Big Tech is shelling out up to $1 million for new hires who will never have to write a line of code

Some of the highest-paid tech workers now will never have to write a line of code. And it’s not because their work is being done by AI: Tech companies are shelling out high six-figure salaries for senior communications roles. In February, Anthropic posted a job for a head of product communications with a listed $400,000 salary; Netflix was seeking a senior director of communications with a salary range of $656,000 to $1.2 million; and Open AI was looking for a head of infrastructure communications and a head of business communications, both with salary ranges up to $430,000, plus equity. Google is also willing to pay senior communications managers total compensation packages reaching $370,000 or more; Meta’s communications department averages roughly $221,380 in total compensation, with senior roles climbing well past that; and at Microsoft, top communications directors are pulling down close to $300,000. But why would tech-focused companies be willing to invest so much in a more analog, linguistics-focused role while there’s seemingly much more spending to be done in AI development? Because of how little the general public understands about AI, experts say. “AI is complicated. It’s evolving quickly and it’s triggering very real anxiety among employees, regulators, and customers. In that environment, clarity becomes a strategic asset,” Whitney Munro, founder and CEO of communications, strategy, and consulting firm FLEX Partners, wrote in a February LinkedIn post. “If you can’t clearly explain what your technology does, how it works, and how it safeguards people, scale becomes harder—and exposure becomes higher.” In fact, a survey by the American Psychological Association shows people who worried AI will make their jobs obsolete are far more likely to feel tense or stressed at work even though most don’t have a detailed understanding of how AI tools actually function in their workplace. And that’s where high-level communications roles at tech- or AI-focused comp