sharing two data points because I had offers from both Canva Sydney and one US-remote role floated (different team, same level) around the same time.
Sydney L4 equivalent (Senior SWE, core infra): Base: AUD 185,000 Equity: AUD 120,000 RSUs over 4 years (25% cliff at year 1) Super: 11.5% on top Signing: AUD 15,000
US-remote L4 (not fully confirmed, they pulled the role): Was quoted around USD 175,000-185,000 base Equity and signing weren't discussed before it evaporated
For Sydney the comp is strong for the market but not FAANG-adjacent. the equity is real value though given how the company has grown. benefits package was solid: health, learning budget, wellness stipend. they also emphasized flexible working and no-meeting Fridays, which I actually believe based on what people inside have said.
took the Sydney role. happy so far. happy to answer questions on the negotiation side, there was some room on the signing and the equity cliff.
4 replies
contractor_kai
the RSU cliff at year 1 is standard but worth knowing going in. AUD 185k base is pretty competitive for Sydney right now for that level, especially with the super on top. did you negotiate the cliff down or just the total amount?
numbers_only
didn't get the cliff moved, they said it was firm policy. got the signing bumped from 10k to 15k by pointing to a competing offer. equity total was also increased by about 15k AUD when I pushed back on the initial package.
tired_recruiter
the 'competing offer' lever almost always works on signing, especially at companies that have enough budget to use it as a conversion tool. equity is harder to move because it runs through comp committees. sounds like a clean negotiation.
finance_faye
for anyone doing the math: AUD 185k base + 11.5% super = AUD 206k in total employment cost roughly. plus the 30k AUD annualized RSU. that's a solid total package, maybe not top decile globally but comfortably in the market for Sydney-based senior IC tech roles right now.