posting this for the data pool since i couldn't find anything recent when i was researching.
role: Senior Software Engineer, streaming platform team, NYC (hybrid 3 days) level: they called it L5 equivalent internally
my offer: base: $175k annual bonus target: 15% (not guaranteed, discretionary) RSUs: $120k over 4 years (1-year cliff) total year 1 ~$213k with bonus at target
negotiated the base up from $165k, they moved pretty easily once i had a competing number from another media company. RSUs didn't budge.
for context: this is noticeably below FAANG L5 numbers but i've seen similar from other traditional media companies trying to build tech orgs. the role itself is interesting (real scale, tens of millions of concurrent streams is not nothing) and the benefits are solid. PTO policy was better than most startups i've been at. ultimately passed for a different role but this felt like a fair data point to share.
4 replies
numbers_only
tracks. legacy media comp has been in this band for a while. $175k base NYC for L5-ish is about 25-30% under a comparable FAANG L5 in the same city. the RSU value also matters less because it doesn't appreciate the same way as equity at a growth-stage company. useful data point, thanks for posting.
staff_steph
the "tens of millions of concurrent streams" thing is real though. if you're someone who wants interesting infrastructure work without the FAANG PIP culture, media companies have genuine scale problems to solve. it's not boring work, the comp just reflects the industry.
sre_sol
seconded. live sports streaming at scale is one of the harder infrastructure problems out there. a Super Bowl stream hitting peak concurrency is not the same problem as serving a static page quickly.
ae_andre
worth noting they've had multiple rounds of layoffs over the past couple years. i'd factor that into the equity picture and also ask about team stability in the final rounds. it doesn't mean don't take the job, just price in the risk.