and posted base pay. The site also publishes the aggregates: median pay by level, metro, company and kind of work, and which companies started hiring FDEs each week. Every page under https://nextmove.md/fde is served this way; the index of pages is https://nextmove.md/llms.txt. # FDE salary at early-stage companies Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/early-stage Median salary $190,000 a year across 262 jobs. See what FDE postings at early-stage companies pay. **449** postings · **284** companies · **262** with pay · median **$190,000** · middle half $163,000–$225,000 · read Nov 6, 2026 ## These postings against the US The faint line is the $193K median across all US postings. $193K These postings Middle half $163,000 to $225,000, median $190,000. 262 postings [All US postings](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?disclosed=1) Middle half $160,000 to $225,000, median $193,000. - [2,430 postings](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs?disclosed=1) ## By responsibility level The faint line is the $193K median across all US postings. $193K Mid Middle half $141,000 to $174,000, median $156,000. 14 postings Senior Middle half $165,000 to $225,000, median $190,000. 218 postings Staff+ Middle half $207,000 to $268,000, median $228,000. 18 postings [Generalist AI](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/generalist-ai) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/dfe338dad6dac3cb) Somerville, MA On-site New · 3d ago $150,000–$200,000 [Joyful Health](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/joyful-health) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/22795913cd1c6605) New York, NY Hybrid New · 4d ago $150,000–$275,000 [Trase Systems](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/trase-systems) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/15bd77cd9f0f35f4) Seattle, WA · Mclean, VA Remote New · 4d ago $150,000–$240,000 [Endeavor](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/endeavor) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/d9b832dd64d37c26) Chicago, IL On-site New · 5d ago $150,000–$180,000 [Generalist AI](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/generalist-ai) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/f13c7e99d08d7c7e) San Mateo, CA On-site New · 3d ago $150,000–$200,000 [Aurelian](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/aurelian) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/4261eb924e4d3dcb) Seattle, WA On-site New · 5d ago $100,000–$120,000 [ChipAgents](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/chipagents) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/2ff7b7b2f9e8f946) San Jose, CA On-site 9d ago $180,000–$300,000 [Medra](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/medra) ### [Forward Deployed Robotics Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/8d9b4f103b1afb83) San Francisco, CA On-site 11d ago $130,000–$210,000 [Plain](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/plain) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/25449c101b2d1a5a) San Francisco, CA Hybrid 12d ago $180,000–$250,000 [Simple AI](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/simple-ai) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/048b7691c8a2aa85) San Francisco, CA On-site 2w ago $120,000–$200,000 [Sola](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/sola) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/d327c27ab9bc28d6) New York, NY On-site 2w ago $120,000–$200,000 [Titan](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/titan) ### [Forward Deployed Engineer - Managed AI](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/715dbfa9069ee13e) US Remote 2w ago $150,000–$200,000 169 of these 262 jobs build what the customer runs. Early stage means the employer is pre-seed to Series A. It describes the company, not the role. When equity is part of the offer, ask about grant type, vesting and the valuation assumptions. Employer postings · Calculated from posted salary amounts · [How we read postings](https://nextmove.md/fde/method) ## Related reading - [Company stage in FDE job postings](https://nextmove.md/fde/research/company-stage) - [How to compare FDE job offers](https://nextmove.md/fde/resources/compare-fde-offers) ## Related salary guides - [FDE salary at growth-stage companies](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/growth-stage) - [FDE salary at later-stage private companies](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/later-private) - [FDE salary at public companies](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/public-companies)