Compensation

Levels L3 (entry) through L7 (senior staff) on the IC track, M3-M6 on the manager track. Equity is the dominant component; bonuses are 15-20% target on top.

IC ladder SDE I through Senior Principal; manager ladder SDM I through Director. Compensation is famously back-loaded due to a 5/15/40/40 vesting schedule and a $185K base salary cap.

IC L2-L6, manager M1-M4. Pre-IPO equity at tender-offer valuation; meaningful upside if Stripe IPOs at or above its tender-offer valuation.

IC ladder L3 through L7; small-but-growing manager track. Cash component is high; pre-IPO equity at the most recent tender offer (~$60B+ valuation).

IC E3-E7, manager M1/M2/D1/D2. Equity-heavy with frequent refresh grants. PSC bonuses are tied to performance rating.

IC and manager share the same numeric levels (59-67+). Equity vests 25%/year. IC bonus 10-12%; manager bonus 15%+.

IC L3-L7 plus manager track (EM / Sr EM / Director). Pre-IPO equity using Profit Participation Units (PPUs) - non-traditional structure with capped upside.

IC IC2-IC6, manager M3-M6. Pre-IPO equity at the most recent tender offer (~$60B+ valuation).

IC ICT2-ICT6, manager ICT4M-ICT7M. Annual cash bonus paid at fiscal year-end. Equity is RSUs in publicly-traded AAPL.

Famously flat IC ladder (Senior is the dominant title) with all-cash compensation. Staff and Principal added post-2022.

IC IC3-IC7, manager M4-M6. Equity-dominant; NVDA's 2023-2026 stock appreciation has made realized comp the highest in tech for tenured engineers.

IC L3-L7 with sub-levels (L5a/b), manager M5-Director. RSUs in publicly-traded UBER; refresh grants typical at 18-24 months.

IC IC3-IC7, manager M5-Director. RSUs in publicly-traded ABNB; competitive comp post-2023 reset.

Microsoft-owned but operates a distinct ladder (Senior / Staff / Senior Staff / Distinguished). Equity is in MSFT.

IC IC2-IC6, manager M4-Director. RSUs in publicly-traded SNOW. Distributed-systems / database roles see top-of-band offers.

IC IC3-IC6, manager M5-Director. Public-company RSUs (COIN); transparent CO/NY/CA postings make data quality high. No IC bonus; equity-heavy.

No formal levels; New Grad through Lead shown. No equity - comp is base + discretionary bonus tied to firm performance. Highest new-grad pay in the dataset.

E-levels (informal), Manager-Senior Director. No equity - base + bonus, with deferred comp invested alongside the funds at senior levels. More structured than pure prop shops.

Covers Citadel (hedge fund) and Citadel Securities (market maker). No equity - base + P&L-linked bonus. Routinely beats big-tech total comp by 40-60% in cash.

Flat org, no formal levels; Core Developer tenure bands shown. No equity - base + profit-pool bonus. New-grad offers rival Jane Street.

P1-P5 IC, M-track managers. Below-market base offset by TSLA equity; no annual cash bonus. Autopilot/AI roles carry a 15-20% premium.

ByteDance X-Y levels (1-2 through 4-2 shown), US comp. Pays at or above FAANG; RSU liquidity depends on ByteDance buybacks / US-entity structure. ML is the premium track.

E3-E6 IC, Manager-Senior Director. Public since the 2025 IPO (NYSE: FIG) - RSUs are liquid. Design ladder pays within ~5% of SWE, the smallest gap in the dataset.

IC L2-L6, manager M1-M4. Private company - equity is illiquid RSUs at the last tender valuation. Strong cash, design-heavy hiring.

IC AMTS-PMTS, manager Manager-Sr Director. Public-company RSUs (CRM) + ~10% IC bonus. Comp runs below hyperscalers; stability is the pitch.

IC IC2-IC6 ('Computer Scientist' ladder), manager M1-Sr Director. Public-company RSUs (ADBE) + ~10% AIP bonus. Long tenure, sane pace.

IC IC2-IC5, manager M1-M4. Private company - strong cash, illiquid equity at the last 409A. IPO speculation makes equity a lottery ticket with upside.

IC SWE-Sr Staff, coach (EM) track, large design org. Private - but regular tender offers make equity more realizable than most private grants.

IC SWE-Principal, manager M1-M4. Private NYC fintech - aggressive cash + big paper equity at a fast-rising valuation. In-office, high-velocity culture.

IC SWE-Principal, manager M1-M4. Private - strong cash, illiquid equity at the last 409A, periodic tenders. Famously demanding pace.

Small private company, ~100 people. High base for stage; equity is illiquid options. Sample sizes are thin - treat all bands as low-confidence estimates.

Private AI lab. Equity-heavy offers priced at the latest venture round - paper totals rival public staff+ comp but are illiquid until an exit or tender.

IC P3-P6, manager M3-M6. Remote-first ('Team Anywhere') with US-wide geo bands. RSUs in publicly-traded TEAM; ~10% IC bonus target.

IC SWE-Distinguished, manager Manager-Sr Director. RSUs in publicly-traded NOW; reliable refreshes through the platform's growth run. Bonus targets 7-10% IC, 15-25% manager.

Band 7-10 IC ladder. Base-salary-dominant comp with notably low equity - RSU grants are small or absent below Band 9. The trade is stability, not upside.

IC IC2-IC5, manager M3-M6. Two companies in one: OCI offers run 15-25% above legacy product. Watch front-loaded year-1 offer structures - model years 2-4.

Cash-dominant comp - Tencent-owned, no liquid stock. Big performance bonus (10-25%) does the work equity does elsewhere. Top of game-industry pay, LA-anchored.

Equity-heavy public-company comp (RBLX), no IC cash bonus. New-grad offers among the strongest in the dataset; realized comp swings with the stock.