Sharing an offer I received about 6 weeks ago. Declined (took something else) but the numbers might be useful.
Role: Senior Software Engineer (L5 equivalent) Location: San Francisco, hybrid 3 days/week Team: Core platform, backend YOE: 9
Offer breakdown: Base: $195k Annual bonus target: 15% ($29k) RSU: $280k over 4 years, back-weighted (10/20/30/40 vesting) Signing: $35k
All-in year 1 if bonus hits: ~$312k. Year 3-4 better due to RSU cliff back-weighting.
Not FAANG, but not startup volatility either. Felt like a reasonable trade. Benefits were solid: medical fully paid, 401k match, generous PTO.
The RSU back-weighting is the thing to watch. Standard at Zendesk and means year 1 is lighter than it looks. Worth negotiating the signing if you have competing offers.
4 replies
contractor_kai
that back-weighted vesting is a retention mechanism. 10/20/30/40 is increasingly common at public companies trying to keep L5+ from bouncing at the 2-year mark. as a contractor going FTE I always run the NPV on the RSU schedule, not the headline number. year 1 effective comp here is closer to $242k if you're realistic about bonus hitting.
market_realist
solid comp for a public company but i've seen L5 at similar-scale SaaS land $220-230k base if they pushed harder. did you negotiate?
numbers_only
yes, one round. started at $185k base. the $195k was after the first ask. they said base was at the top of band but moved the signing from $20k to $35k, which in hindsight I should have pushed harder on. took the other offer so didn't drag it out.
sam_recovering
The fully-paid medical is actually significant, worth several thousand a year depending on your situation. People always skip that when comparing offers and it matters more than it sounds.