posting this because i couldn't find recent anduril comp data anywhere before my offer. hope it helps someone.
role: software engineer, mid-level (their equivalent of L4), autonomy software team, costa mesa base: $185k equity: 150k RSUs over 4 years, 1-year cliff signing bonus: $20k no 401k match discussion until after i asked, then confirmed it's 3% match
tried to negotiate base to $195k, they moved to $188k. equity was firm. signing stayed the same. they said equity reprices at each funding round so the $150k face value is based on latest 409a, not a fantasy number.
for context i had 5 YOE and competing offers from two other defense-adjacent companies around $175-180k total cash. the equity upside is the real bet here. if they hit a serious scale or go public the RSUs are the story. if neither happens in 4 years, you're slightly below pure software market rate for the location.
4 replies
contractor_kai
the 409a note is actually more transparent than most startups. a lot of places quote RSU value based on preferred share price from the last round which is meaningfully different. worth asking any startup explicitly which price they're using.
laidoff_lena
how did they handle the negotiation conversation? i've heard some defense startups are pretty take-it-or-leave-it on comp because they know the mission is the selling point.
numbers_only
recruiter was professional about it. no pressure, gave me 48 hours to counter. they didn't move much but they moved something. the vibe wasn't "you should be grateful to work here," more like "this is our band and we're at the top of it." which is fine, just know your leverage is limited.
pivot_pat
worth noting $188k base in costa mesa is not as strong as $188k in a pure LCOL market but not as painful as SF either. housing math is complicated. for a single income with no partner it's fine, for a family buying property in OC it's a stretch at that number.