Xcout IntelXcout Intel answers · Pay
Which jobs advertise the highest pay?
According to Xcout Intel's Pay Pulse, physician roles advertised the highest median pay on US job postings in October 2026: $270,000 across 370 postings, followed by engineering manager ($208,400) and medical affairs ($201,800).
| Job family | Median posted pay | Middle half | Postings | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physician | $270,000 | $237,400 – $309,375 | 370 | 58 |
| Engineering Manager | $208,400 | $176,750 – $250,000 | 621 | 270 |
| Medical Affairs | $201,800 | $184,704 – $233,539 | 429 | 76 |
| ML / AI Engineer | $200,000 | $164,250 – $239,400 | 550 | 262 |
| Legal / Counsel | $190,000 | $145,000 – $226,300 | 959 | 470 |
| Architect | $187,500 | $159,025 – $230,714 | 1,022 | 325 |
| Product Manager | $184,325 | $151,500 – $215,000 | 2,317 | 787 |
| Full-Stack Engineer | $182,750 | $149,625 – $211,200 | 542 | 242 |
| Backend Engineer | $182,000 | $155,000 – $222,250 | 283 | 165 |
| Solutions / Sales Engineer | $180,700 | $147,478 – $219,500 | 807 | 333 |
How we know
Xcout Intel files every posting into a job family from its title and takes the midpoint of each posted annual range; the median is over the month's US postings that state an annual salary.
Full figures: Pay Pulse (frozen edition: 2026-10). How every report is built: methodology.
What this does not show
- Posted pay is not pay: these are the ranges employers advertise (midpoints), and bonuses and equity are not in them. Only employers that publish ranges are counted, which over-represents states with pay-transparency laws.
- Senior and executive titles are posted with ranges less often than others, so the top of the market is under-represented.
How to cite
Xcout Intel, Pay Pulse, October 2026, intel.xcout.app/answers/highest-paying-jobsQuote with attribution under the licence. These figures update with each edition of the report; cite the frozen edition for a figure that will not move.