Director-level software engineer salary

The median posted base pay for director-level software engineer jobs is $248K a year, from 512 open jobs at 364 companies. The middle half of the jobs is from $208K to $288K. One job in ten has posted pay above $333K.

Data of Nov 9, 2026. This is posted base pay, not total pay. It does not include stock or a bonus.

Median posted base pay: $248K
Middle half of the jobs: $208K to $288K
10th to 90th percentile: $170K to $333K
Open jobs with posted pay: 512
Companies: 364

Software engineer pay by level

Posted base pay for software engineer jobs, by the level in the job title. This page is about the director-level level. A level needs 20 or more jobs with posted pay.

Intern29 jobs$123K$113K to $132K
Entry level176 jobs$140K$115K to $150K
Level not stated6,588 jobs$175K$143K to $210K
Senior4,275 jobs$193K$168K to $220K
Staff1,568 jobs$230K$205K to $262K
Principal437 jobs$238K$206K to $281K
Director+512 jobs$248K$208K to $288K

Each band goes from the 10th to the 90th percentile. The darker part is the middle half of the jobs. The line is the median. This is posted base pay, not total pay.

Pay bands by level, software engineering. Posted base pay in US dollars for each year.
Level	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Jobs with pay
Intern	$88K	$113K	$123K	$132K	$149K	29
Entry level	$92K	$115K	$140K	$150K	$171K	176
Level not stated	$115K	$143K	$175K	$210K	$250K	6,588
Senior	$141K	$168K	$193K	$220K	$244K	4,275
Staff	$181K	$205K	$230K	$262K	$293K	1,568
Principal	$175K	$206K	$238K	$281K	$322K	437
Director+	$170K	$208K	$248K	$288K	$333K	512

Top-paying companies for director-level software engineer jobs

The companies with the highest median posted base pay for director-level software engineer jobs. A company name opens its levels in the pay explorer.

1Capital One$288K21 jobs
2Anduril Industries$256K21 jobs
3Salesforce$256K8 jobs
4Omnicom Media$150K5 jobs
5iCapital$128K12 jobs

The median posted base pay of each company for director-level software engineer jobs. We use the middle point of each posted range. A company needs 5 or more jobs with posted pay. This is posted base pay, not total pay.

Director-level software engineer pay by US region

The median posted base pay for director-level software engineer jobs in each US region, compared with the median of all US jobs.

Bay Area144 jobs+11%$278K
New York96 jobs+2%$256K
US remote101 jobs−5%$238K
Other US cities197 jobs−8%$230K

The median posted base pay for director-level software engineering in each US region, compared with the median of all US jobs ($250K). A job that lists two regions counts in each region. A region needs 20 or more jobs. This is posted base pay, not total pay.

Pay by region, director-level software engineering. Posted base pay in US dollars for each year.
Region	Median posted base pay	Against the US median	Jobs with pay
Bay Area	$278K	+11%	144
New York	$256K	+2%	96
US remote	$238K	−5%	101
Other US cities	$230K	−8%	197
All US jobs	$250K	0%	470

Open jobs

Other levels

By place

Other job types

How we compute these numbers

We read each job from the job board of the company and check it every day. We use only open jobs that state a yearly pay range in US dollars. One job counts with the middle point of its posted range. The median is the middle value of these amounts: half of the jobs are above it and half are below it.

We do not use a range with a bottom below $15,000, a top above $1,000,000, or a top that is more than four times the bottom. A role page needs 20 or more open jobs with posted pay. In the bar chart, a company needs 5 or more jobs with posted pay.

The numbers are base pay as the company posted it. They are not the pay of a person, and they do not include stock, a bonus or benefits. For the stock and the bonus that people reported, see Reported pay.