StartupJobList_
15 Active Listings Updated January 2026

Kafka Salary Data

Real compensation packages for Kafka developers at high-growth startups. Based on direct data from Hacker News "Who is Hiring" threads.

Median Salary

$144,000

/year
Based on 15 verified postings

Market Range (P25 - P75)

$110,000-$150,000
Entry ($60,000)MedianTop ($200,000)

Top Companies Hiring

Location Distribution

Other100%

verified_listings

Distributed Systems Engineer, Product Engineer
[E]CRUNCH
$200,000 - $325,000
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer
[E]grind
$190,000 - $225,000
Senior Backend Systems Engineer
[E]grind
$150,000 - $200,000
Field Software Engineer
[E]grind
$150,000 - $300,000
Backend Engineer
[E]CRUNCH
$150,000 - $190,000
Software Engineer
[E]grind
$150,000 - $300,000
Senior Threat Backend Engineer
[E]CRUNCH
$149,000 - $208,000
Lead Engineer (Staff Engineer 4)
[E]grind
$144,000 - $236,000
Full-stack Software Engineer
[E]grind
$140,000 - $290,000
Frontend Engineer, Backend Engineer
[E]grind
$140,000 - $250,000
Multiple Roles
[E]grind
$120,000 - $325,000
(Senior) Sales Engineer / Manager
[E]grind
$110,000 - $140,000
Full Stack Software Engineer
[E]grind
$100,000 - $100,000
Full Stack Software Engineer; UI/UX Designer
[E]stable
$75,000 - $75,000
Founding Engineer
[F]grind
$60,000 - $60,000
Showing 15 of 15 jobs
Per page:
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Commonly Paired With

## Market Signal (January 2026)

Top Hirers: Matroid leads hiring for Kafka roles with 2 active posts, followed by CVector.

### 🌍 Location & Remote Dynamics


### 💡 Tech Stack Context
Common Stack: 67% of Kafka jobs also require Python, and 60% mention PostgreSQL.

### 💰 Compensation Analysis
The median base salary for Kafka developers is $144,000, with top-tier roles (P75) reaching $150,000.