Hiring a founding engineer or first GTM hire in Boston
Updated
Boston pays software developers about what New York does ($166,090 median in 2025) and less than San Francisco, and its research universities and labs are a steady source of engineers. Since 29 October 2025, Massachusetts employers with 25 or more employees in the state must post a pay range.[5][8]
Where Boston stands
Dealroom's Global Tech Ecosystem Index 2026 ranks Boston among the world's top three tech ecosystems, with the Bay Area and New York. In an article of 1 June 2026, Crunchbase counted about $7.8 billion raised by Boston-area startups so far that year, on track for the strongest tally in about four years.[1][2]
Seed money is thinner here. Greater Boston drew about 5% of US seed dollars in 2025, and 215 venture deals worth $4.7 billion in the last quarter of the year.[3][4]
What it costs to hire
| Software developers, Boston area, 2025 | |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $102,950 |
| Median | $166,090 |
| 90th percentile | $214,100 |
Sources:[5]
In the first half of 2024, Carta found average startup pay in Boston to be 92% of New York's. Computer and mathematical jobs make up 4.7% of employment in the metro area, at a mean of $65.47 an hour.[6][7]
Massachusetts' pay transparency law
The law took effect on 29 October 2025 for employers with 25 or more employees in Massachusetts. A posting must give the annual salary or hourly range the employer reasonably and in good faith expects to pay.[8]
Where to look
- Engineers finishing graduate work or leaving research labs, who want to build a product.
- Early employees of Boston companies that have grown or been acquired.
- People in robotics, health and biotech software, who are used to hard problems and careful work.
If you are hiring a founding engineer or a first GTM hire, tell us about the role and we will say plainly whether we can fill it.
Sources
- Reuters, via WHBL, London reclaims top European tech spot from Paris, Dealroom says, 27 May 2026. Read 25 October 2026.
- Crunchbase News, Boston Startup Fundraising Looks Strong Only By Pre-AI Parameters, 1 June 2026. Read 25 October 2026.
- Crunchbase News, Data: The Seed Funding Boom Is Concentrating Capital In The San Francisco Bay Area, 1 May 2026. Read 25 October 2026.
- PitchBook and NVCA, Q4 2025 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, January 2026, data to 31 December 2025. Read 25 October 2026.
- O*NET OnLine (US Department of Labor), BLS wage data, Software Developers: local wages, Boston area, BLS 2025 wage data. Read 25 October 2026.
- Carta, State of Startup Compensation: H1 2024, 25 July 2024. Read 25 October 2026.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, May 2025, 5 June 2026. Read 25 October 2026.
- Greenberg Traurig, Massachusetts Pay Transparency Law Takes Effect on Oct. 29, 2025, 1 October 2025. Read 25 October 2026.