Was evaluating Jane Street at the staff / principal level compensation and equity structure a few months ago. Sharing what I found because most posts either cover new grad or are vague about senior+ numbers.
Background: I'm a staff SWE at a public tech company (not FAANG, but close). 12 YOE. Was approached by a JS recruiter.
The structure at senior+ levels (this is where it gets interesting):
Jane Street doesn't have levels in the traditional L6/L7/Staff/Principal naming scheme. They have more internal differentiation but it's not public. What they do have is a meaningful step change in comp at what I'd map to staff and above.
For a staff-equivalent profile: Base: my recruiter mentioned a range around $280-320k. She said 'this is not really the number you should focus on' which I appreciated for honesty. Discretionary bonus: the core of the comp at this level. Historical target was mentioned as 70-100%+ of base. At principal-equivalent, it goes higher. Specific numbers weren't given but 'total comp well above $600k in a good year' was the framing used. Equity / ownership: none in the traditional sense. See below.
The ownership question: at staff and above elsewhere, RSUs are often a significant retention vehicle. JS replaces this entirely with bonus. The argument is that the firm performs well enough that discretionary bonus outperforms what RSU appreciation would have looked like. In a year like 2021-2022 for trading firms, that was probably true. In a slower year, harder to say.
What I decided: didn't pursue further. Not because the comp was bad, but because the role itself was a narrower domain than I wanted at this stage. If you're a systems person who wants to go very deep on latency-sensitive trading infrastructure and earn accordingly, it's genuinely elite.
One caveat: everything I have is from recruiter conversations and secondhand. If you have direct data, please add below.