SpaceX starts to post pay rates in their job ads

[su27k]

Sounds like this may be a new requirement from California, but now all their job ads at https://www.spacex.com/careers/ have a "COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS" section with pay range.

Just some random samplings:

1. Application Software Engineer at Hawthorne:
Level I: $120,000.00 - $145,000.00/per year
Level II: $140,000.00 - $170,000.00/per year

2. Avionics Engineering Technician at Hawthorne:
Level 1: $23.00 - $31.00/hour   
Level 2: $28.00 - $37.00/hour   
Level 3: $33.00 - $43.00/hour 

3. Avionics Build Engineer (Starship) at Boca Chica:
Level I: $95,000.00 - $115,000.00/per year   
Level II: $110,000.00 - $130,000.00/per year

4. Build Technician (Starship Avionics) at Boca Chica:
Level 1: $18.00/hour
Level 2: $23.00/hour
Level 3: $28.00/hour

[2megs]

The software engineering salary ranges in Redmond, WA seem to be almost exactly copy-pasted from Microsoft.

With the valuations SpaceX is getting when they raise funds these days, the true comp story is about the RSUs (and especially the timelines for vesting and liquidity).

https://www.levels.fyi/companies/spacex/salaries may also be interesting.

[greybeardengineer]

I find it interesting that for one category (Application Software Engineer) the salary bands are identical for Hawthorne, Redmond, Brownsville, and Cape Canaveral. My experience is companies with multiple distant locations tend to pay differently based on local market conditions rather than having a unified scheme.

[ZachF]

I find it interesting that for one category (Application Software Engineer) the salary bands are identical for Hawthorne, Redmond, Brownsville, and Cape Canaveral. My experience is companies with multiple distant locations tend to pay differently based on local market conditions rather than having a unified scheme.

The obvious inference is that the lower COL (TX and FL) areas getting filled are a higher priority.

[Herb Schaltegger]

With the valuations SpaceX is getting when they raise funds these days, the true comp story is about the RSUs (and especially the timelines for vesting and liquidity).

Indeed. The adult son of a very good friend of mine starts in Hawthorne in a few weeks. His start date decision was tied directly into the company’s rules about RSU and vesting.

[2megs]

I find it interesting that for one category (Application Software Engineer) the salary bands are identical for Hawthorne, Redmond, Brownsville, and Cape Canaveral. My experience is companies with multiple distant locations tend to pay differently based on local market conditions rather than having a unified scheme.

There's much less of a "local market" for that job category these days. Post-pandemic it became very remote-friendly. SpaceX may require people to be on-site in Brownsville, but Brownsville SWEs can get competing offers from Silicon Valley.

[oldAtlas_Eguy]

I find it interesting that for one category (Application Software Engineer) the salary bands are identical for Hawthorne, Redmond, Brownsville, and Cape Canaveral. My experience is companies with multiple distant locations tend to pay differently based on local market conditions rather than having a unified scheme.

There's much less of a "local market" for that job category these days. Post-pandemic it became very remote-friendly. SpaceX may require people to be on-site in Brownsville, but Brownsville SWEs can get competing offers from Silicon Valley.

Yes.
But it was that way before the pandemic. For the higher level experienced software designers and programming. NOTE some of this is an art and thus to find experts is difficult. Any organization once they get hold of a very capable SWE they try to keep them. Why? Because they can make things actually work and implement programming solutions very fast. They not only save the company money but can also make them even more with good usable and very well liked programs.

A special NOTE here is that SpaceX and Tesla have always been after these expert capable SWEs.

[philw1776]

I find it interesting that for one category (Application Software Engineer) the salary bands are identical for Hawthorne, Redmond, Brownsville, and Cape Canaveral. My experience is companies with multiple distant locations tend to pay differently based on local market conditions rather than having a unified scheme.

There's much less of a "local market" for that job category these days. Post-pandemic it became very remote-friendly. SpaceX may require people to be on-site in Brownsville, but Brownsville SWEs can get competing offers from Silicon Valley.

Yes.
But it was that way before the pandemic. For the higher level experienced software designers and programming. NOTE some of this is an art and thus to find experts is difficult. Any organization once they get hold of a very capable SWE they try to keep them. Why? Because they can make things actually work and implement programming solutions very fast. They not only save the company money but can also make them even more with good usable and very well liked programs.

A special NOTE here is that SpaceX and Tesla have always been after these expert capable SWEs.

This is SO true about capable SWEs. Unfortunately as a VP of R&D I was never blessed with a CEO or BOD who understood this reality. Was constantly under attack for "overpaying" a key couple developers. My failure to incorporate them into the standard salary structure was viewed as lack of competent management on my part and/or being soft on favorites. Unicorns are rare and the key to all capable engineering teams.