Sharing for the data pool.
Role: SWE, L5 equivalent (they've collapsed some leveling internally so the exact title is murky). Location: SF, in-person 3 days a week.
Offer breakdown: Base: $215k Bonus: 10% target RSU: $400k over 4 years in X Corp equity (annual refresh unclear) Sign-on: $40k
Total year 1 cash if you count sign-on is around $276k. RSU value is genuinely hard to assess right now given liquidity uncertainty. I discounted it heavily in my model.
For context, competing offer from a Series B was $195k base with liquid preferred equity. Took the Series B. The Twitter base was better but I couldn't stomach the equity risk.
4 replies
contractor_kai
the equity discount you applied is rational. X Corp equity has no clear liquidity path and no public price signal. treating it as $0 for planning purposes is probably the right move until there's more clarity.
finance_faye
$40k sign-on one-time hits year 1 hard. that's a real number to weigh if you're comparing first-year cash. but year 2 it drops back to $215k + bonus. worth modeling both years.
numbers_only
yeah year 2 model was part of my decision. year 1 blended well but the out-years were tighter vs. the other offer once the sign-on fell off.
market_realist
the 3-days in person in SF is also a cost to factor in. that's real money in rent and commute if you were previously remote. all-in number shifts.