Scouut's 2025 Software Salary Guide! (For Startups & Scaleups)

Well hi there - it's me again. Matt. Co-Founder of Scouut. How're you going?

As is customary this time of year, lots of you have been asking when our 2025 Startup Software Engineering Salary Guide would be released - well, it's here!

Since my last salary guide in July 2024, we've seen a few key areas continue to grow, and other slower areas start to catch up (which is a good sign in the market overall!). There's also been one major trend across basically all areas, which we'll jump into shortly.

Whilst 2025 is likely to be quite unpredictable, with many of the things happening in the world out of yours and my control - being up to speed on base salaries and comp is something you can control, and those that aren't will always find out the hard way.

The TL/DR on this one is that all Software Engineering salaries are up across the startup space - and top of the bell curve (for each seniority level/title) is getting further and further away from the rest.

Want the specifics? Good, I have them! 👇🏻

But first - in case you don’t know who Scouut are, or where our data comes from.

Scouut is the Talent Partner for Technology & Design positions in the startup & scaleup space. We've helped build tech teams at multiple unicorns, the Founding Teams backed by Blackbird, AirTree & more, and have unmatched insight across the Australian startup scene.

The data being showcased in this guide is based on real salary information, from real candidates and clients that we’ve partnered with in recent months.

We aren’t interested in self reported salaries that are often inaccurate.

Nor do we put stock into the salary ranges displayed for advertised roles that do not get filled.

Our salary data is pulled solely from accepted job offers, as these are the only figures that truly reflect what strong talent is moving for in the current market.

As always, there's a handful of things worth mentioning:

• All figures are exclusive of superannuation.
• Figures are most accurate for NSW and VIC, with salaries in QLD and SA roughly 10% lower, and those in WA roughly 15% lower. We don’t have data for ACT & NT.
• This salary guide does not detail the ‘market average’. Good and great candidates do not get paid market average. Good and great teams do not hire market average.
• ESOP and/or bonuses are usually offered in addition to these figures, and there will be some extra commentary on this further on.
• These levels are what candidates currently move for, not necessarily what they currently earn.
• Median salaries have been rounded up or down to the nearest $5,000 for convenience.

And there's ONE new point for 2025:

Last year, we saw lots of startups & scaleups alter their stance and policies around remote working. For the first time, this has started to have an impact on the salaries that need to be paid.

Within this guide, we'll reference the numbers that correspond to a hybrid working model of 1-3 days per week in the office, as this is the most common approach at the time of writing.

Those offering 100% remote working policies can now comfortably pay circa 5-10% under the figures in this guide, but please do bear in mind that many still choose to pay more than this.

On the other hand, companies who require 4-5 days a week in the office are having to pay roughly 10-20% more for the same talent.

Whilst I am quite confident that 4-5 day RTO mandates will be commonplace across the corporate world in 2025, I don't expect the same for startups.

We are yet to see any startup (above 10 people) or scaleup consistently hire and retain good people when they require 4-5 days in the office, and this includes those that pay far higher than the 10-20% 'in office' premium that I mentioned.

A quick note on how to interpret these figures:

Median average is the most accurate and relevant figure, and is noted in (brackets).

This year, I have also chosen to include a peak figure when it is necessary and relevant to do so. This will be referenced by the word 'peak' (shock).

As mentioned earlier, ther is a huge gulf appearing in certain positions and at certain seniority levels where exceptional people are earning significantly more than their peers at the same or similar companies.

This means the difference between paying competitively and paying 'market leading' is giant. (And we are still just talking startups & scaleups here, not big tech).

With that in mind, please consider the range given to be 'typical', the median to be the most 'accurate' single figure, and the peak to be the, well... 'peak', or market leading.

Each job title has been given a definition that we (and most of our clients) work toward. Again, this isn’t gospel, but it should help you get a better grasp of how the market defines the relationship between a title and it’s respective responsibilities.

Finally: This edition of the guide will not have numbers for Mobile positions. We always want this guide to be as informative and as accurate as possible, and we simply haven't focused on the Mobile space much over the past 6 months, so don't have enough data as a result.

Having said that, Mobile usually falls in line with other areas pretty well, or is a touch higher.

Junior: Average experience 6 months - 2 years:

Not to be confused with entry level, Junior candidates have commercial experience. Large amounts of training will absolutely be necessary, and they are unlikely to be able to deliver much of value without significant help.

Front End: $80K-$110K ($105K)

Full Stack: $90K-$110K ($105K)

Back End: $95K-$110K ($105K)

(Demand at this level is almost always very low for us, and our data is quite limited, so take the above with a pinch of salt).

Trend: Median salaries have increased slightly, however, the Junior space is in a very weird spot. Unfortunately, demand for Junior Engineers is not growing as 'basic' work is being outsourced or done by AI (this is a problem).

As a result, there are less and less Junior Engineers with any experience in very good environments, and hiring highly talented Juniors is actually extremely difficult. I've also been told that the quality of grads coming through is poorer than ever, so when someone who genuinely impresses pops up, they can secure a really solid wage.

It's a story for a different day, but I believe the lack of good Junior talent coming through will have serious consequences for the rest of the market in the coming years, and I do not have a solution. Watch this space...

Junior-Mid, average experience 1.5 - 2.5 years:

Stepping up a little, Junior-Mid level candidates have respectable experience under their belts, and most importantly, solid exposure to how technology teams operate within a business. They are starting to gain independence, but still need a lot of guidance and help.

Front End: $110K-$125K ($120K)

Full Stack: $110K-$130K ($125K)

Back End: $110K-$130K ($125K)

Peak: $140K

Trend: There has been limited movement here. Demand has been steady, but that unfortunately means it's also still quite low. Similar to the Junior level, there are some real standout candidates in this group that can and are getting significant salary increases, but these are exceptional talents who will continue to progress extremely quickly.

Mid, average experience 2.5 - 4 years:

For our clients, the most important skill that a Mid Level engineer brings to the table is the ability to work autonomously, with the sense to recognise and research their own mistakes. They still get stuck and need a hand here and there, but it’ll be less frequent, and they can bring much more value to the table without constant shadowing.

Front End: $135K-$155K ($145K)

Full Stack: $140K-$160K ($150K)

Back End: $140K-$160K ($150K)

Trend: Significantly up. Mid level salaries have been an area of strong gorwth over the past 6 months. Ultimately, I believe this is just a result of salaries playing 'catch-up', as we had previously been seeing big leaps across Senior roles, but almost no change at the Mid level.

Demand for Mid levels is also increasing from what we can see. Lots of the startups that hired very lean & senior teams in early 2024 have started to supplement those teams with mid level talent to help keep costs of continued growth down.

There is still an expectation to hit the ground running (relative to what's expected as a Mid level), which is why demand is much higher than the Junior and Junior-Mid levels, and companies would prefer to pay extra instead of allowing for additional ramp up time.

Mid-Senior, average experience 3.5 - 5.5 years:

Often not far from being the finished product, a Mid-Senior level engineer can deal with 90% of obstacles put in their path, usually only having to ask help for problems they have never seen before. Code quality is rarely an issue, and the training needed at this level is limited.

Front End: $160K-$165K ($160K)

Full Stack: $160K-$170K ($165K)

Back End: $160K-$170K ($165K)

Trend: Ever so slight increases, which have been more noticeable toward the lower end of the range as opposed to the median or upper figures. Whilst the trend is only slightly up, make no mistake, these are still the highest Mid-Senior level salaries that we have ever seen.

It's also worth remembering that candidates who are in this category are very close to becoming fully fledged Senior Engineers - which means a large pay rise will likely be on the cards within 12-18 months of hiring them.

Senior, average experience 5.5 - 7 years:

The finished article. Senior Engineers identify problems and deliver solutions. They will rarely need assistance with anything, and can act as a point of expertise for other engineers in the team. Often times, they will help with interviews, code reviews, and other non hands on tasks.

Front End: $175K-$200K ($180K)

Full Stack: $180K-$200K ($185K)

Back End: $180K-$200K ($190K)

Peak: $210K+

Trend: Significantly Up. Again. As with Mid-Senior Engineers, salary levels for Senior Engineers are at an all time high. Even across a period as short as 6 months, we are seeing significant leaps in salary levels for Senior Engineers.

We are now regularly placing Engineers around the $190K mark, and it is no longer uncommon or surprising to hear about offers starting with a 2 coming in. The lowest salary accepted by a Senior placement last year was $175K (hybrid) and $173K (remote), the latter had guaranteed bonuses on top.

The easiest way to explain it is that when hiring for strong Senior Engineers, you will have probable competition up to $200K, and possible competition up to $210K-ish.

Counter offers are also very common, which means adding $10K to their current salary is often not enough, and $15K-$20K pay increases are becoming the norm for candidates who have been headhunted.

I touched on this last time, but very solid experience with System Design and Architecture is now a non negotiable in the market, and most interview processes will involve a practical system design stage.

As usual, candidates with less common but still in demand skillsets (Golang, Rust, Kotlin, very back-end focused TypeScript for example) or exposure to certain industries such as AI can secure close to the top of the range quite comfortably.

I predict those in the Agentic AI space, or those with experience building complex, large scale AI/ML models in a software engineering capacity will be able to demand ever increasing salaries this year, and I fully expect the 'peak' number to be pushing $220K-$230K, if not more by mid year.

Staff, average experience 7 - 8 years+:

Not many engineers reach this level for a number of reasons, but those that do develop further expertise in specific areas beyond what is expected of a Senior Engineer. Often they sit at the same level as Lead Engineers, without people leadership responsibility. No matter how their role is defined, they have progressed beyond their Senior level peers, and expect the financial reward for it. You could call it a “Senior Senior Engineer” if you like.

Front End: $200K-$220K+ ($215K)

Full Stack: $205K-$220K+ ($220K)

Back End: $205K-$220K+ ( $220K)

Peak: $230K+

Trend: Continually increasing. Although demand has again dropped a little (I believe due to businesses being priced out of the market), the opportunities for engineers at this level are so crucial for the businesses they are joining, saving money becomes only 3rd or 4th priority.

Startups hiring these types of roles demand the best, and so they will pay for the best.

Similarly, when people at this level work for you and meet expectations, they are the last people you want to be losing, and so they are typically very well taken care of in pay reviews.

I mentioned it in my last guide, but people often tell me that they "can't pay those big tech salaries" when I mention these sorts of numbers. To be clear, these are what Seed-Series B startups are paying. Big Tech pays significantly more.

Principal, average experience 8-10 years+:

In a bit of a world of it’s own, sitting almost at CTO level, whilst remaining very hands on. Likely to be the most Senior developer within the business, focusing on big picture thinking, product architecture, roadmap setting and overall elevation of the tech team’s capability, whilst not needing to get bogged down in CTO responsibilities such as budgets, hiring & firing, supplier negotiations and so on.

Whilst a Principal Engineer will likely add value to all technical teams and verticals across a business, it is unlikely that they will have any direct reports.

Salary: Typically within the $230K-$280K range.

Trend: Up slightly, particularly the higher end of the range. The definition of a Principal Engineer is still evolving in Australia, and more people are starting to realise that perhaps they aren't one (and don't want to be).

Similarly, most startups tend to lean toward hiring Staff Engineers, who, for the size of the business, tend to make more sense.

There are a lot of 'Principal' titles out there who are actually operating as Staff engineers. But true Principal Engineering roles are extremely few and far between, and command huge salaries.

Lead, average experience 7 - 8 years+:

Often still somewhat hands on, but the primary focus is technical leadership across a small team/squad. Usually no budgetary responsibility at this stage, but still focused heavily on mentoring, training, and improving the ability of others. Front, back or full stack makes no notable difference at this level.

Salary: Typically within the 170K-$195K range.

Trend: The Lead role, in the current market at the very least, is dying. Demand is extremely low, and it has either been replaced with Seniors stepping up, Staff level Engineers taking some additional responsibility under their wing, or Eng Managers removing the need for a Tech or Team Lead entirely.

Nearly every startup we speak to will choose to hire a Senior or Staff Engineer instead of a hands on Tech Lead, and a 'Team Lead' will generally earn the same as the Senior Engineers who report to them.

It's an extremely saturated market with very little demand from employers, hence the lack of salary growth.

Founding Engineer, average experience ?…

A ‘Founding Engineer’ is typically (not always) the first engineer being employed by a start-up. As a result, the business is almost always at Seed stage, and under 5 people.

Experience wise, it varies greatly, and we have placed Mid Levels through to Principal Engineers into ‘Founding’ roles, but most commonly, it has been a Staff level engineer that has secured the job.

It's a very niche role that doesn't really follow the usual rules from a salary perspective, and can be very equity dependent (but not always).

Founding Engineers can typically range anywhere from $150K-$230K + Super + Equity. Equity has been between 1-1.5%. The Median for us has been $190K + Super + Equity.

If you're thinking about hiring a Founding Engineer, we'd strongly suggest a conversation with us, where we can answer any and all of your questions based on the successful (and unsuccessful) examples we have seen.

It's perhaps the most important role you’ll ever need to hire for, and without a doubt one of the hardest to get right.

Finally, here’s some other trends to keep in mind:

• As I alluded to, there is a notable gap between what the top 5% are earning, and what the next 15% are earning. The candidates we place are all within this 'top 20%', but my understanding is the gap between those candidates and the rest is even bigger. I have been told that the salary of a bog standard Senior Engineer is $150K-$160K, for example. Note: Startups should never hire 'bog standard' people.
• Hybrid working environments continue to be the preference for a majority of candidates. 2 days in the office is generally considered to be the sweet spot, but persuading candidates to consider 3 days/week has not been challenging.
• However, convincing exceptional talent to consider 4 days per week in the office has been quite challenging, with 5 days being effectively impossible on a consistent basis.
• Counter offers have become very common once again, as most startups and scaleups are keen to hold onto their best people, ultimately with a goal of growing beyond their current size this year. (Whilst counter offers are common, they should not be a cause for concern if you have a plan for dealing with them. FYI, we do).
• Equity (yet again) is still not a needle mover for most candidates in Australia. For as long as I have done startup recruitment, it has been considered a bonus and nothing more. Speaking of bonuses, they are still preferred to ESOP and given the choice, most candidates will opt for more money in their pocket today over a lottery ticket for the long term. Of course, equity is still important, and some equity is almost always a must (otherwise working for a startup makes little sense), but please be realistic and understand that for most employees, their mortgage and the wellbeing of their family is more important than you being able to save $10K.
• The talent drain to the US was hotting up towards the end of last year (for context, most engineers can add 50-100% to their base salary by moving there), but time will tell if it stays that way given the 'current climate'... If it continues, expect it to get harder to hire the very best here.

The Startup Hiring Playbook

For those of you who are interested in learning more about hiring and building elite startup teams, I'd strongly recommend taking a look at my book "The Startup Hiring Playbook".

It's 106 pages on how we built Australia's best startup teams, and everything you can do to emulate that.

I believe any startup that's serious about going the distance and becoming a success should be able to hire elite people without Scouut's help at least 80% of the time.

Great recruiters are the perfect tool for specific scenarios, not the solution to all problems, and you need to be able to build exceptional teams yourself, or bluntly, you will fail.

It's been read (and loved) by partners at top VCs & accelerators, $100m+ founders, world class CTOs, and more.

Trust me, it's worth the hour of your time.

Hire better today!

Thanks for reading!

If you think any friends or colleagues would benefit from this blog, please do feel free to share it and pass it around!

For those that are new here, I post regular (ish) content addressing the nuance, challenges and secrets of placing talented engineers and designers into Australia’s best startups & scaleups.

Founders, CTOs, Managers and TAs from businesses such as Linktree, Dovetail, Eucalyptus, Sonder and 100s more get value from this blog - maybe you will too!

Finally, if you’d like the go to recruiter for startup & scaleup hiring (that’s us by the way) to help build your technology or design teams, get in touch to find out how we can work together 👇

Matt@Scouut.com.au // 0477 622 408 // Book a Meeting