20 Highest-Paying Tech Companies In America For 2016
Engineers In High Demand At Top-Paying Companies
Beef up your engineering skills if you want to land a job at one of America’s top-paying technology companies, as engineers are the most in-demand position at 15 of the 20 highest-paying tech companies.
Online employment company Glassdoor compiled a list of the 25 highest-paying companies in the U.S., based on the median total compensation package reported by U.S.-based employees from April 2015 to March 2016; only companies with at least 50 salary reports during that timeframe were considered. Twenty of the 25 most generous companies are in tech.
Eight of the 20 top-paying tech companies were founded since 2000, while six others were founded during the 1990s. Nineteen of the 20 top-paying tech companies are on the West Coast, with 16 of those 19 based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
T-19. Adobe
Median Total Compensation: $140,000
Median Base Salary: $125,000
Most Common Position: Computer Scientist (165 reports)
More than 2,180 current and former Adobe employees working in 630 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the San Jose, Calif.-based computer software company ranged from as much as $232,800 for group product managers (23 reports) to as little as $100,500 for quality engineers (49 reports), with computer scientists coming in at $130,300.
Adobe was founded in 1982, employs 12,500 people and delivered annual sales of $4.76 billion. The publicly traded company is focused on digital media and digital marketing.
T-19. Broadcom
Median Total Compensation: $140,000
Median Base Salary: $130,000
Most Common Position: Senior Staff IC Design Engineer (226 reports)
More than 4,160 current and former Broadcom employees working in 600 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the Irvine, Calif.-based fabless semiconductor manufacturer ranged from as much as $177,600 for principal engineers, IC design (53 reports) to as little as $100,000 for engineers, staff-I, IC design (91 reports), with senior staff IC design engineers coming in at $154,800.
Broadcom was founded in 1991, employs 12,400 people and delivered annual sales of $8.43 billion. The publicly traded company’s top customers have included Apple, Samsung Electronics, Cisco, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, LG and Nokia.
18. F5 Networks
Median Total Compensation: $140,200
Median Base Salary: $120,500
Most Common Position: Senior Software Engineer (78 reports)
Nearly 570 current and former F5 Networks employees working in 140 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the Seattle-based application delivery networking company ranged from as much as $280,600 for directors (six reports) to as little as $71,800 for network support engineers (16 reports), with senior software engineers coming in at $173,200.
F5 Networks was founded in 1996, employs 4,330 people and delivered annual sales of $1.92 billion. The publicly traded company works with more than 16,000 of the largest government and enterprise entities around the world.
17. Microsoft
Median Total Compensation: $141,000
Median Base Salary: $125,000
Most Common Position: Software Development Engineer (5,406 reports)
More than 33,360 current and former Microsoft employees working in 2,190 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the Redmond, Wash.-based multinational technology corporation ranged from as much as $169,900 for senior program managers (1,039 reports) to as little as $107,600 for software development engineers in test, with software development engineers coming in at $116,900.
Microsoft was founded in 1975, employs 118,600 people and delivered annual sales of $93.6 billion. The publicly traded company offers everything from computer software and consumer electronics to personal computers and services.
16. Salesforce
Median Total Compensation: $143,750
Median Base Salary: $120,000
Most Common Position: Member of Technical Staff (124 reports)
More than 2,950 current and former Salesforce employees working in 760 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the San Francisco-based cloud computing company ranged from as much as $240,600 for directors (31 reports) to as little as $112,400 for sales representatives (27 reports), with member of technical staff coming in at $135,500.
Salesforce was founded in 1999, employs 19,000 people and delivered annual sales of $6.67 billion. The publicly traded company has the market-leading customer relationship management (CRM) product and has capitalized on the commercial applications of social networking.
T-14: LinkedIn
Median Total Compensation: $145,000
Median Base Salary: $120,000
Most Common Position: Software Engineer (309 reports)
Nearly 1,500 current and former LinkedIn employees working in 367 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the business-oriented social networking service based in Mountain View, Calif., ranged from as much as $295,700 for staff software engineers (31 reports) to as little as $62,900 for sales development specialists (12 reports), with software engineers coming in at $172,900.
LinkedIn was founded in 2003, employs 9,200 people and delivered annual sales of $2.99 billion. The publicly traded company generates most of its revenue by selling information about its users to recruiters and sales professionals.
T-14. Cloudera
Median Total Compensation: $145,000
Median Base Salary: $129,500
Most Common Position: Software Engineer (58 reports)
Nearly 150 current and former Cloudera employees working in 43 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the Palo Alto, Calif.-based Apache Hadoop-based software company ranged from as much as $185,000 for senior solutions architects (two reports) to as little as $72,300 for customer operations engineers (two reports), with software engineers coming in at $153,800.
Cloudera was founded in 2008, and has 1,250 employees and more than 2,100 channel partners. The privately held company services the tech, telecom, medical, financial and government verticals, enabling customers to use Hadoop to solve problems and profit from all their data.
13. Altera
Median Total Compensation: $147,000
Median Base Salary: $134,000
Most Common Position: Senior Design Engineer (38 reports)
More than 580 current and former Altera employees working in 176 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the San Jose, Calif.-based complex digital circuit manufacturer ranged from as much as $231,600 for principal engineers (eight reports) to as little as $100,000 for design engineers (nine reports), with senior design engineers coming in at $127,300.
Altera was founded in 1983, has more than 3,000 employees and delivered annual sales of $1.78 billion. The Intel subsidiary has been supplying the latest programmable logic, process technologies, IP cores and development tools for more than 30 years.
12. Synopsys
Median Total Compensation: $148,000
Median Base Salary: $130,000
Most Common Position: R&D Engineer (118 reports)
More than 1,000 current and former Synopsys employees working in 188 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the Mountain View, Calif.-based electronic design automation leader ranged from as much as $194,300 for senior staff R&D engineers (37 reports) to as little as $61,200 for systems analysts (16 reports), with R&D engineers coming in at $139,400.
Synopsys was founded in 1986, employs 10,300 and delivered annual sales of $2.24 billion. The publicly traded company's offerings span the gamut, from semiconductor IP to software quality and security testing.
11. SAP
Median Total Compensation: $148,430
Median Base Salary: $120,000
Most Common Position: Applications Consultant IV (243 reports)
More than 3,920 current and former SAP employees working in 798 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the Weinheim, Germany-based enterprise application software company ranged from as much as $238,700 for senior directors (48 reports) to as little as $101,000 for developer II (80 reports), with applications consultant IV coming in at $150,900.
SAP was founded in 1972, employs 78,300 and delivered annual sales of $23.5 billion. The publicly traded company’s software helps enterprises manage business operations and customer relations, and is used by some 300,000 customers in 190 countries.
10. Walmart eCommerce
Median Total Compensation: $149,000
Median Base Salary: $126,000
Most Common Position: Senior Software Engineer (111 reports)
Nearly 850 current and former Walmart eCommerce employees working in 293 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the San Bruno, Calif.-based eCommerce provider ranged from as much as $267,500 for directors (13 reports) to as little as $133,900 for operations managers (10 reports), with senior software engineers coming in at $179,200.
Walmart eCommerce was founded in 2000, employs between 1,001 and 5,000 people and delivered annual sales of between $50 million and $100 million, according to Glassdoor. The Walmart subsidiary is focused on bringing online, mobile and digital commerce together to create a seamless experience for customers.
T-7. Facebook
Median Total Compensation: $150,000
Median Base Salary: $127,406
Most Common Position: Software Engineer (1,178 reports)
Nearly 2,960 current and former Facebook employees working in 410 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the Menlo Park, Calif.-based online social networking service ranged from as much as $368,300 for engineering managers (26 reports) to as little as $115,800 for operations engineers (27 reports), with software engineers coming in at $175,100.
Facebook was founded in 2004, employs 12,690 and delivered annual sales of $17.9 billion. The publicly traded company held an initial public offering in February 2012, and has more than 1.59 billion active monthly users.
T-7. Box
Median Total Compensation: $150,000
Median Base Salary: $130,000
Most Common Position: Software Engineer (50 reports)
Nearly 250 current and former Box employees working in 92 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the Redwood City, Calif.-based online file sharing and cloud content management service ranged from as much as $281,500 for staff engineers (four reports) to as little as $60,000 for sales (three reports), with software engineers coming in at $134,100.
Box was founded in 2005, employs 1,370 and delivered annual sales of $303 million. The publicly traded company uses a freemium business model to provide cloud sharing and file hosting for businesses and personal accounts.
T-7. Twitter
Median Total Compensation: $150,000
Median Base Salary: $133,000
Most Common Position: Software Engineer (213 reports)
Nearly 825 current and former Twitter employees working in 218 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the San Francisco-based online social networking service ranged from as much as $331,900 for staff software engineers to as little as $106,900 for software engineers -- front end, with software engineers coming in at $142,700.
Twitter was founded in 2006, employs 3,640 and delivered annual sales of $2.21 billion. The publicly traded company has more than 332 million active users and can be accessed in more than 35 languages.
T-5: Amazon Lab126
Median Total Compensation: $150,010
Median Base Salary: $138,700
Most Common Position: Software Development Engineer II (52 reports)
More than 440 current and former Amazon Lab126 employees working in 156 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based research and development unit ranged from as much as $222,000 for software development managers (nine reports) to as little as $117,500 for software development engineers I (26 reports), with software development engineers II coming in at $151,700.
Amazon Lab126 was founded in 2004 and employs between 1,000 and 5,000, according to Glassdoor. The Amazon subsidiary developed the Kindle e-reader, the Kindle Fire tablet, Amazon Fire TV, the Fire Phone and Amazon Echo.
T-5. Cadence Design Systems
Median Total Compensation: $150,010
Median Base Salary: $140,000
Most Common Position: Senior Member of Technical Staff (158 reports)
Nearly 950 current and former Cadence Design Systems employees working in 215 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the San Jose-based engineering services company ranged from as much as $206,700 for directors (18 reports) to as little as $96,600 for technical staff (67 reports), with senior members of technical staff coming in at $121,900.
Cadence Design Systems was founded in 1988, employs 6,700 and delivered annual sales of $1.7 billion. The publicly traded company produces software and hardware for designing integrated circuits, systems on chips and printed circuit boards.
4. Guidewire
Median Total Compensation: $150,020
Median Base Salary: $135,000
Most Common Position: Senior Software Engineer (55 reports)
More than 300 current and former Guidewire employees working in 94 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the Foster City, Calif.-based software publisher ranged from as much as $190,700 for product marketing managers (four reports) to as little as $142,300 for senior implementation consultants (eight reports), with senior software engineers coming in at $179,700.
Guidewire was founded in 2011, employs 1,341 and delivered annual sales of $380.5 million. The publicly -traded company offers core back-end software for property and casualty insurance carriers in the United States and globally.
3. VMware
Median Total Compensation: $152,130
Median Base Salary: $130,000
Most Common Position: Member of Technical Staff (611 reports)
Nearly 3,960 current and former VMware employees working in 628 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the Palo Alto, Calif.-based cloud and virtualization software provider ranged from as much as $195,000 for a staff engineer (139 reports) to as little as $105,000 for an inside sales representative (39 reports), with members of the technical staff coming in at $121,800.
VMware was founded in 1998, employs more than 19,000 people and delivered annual sales of $6.6 billion. The publicly traded company makes it possible for customers to rapidly develop, automatically deliver and more safely consume any application.
2. Google
Median Total Compensation: $153,750
Median Base Salary: $123,331
Most Common Position: Software Engineer (5,023 reports)
More than 11,980 current and former Google employees working in 1,277 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the Mountain View, Calif.-based online advertising, search, cloud computing and software company ranged from as much as $350,600 for a staff software engineer (115 reports) to as little as $116,700 for an account manager (77 reports), with software engineers coming in at $165,200.
Google was founded in 1998, with parent company Alphabet employing 64,115 and delivering annual sales of $75 billion. Google’s profits are largely derived from AdWords, an online advertising service that places advertising near the list of search results.
1. Juniper Networks
Median Total Compensation: $157,000
Median Base Salary: $135,000
Most Common Position: Staff Engineer (119 reports)
Nearly 1,680 current and former Juniper Networks employees working in 404 roles reported their compensation to Glassdoor.
Median compensation for the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based networking equipment maker ranged from as much as $219,400 for a senior staff engineer (27 reports) to as little as $111,800 for members of technical staff III, with staff engineers coming in at $160,500.
Juniper Networks was founded in 1996, employs 9,060 and delivered annual sales of $4.86 billion. The publicly traded company’s line card includes routers, switches, network management software, network security products and software-defined networking technology.