Side-by-side distribution
Backend Engineer
$187,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 34.4%
- Live roles
- 2,364
Embedded Engineer
$183,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 48.5%
- Live roles
- 470
Highest-paying jobs
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Software Engineer, Backend
Senior Backend Engineer, Markets
Senior Backend Engineer, Perpetuals
Senior Backend Engineer, Trust & Safety
Senior Backend Engineer, Exchange Infrastructure
Backend Engineer, Markets
Senior Backend Engineer, Payments
Staff+ Software Engineer, Backend
Senior Staff Software Engineer, API
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Engineer, Embedded Vehicle Software
Principal Embedded Software Engineer
Staff Embedded Security Engineer
Embedded SW Engineer
Firmware/ Embedded Systems Engineer
Senior Embedded Linux Engineer - Connectivity
Embedded Software Engineer - Access Control
Embedded Systems Engineer, Autonomous Vehicles - Federal
Senior Embedded Systems Engineer
Embedded Security Engineer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Affirm
|
$158,000 | 33 |
Air Apps
|
$67,479 | 33 |
Grafana Labs
|
$137,917 | 26 |
OpenAI
|
$339,000 | 14 |
Databricks
|
$195,500 | 13 |
|
Verkada
|
$220,000 | 12 |
GitLab
|
$187,200 | 10 |
Satispay
|
$57,178 | 10 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$201,250 | 22 |
SpaceX
|
$145,000 | 12 |
Silvus Technologies
|
$170,000 | 9 |
|
Verkada
|
$232,500 | 8 |
Applied Intuition
|
$196,000 | 7 |
TP-Link Systems Inc.
|
$152,500 | 6 |
Latitude AI
|
$200,000 | 5 |
| AX Axon | $183,300 | 5 |
Backend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $215,000 | 161 |
| Seattle | $214,700 | 49 |
| New York | $205,129 | 166 |
| Los Angeles | $198,500 | 13 |
| Boston | $195,750 | 12 |
| Denver | $193,171 | 6 |
| Austin | $185,000 | 5 |
| Chicago | $165,000 | 3 |
| Singapore | $156,000 | 5 |
| Toronto | $144,279 | 29 |
Embedded Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $200,275 | 12 |
| San Francisco | $195,000 | 20 |
| New York | $181,900 | 6 |
| Los Angeles | $181,500 | 16 |
| Austin | $179,475 | 6 |
| Boston | $178,750 | 4 |
| Denver | $157,500 | 4 |
Backend Engineer vs Embedded Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Backend Engineer is $187,500 per year (typically $146,042–$225,000), versus $183,000 for Embedded Engineer ($152,900–$207,075). That puts Backend Engineer about 2% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Backend Engineer and Embedded Engineer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.