Side-by-side distribution
Kotlin
$196,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 8.8%
- Live roles
- 68
Staff Engineer
$220,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 54.1%
- Live roles
- 4,834
Highest-paying jobs
Software Engineer 3- Python/Kotlin/Java/Terraform/ElasticSearch/OpenSearch/AWS
Kotlin Multiplatform Engineer (Senior-Staff Levels)
Staff Android (Kotlin) Engineer — Digital Signage / Embedded Media Platform
Senior Software Engineer, Android (Kotlin)
Backend Customer Success Engineer (Kotlin Ecosystem)
Software Engineer II (Mobile Developer - Android/Kotlin) - Mobile App Growth
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Staff Full Stack Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Senior Staff Backend Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Senior Staff Frontend Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Senior Staff React Native Engineer ($500k - 1.5m salary)
Staff Software Engineer (Backend)
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Senior/Staff Full Stack Engineer, Applied AI
Research Engineer (Senior Staff+), Safeguards Labs
Staff Research Engineer, Discovery Team
Senior Staff+ Software Engineer, Node Infra
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Grocery TV
|
$212,500 | 1 |
|
Cantina
|
$205,000 | 1 |
|
Captivation Software
|
$200,000 | 1 |
| DO Doximity | $192,000 | 1 |
|
Klaviyo
|
$145,000 | 1 |
|
JetBrains
|
$138,000 | 1 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$222,000 | 111 |
Databricks
|
$226,000 | 77 |
|
Anthropic
|
$405,000 | 57 |
Crusoe
|
$231,000 | 45 |
Grafana Labs
|
$147,923 | 45 |
Aurora Innovation
|
$231,500 | 40 |
Archer
|
$192,500 | 38 |
Okta
|
$206,000 | 34 |
Staff Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Dublin | $257,300 | 5 |
| Seattle | $250,000 | 153 |
| San Francisco | $245,000 | 621 |
| New York | $240,000 | 464 |
| Austin | $228,750 | 52 |
| Chicago | $227,250 | 44 |
| Los Angeles | $221,000 | 64 |
| Boston | $210,000 | 97 |
| Denver | $208,587 | 46 |
| London | $206,683 | 47 |
Kotlin vs Staff Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Kotlin is $196,000 per year (typically $156,750–$203,750), versus $220,000 for Staff Engineer ($189,700–$250,000). That puts Staff Engineer about 12% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Kotlin and Staff 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.