Hiring a founding engineer or first GTM hire in San Francisco
Updated
San Francisco is the most crowded US market for startup hiring: the Bay Area took 52.4% of US venture deal value in 2025, and the median software developer in the San Francisco area earns $186,640, against $135,980 nationally. Expect to pay at the top of the market, post a pay range if you have 15 or more employees, and move faster than the startups around you.[1][3]
Why it is crowded
The San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland area took 52.4% of all US venture capital deal value in 2025, a record share, and 22.3% of the deals, according to the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. Crunchbase counts the Bay Area's share of US seed dollars at 45% in 2025, up from 33% the year before.[1][2]
For a founder, that means the engineer you want is likely talking to several funded startups at once.
What engineers earn here
| Software developers, 2025 | San Francisco area | United States |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $128,090 | $82,460 |
| Median | $186,640 | $135,980 |
| 90th percentile | $273,400 | $214,670 |
Sources:[3]
Tech is about twice as large a share of jobs here as in the country as a whole. Computer and mathematical jobs are 6.6% of employment in the San Francisco metro area, against 3.4% nationally, and pay a mean of $80.51 an hour against $57.73.[4]
California's pay range law
Since 2023, a California employer with 15 or more employees must include the pay scale in every job posting. The Labor Commissioner says it applies to any job that may ever be filled in California, in person or remote, and the scale is a good-faith estimate of the salary or hourly range.[5][6]
Write the range before you post. A range that is too wide reads as a guess; a range that is too low loses the best people before they apply.
How to win candidates here
- Lead with the problem and the people. Every startup here offers equity; fewer can say what the engineer will own.
- Keep the steps few and close together, ideally a week or two from the first interview to an offer.
- Be ready to explain your equity in shares, percent and what it is worth at your last round.
- Look beyond the city: Oakland, the Peninsula and remote candidates in California widen the pool, and the pay range rule still applies to them.
If you are hiring a founding engineer or a first GTM hire, tell us about the role and we will say plainly whether we can fill it.
Sources
- PitchBook and NVCA, Q4 2025 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, January 2026, data to 31 December 2025. Read 25 October 2026.
- Crunchbase News, Data: The Seed Funding Boom Is Concentrating Capital In The San Francisco Bay Area, 1 May 2026. Read 25 October 2026.
- O*NET OnLine (US Department of Labor), BLS wage data, Software Developers: local wages, San Francisco area, BLS 2025 wage data. Read 25 October 2026.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, May 2025, 9 July 2026. Read 25 October 2026.
- California Labor Commissioner, California Equal Pay Act: frequently asked questions. Read 25 October 2026.
- Morrison Foerster, New Guidance on California's Pay Transparency Law, 17 January 2023. Read 25 October 2026.