posting this because i couldn't find recent numbers anywhere.
Role: SWE, L4 (what most places would call senior-1 or senior) Location: New York City, in-office 3 days/week Base: $178k Equity: $220k total over 4 years (25% cliff at year 1, monthly after), priced at last 409A Bonus: discretionary, my recruiter said "historically 10-15% of base" but no guarantee Signing: $35k
total first-year on paper: ~$267k. year 2+ depends heavily on stock price and if you get refreshers.
for context: i had a competing offer from a Series C that was higher base ($195k) but no equity yet, so the Palantir package was better long-term assuming the stock holds. palantir negotiated maybe $10k on base and bumped signing by $5k. they didn't move on equity grant.
tried to negotiate RSU cliff to 6 months, they said no. take that as you will.
4 replies
contractor_kai
that 409A vs market price delta is the key thing to watch with Palantir stock. PLTR is publicly traded so your RSUs have a real market value you can look up, which is different from a startup where 409A is basically fiction. at current prices that $220k grant could be worth more or less. worth modeling a few scenarios before you sign.
market_realist
solid package. the "discretionary" bonus thing is always a yellow flag for me personally. discretionary means you're at the mercy of management perception and business results both. have you talked to anyone inside about how consistently it actually pays out?
numbers_only
asked two current employees off the record. one said he'd gotten it every year (3 years), one said hers was 0 her first year because of a team restructure. sample size of 2, draw your own conclusions.
content_cole
people always compare palantir to startups but they're a public company with ~$3B ARR and growing. the equity risk profile is completely different. you can actually sell the stock on a schedule if you want. that's a big deal that gets undersold in the 'but what if the startup moons' comparison.