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$900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI

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Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI

#71

Post by seattle_spring »

asimpletune wrote: post #33
sidcool wrote: post #17

Isn't it for member of technical staff? It's a high level position.

MTS is usually what a recent college graduate gets promoted to, once they've passed their sort of 1 year trial period. You can +/- that timeline about a year, but more or less that's what it is, at least from what I've seen in SF.

The [dead] comment replying to you doesn’t seem to understand that “Staff Engineer” is not typically the same as “Member of the Technical Staff.” Not sure why they had to express that misunderstanding in such a tone. Usually it’s better to approach a situation with curiosity when you don’t know what you’re talking about, rather than anger.

Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI

#75

Post by atlasunshrugged »

wmf wrote: post #51
atlasunshrugged wrote: post #30

Do the PPU's create an alignment issue? I mean, theoretically these folks are supposed to be working towards AGI, but doing it safely... but I can imagine that an extra 500K+ is a pretty big incentive to hurry up and create something that can help you make a profit so that they can get their payout. Of course, with the outside investment from Microsoft, maybe this is somewhat moot anyways as MSFT definitely has a ver…

Engineers don't control the strategy. If Altman decides to reinvest all free cash flow into growth and safety instead of profits (which is not unusual in tech) the employees can't/won't stop him.

Maybe not, but if as others have mentioned in the thread that there is very high talent density and these are top folks, then surely engineers have some say in the strategy -- if only through mass defection and quitting, right?

Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI

#76

Post by scarface_74 »

$600K of that is “equity” in a private company. You never know when the company will go public or with what valuation.

I can’t sell equity in a private company to exchange for goods and services like I can stock that gets deposited in my brokerage account every six months.

Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI

#77

Post by totallywrong »

wmf wrote: post #20
boeingUH60 wrote: post #4

> The tax filings also reveal previously unreported details about one of the most valuable and well-known technology ventures operating today, including the level of investment by Reid Hoffman, free Teslas for early OpenAI engineers and the skyrocketing computing bill that may have prompted it to take a $1 billion investment from Microsoft. https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/17/elon-musk-used-to-say-he-p...

A ~$100K signing bonus sounds kind of small for someone making $900K per year.

A 100k _signing_ bonus isn't small by any measure whatsoever.

Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI

#78

Post by scarface_74 »

jedberg wrote: post #28

Based on what I've seen/heard, they seem to follow a similar comp philosophy to Netflix -- pay top of market to get the best people. But it's also important to note that only $300K of that is in cash. The other $600K is in profit participation, which could take years (maybe even a decade!) to be realized. It could also be worth $6M a year when it's realized. But ultimately it's an investment of your time. Or to think…

No, Netflix pays top of market like you said “in cash”. Paying “profit sharing” in a company that isn’t profitable isn’t nearly as valuable.

Edit:

I love this analogy

> Or to think of it another way, you're getting paid $900K a year but you're also investing $600K a year in OpenAI, which may end up being an amazing return or nothing at all, just like any startup investment.

Would someone invest 2/3rds of their compensation in one company? I know I diversify my RSUs within six months after getting them.

Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI

#79

Post by scarface_74 »

jedberg wrote: post #40
ed25519FUUU wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess the first part of that is like netflix, but as you know the second part is not since netflix is 100% cash unless you want to participate some portion of that in the employee stock plan.

Yes, the first part of the philosophy, pay top of market. Not the second part, where they employee gets to choose their level of exposure to investment risk. But Netflix is a public company, and OpenAI is not.

If I can’t use “the pay” to exchange for goods and services when I earn it, it’s not “pay”

Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI

#80

Post by locusofself »

markus_zhang wrote: post #67

Now the problem is how to get into this kind of companies. Is LC hard mandatory for junior-senior (below lead) IC job?

I've never looked into their interview process, but considering what they have created I would guess that their coding problems go way beyond leetcode.
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