Startup Salary & Equity Database

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16 submissions; add yours today

Title Salary Hide salary, order only Equity % Equity $ Hide equity, order only Location Total YOE Years at Startup Stage Size Valuation Date
Hardware engineer $175,000 $175,000 0.12% $300,000 $300,000 Remote US 5.0 0.0 Series A 101-200 employees $250M 2023/09
Senior hardware engineer $200,000 $200,000 0.019% $170,000 $170,000 San Francisco Bay Area 10.0 0.0 Series C 201-500 employees $895M 2023/05
Staff hardware engineer $250,000 $250,000 0.35% $1,050,000 $1,050,000 Remote US 10.0 0.0 Series B 51-100 employees $300M 2023/03
Staff hardware engineer $160,000 $160,000 0.14% $140,000 $140,000 Remote US 12.0 0.0 Series A 11-50 employees $100M 2022/12
Hardware engineer $140,000 $140,000 0.002% $9,600 $9,600 San Diego 2.0 1.0 Series D 201-500 employees $480M 2022/08
Hardware engineer $230,000 $230,000 0.1% $300,000 $300,000 Los Angeles 4.0 0.0 Series B 51-100 employees $300M 2022/08
Hardware engineer $225,000 $225,000 0.09% $280,000 $280,000 Los Angeles 4.0 0.0 Series B 51-100 employees $311M 2022/08
Principal hardware engineer $150,000 $150,000 0.07% $180,000 $180,000 New York City 10.0 0.0 Series A 1-10 employees $257M 2022/07
Principal hardware engineer $183,000 $183,000 0.03% $75,000 $75,000 New York City 10.0 0.0 Series A 1-10 employees $250M 2022/07
Hardware engineer $230,000 $230,000 0.025% $250,000 $250,000 San Francisco Bay Area 9.0 0.0 Series C 101-200 employees $1B 2022/06
Senior hardware engineer $220,000 $220,000 0.06% $300,000 $300,000 Remote US 7.0 0.0 Series A 51-100 employees $500M 2022/06
Staff hardware engineer $302,000 $302,000 0.067% $660,000 $660,000 Santa Clara 13.0 0.0 Series C 101-200 employees $985M 2022/06
Hardware engineer $258,000 $258,000 0.06% $120,000 $120,000 Remote US 14.0 0.0 Series B 11-50 employees $200M 2022/05
Senior staff hardware engineer $205,000 $205,000 0.2% $1,000,000 $1,000,000 San Francisco 12.0 1.0 Series A 101-200 employees $500M 2022/05
Hardware engineer $205,000 $205,000 0.012% $300,000 $300,000 San Francisco 10.0 0.0 Series E 1001-5000 employees $2B 2022/04
Senior staff hardware engineer $275,000 $275,000 0.05% $520,000 $520,000 Remote US 11.0 0.0 Series C 201-500 employees $1B 2022/04

Take 1 minute to add your comp - 100% anonymous ๐Ÿค



Combination of private submissions and private benchmarks. Exact submission date is listed under "Date" column. All submissions are vetted for accuracy.

It's your % ownership of the startup. Calculated one of two ways:
โ€ข Your total # of shares รท Fully diluted outstanding shares x 100 โ€” confirm that it's fully diluted; otherwise, your stake will look higher than it truly is
โ€ข Current value of your shares รท current company valuation x 100 โ€” value is based on preferred price (what investors paid); updates with each fundraise

Always make sure you have the numerator and the denominator.

Equity % helps you project what you stand to make. For example, if you have a 1% equity stake in a startup valued at $100M, which eventually IPOs at $1B, your stake will be worth 1% * $1B * dilution rate โ€” dilution rate varies, but a rule of thumb is to assume 10-25% per funding round. This means the earlier you join, the more diluted you'll become. But you'll also have a lower strike price and usually a much bigger % to start with.

TLDR: know your comp band, target a percentile in-line with how strongly the company needs your skillset, and counter based on what you care about most (salary, equity, bonus, benefits).

But every situation is different. If you'd like 1:1 support and guaranteed higher comp, we can help.