Know what FDEs earn, plan your career the right way.
Real compensation data from public reports, Levels.fyi, Glassdoor, and community submissions. Updated Q3 2026.
US Market
Base salary and total compensation (TC = base + equity + bonus)
Junior FDE
Entry-level, strong fundamentals
Mid FDE
Independent client ownership
Senior FDE
Lead complex deployments
Staff FDE
Org-wide technical strategy
China Market
Annual compensation in ¥10K (10,000 RMB)
Junior FDE
¥350K – 500K /yearSolid fundamentals, learning client communication
Mid-Level FDE
¥500K – 800K /yearIndependently managing client projects
Senior FDE
¥800K – 1.2M /yearLeading complex deployments
Principal FDE
¥1.2M+ /yearOrg-wide technical strategy
Company Comparison
Senior-level total compensation ranges across top FDE employers
Palantir
Tier 1FDE model pioneer
Scale AI
Tier 1AI data labeling & gov contracts
Vercel
Tier 1Frontend cloud platform
Databricks
Tier 2Data lakehouse platform
Snowflake
Tier 2Data cloud platform
C3.ai
Tier 2Enterprise AI platform
ServiceNow
Tier 2IT service management
Ramp
Tier 2Fintech
Career Paths
FDE career trajectories — vertical growth and lateral moves
Estimates based on public compensation reports and anonymized community submissions. Sample size varies by company (5–25 public records). Primarily US market data; China estimates are approximations based on limited public information. Ranges reflect base + equity, excluding bonuses. Last reviewed: Q3 2026. Confidence levels vary by data availability.
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