On-target earnings (OTE) is base salary plus the variable pay you receive if you meet your targets, stated as a single figure or range. Okta’s US Principal posting, as of September 2026, defines its OTE as inclusive of base salary and incentive compensation, with equity where applicable in addition. Source 1Principal Forward Deployed Engineer - Okta for AI AgentsPublisherOkta (Greenhouse)Source typecompany job posting Some postings state the split: Elastic’s Partner posting says its OTE is based on a 70/30 pay mix of base salary to target variable. Source 2Partner Solutions ArchitectPublisherElastic (Greenhouse)Source typecompany website FDE postings use it too: Notion’s Forward Deployed Engineer, GTM posting, filed in its Sales department, as of September 2026, states an estimated range of total on-target earnings that includes base salary and on-target incentive pay. Source 3Forward Deployed Engineer, GTM, AMER @ NotionPublisherNotion (Ashby job board)Source typecompany job posting
Why it matters in interviews
A salary range and an OTE range are not the same number, because part of an OTE figure depends on targets someone else sets. Some postings leave the basis for you to confirm: Databricks’ US AI FDE posting describes its range as the expected salary for non-commissionable roles or on-target earnings for commissionable roles, and Anthropic’s FDE posting says that for sales roles its range is the OTE range. Source 4AI Engineer – Forward Deployed Engineering (AI FDE)PublisherDatabricks (careers site / Greenhouse)Source typecompany job postingSource 5Forward Deployed Engineer (New York City, NY; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA)PublisherAnthropic (Greenhouse)Source typecompany job posting On the recruiter call, ask: “Is this range base or OTE? If OTE, what is the split, and what is the variable part measured on: bookings, renewals, delivery milestones or company results?” Then state your own expectation in two parts: “I’m looking for a base of [your number]. I’ll weigh the variable part once I know what it’s measured on and whether it’s capped.” Ask separately whether equity is included in the figure; Okta’s posting puts equity on top of OTE. Source 1Principal Forward Deployed Engineer - Okta for AI AgentsPublisherOkta (Greenhouse)Source typecompany job posting
The lesson How to read an FDE job posting line by line shows how to record the pay basis for every posting you track.