Side-by-side distribution
Backend Engineer
$185,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33.3%
- Live roles
- 2,441
Quantitative Analyst
$197,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 26.2%
- Live roles
- 206
Highest-paying jobs
Intermediate Backend Software Engineer
Senior Staff Backend Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Lead Software Engineer (Backend)
Staff Software Engineer (Backend)
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Backend Engineer, AI
Backend Engineer
Senior Backend Engineer
Senior Backend Engineer (Java)
Senior Backend Engineer (Java)
Highest-paying jobs
Quant Strategist
Quantitative Intelligence Analyst
2027 Internship - Quant Research (Undergrad)
Quantitative Research Analyst - Jersey City, NJ
Campus Full Time 2027 - Quantitative Trader
Summer Intern 2027 - Quantitative Trader
Algorithm Developer (Quant Research & Trading) – 2027 Grads
Algorithm Developer (Quant Research & Trading) – 2027 PhDs
Campus Quantitative Trader (Full-Time)
Software Engineer, Macro Quant Analytics Technology
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Air Apps
|
$68,094 | 33 |
Affirm
|
$183,000 | 20 |
Databricks
|
$205,100 | 16 |
Grafana Labs
|
$192,485 | 11 |
|
OpenAI
|
$309,000 | 9 |
Teleport
|
$261,440 | 9 |
Verkada
|
$215,000 | 9 |
Whoop
|
$150,000 | 9 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Hudson River Trading
|
$300,000 | 3 |
|
Stevens Capital Management LP
|
$225,000 | 3 |
Man Group
|
$160,000 | 3 |
|
Five Rings LLC - Careers
|
$300,000 | 2 |
IMC
|
$250,000 | 2 |
|
Virtu Financial
|
$227,900 | 2 |
Graham Capital Management, L.P.
|
$225,000 | 2 |
| DR DRW | $225,000 | 2 |
Backend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $220,000 | 165 |
| New York | $207,500 | 163 |
| Seattle | $205,500 | 38 |
| Denver | $195,875 | 4 |
| Austin | $189,750 | 6 |
| Los Angeles | $185,000 | 13 |
| Boston | $178,750 | 20 |
| Chicago | $175,000 | 5 |
| Singapore | $151,034 | 3 |
| Toronto | $147,978 | 39 |
Backend Engineer vs Quantitative Analyst: which pays more?
The median for Backend Engineer is $185,500 per year (typically $145,499–$225,000), versus $197,500 for Quantitative Analyst ($150,000–$234,375). That puts Quantitative Analyst about 6% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Backend Engineer and Quantitative Analyst 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.