Ground Control.

A blog on AI, your job search, and building Orbyt.

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How Much Does an AI Engineer Make in San Francisco? (2026 Data)

An AI Engineer in San Francisco earns a $174,000 median base salary in 2026, per Orbyt's data. The exact math, the experience bands, and how SF ranks against 80 other cities.

Industry·7 min read·July 26, 2026

Strategy

Should You Accept a Counteroffer From Your Current Employer?

A counteroffer fixes the pay, not always the reason you looked. The decision framework, the real BLS quits data, and why the often-cited counteroffer stat does not hold up.

Strategy·8 min read·July 24, 2026

Strategy

Where to Find Reliable Salary Data for Tech Roles in 2026

Reliable salary data comes from named sources you can check, not just a number on a screen. Where to find it for tech roles, and a 5-question test for any source.

Strategy·9 min read·July 17, 2026

Playbook

What to Say When They Ask Your Current Salary

The current salary question anchors your next offer to your old pay. In 20+ states they cannot even ask. Word-for-word scripts to deflect it and anchor on the market.

Playbook·7 min read·July 15, 2026

Playbook

The Offer Is Not the Finish Line: Red Flags That Show Up After You Say Yes

The offer is the moment a company stops selling and starts showing you who it is. A field guide to the red flags that surface after you accept, drawn from a real interview process, and how to vet before you sign.

Playbook·7 min read·July 12, 2026

Strategy

Am I Underpaid? How to Find Your True Market Rate in 2026

The straight math for your market rate in 2026: role median times city adjustment times experience band. Plus the line that means you are actually underpaid.

Strategy·9 min read·July 8, 2026

Playbook

Ghost Jobs: How to Spot Postings That Will Never Hire (2026)

Roughly 1 in 5 postings on Greenhouse were ghost jobs. Use the 7-point Ghost Job Test to spot listings that never hire and stop wasting applications in 2026.

Playbook·11 min read·June 15, 2026

Industry

The 2026 AI Salary Premium: 9%, Measured Across 3,445 US Roles

AI roles pay a median $168,000 vs $154,000 for non-AI tech roles in 2026, a 9% premium. Data from 3,445 roles across 81 US cities, with open methodology.

Industry·10 min read·June 12, 2026

Industry

Claude Fable 5 and Your Job: What Actually Changed in June 2026

Claude Fable 5 won't take your job in 2026, but it changes what the job is made of. The career read on the Mythos-class launch from a one-person company.

Industry·11 min read·June 11, 2026

Series

Building Orbyt, Part 10: The Fit and Finish

The code was done. The tests passed. The audit scored 31/31. And the product was not ready. What two days of pixel-level polish taught me about the difference between working and finished.

Series·9 min read·April 16, 2026

Strategy

How Much Runway Do You Actually Need? The Real Math for a 2026 Job Search

The honest math behind surviving a job search in 2026. What runway actually is, how to calculate yours in ten minutes, how long the median search actually takes, and what to do when the numbers are tight.

Strategy·9 min read·April 10, 2026

Series

Building Orbyt, Part 9: The Rebrand

I named it Orbit. Then I Googled it. Gum, sprinklers, strollers, and three other software companies. The SEO ceiling was zero. Here is what a complete rebrand looks like when you treat it like an engineering problem.

Series·8 min read·April 7, 2026