sharing for the archive.
Role: Senior SWE (L5), Core Infrastructure Location: NYC hybrid Base: $195k Equity: $400k over 4 years (25% cliff at 1 year, then quarterly) Bonus: 15% target Sign-on: $50k (2-year clawback)
total year-1 TC with sign-on roughly $345k at grant price. equity is RSUs, not options, which matters. they did not budge much on base but moved on sign-on when i had a competing offer in hand. vesting cliff is standard.
levels.fyi had this pretty well calibrated for 2025 data. seems like they held comp in 2026 vs. last year.
5 replies
contractor_kai
RSUs vs options is the right call to flag. at Robinhood's current stage the dilution risk is lower than a pre-IPO, but the upside is also bounded. for infra at L5, $195k base is fair for NYC in 2026. not exceptional but not leaving money on the table.
firsttime_mgr
how did you structure the counter with the competing offer? did you send something in writing or just tell the recruiter on the call?
numbers_only
told the recruiter verbally first, then sent a one-paragraph email summarizing the competing numbers. they came back in 2 days with the improved sign-on. base was firm. i've found they respond better when you're factual rather than theatrical about it.
market_realist
that sign-on clawback period is long. 2 years is unusually aggressive. did you try to negotiate it down to 1 year?
numbers_only
i asked. they said it was standard and non-negotiable. i believed them because the recruiter had zero hesitation. didn't push harder since the total number worked for me.