Destroyer posts top SWE pay ranges

Software-engineer pay is having another visibility moment. A compensation thread from X user DestroyerLV9999 made the rounds by putting concrete numbers on what “top of market” means at OpenAI, Stripe, Netflix, Apple, Meta, and Google. The reason people cared is simple — a lot of comp talk stays vague on purpose. This one tried to pin down actual ranges for senior and staff talent, especially around AI-heavy hiring, and the broad picture mostly holds up against current verified salary data. (levels.fyi) ### What was the thread actually claiming? The thread’s core claim was that the ceiling for experienced engineers at a few companies now sits far above the old FAANG mental model. OpenAI was framed near the top, Stripe and Netflix were shown as capable of very large packages, Apple looked lower but still strong, and Meta and Google sat in a broad middle band for senior engin(levels.fyi)n level mapping. (levels.fyi) ### Are the OpenAI numbers real? Basically, yes on direction, not always on precision. Recent verified data on Levels.fyi shows OpenAI software-engineer compensation in the U.S. ranging from $249K at L2 to about $1.28M at L6, with L5 averaging about $1.15M and a companywide SWE median around $555K. So a claim that senior-to-staff OpenAI packages can clear roughly $900K is be(levels.fyi) ### What about Netflix and Stripe? Netflix still looks like one of the cleanest “cash-heavy” outliers. Recent verified data shows U.S. software-engineer pay from $218K at L3 to about $1.22M at L7, with L6 averaging roughly $793K and a median around $550K. Stripe is trickier because title mapping varies more, but verified data shows general SWE pay up to about $860K, while fu(levels.fyi)on that track. So “Stripe can hit $1M+” is plausible, but it’s not the standard outcome. (levels.fyi) ### Why does Apple look lower? Apple still pays very well, just usually not like the most aggressive AI buyers. Recent verified data shows Apple software-engineer compensation from about $171K to $795K, with ICT4 — Senior Software Engineer — averaging about $352K. That lines up with the thread’s idea that Apple senior bands often sit below OpenAI, Netflix, and the highest Meta outcomes. (levels.fyi) ### Where do Meta and Google land? The thread’s Meta and Google numbers were a little conservative if you’re talking upper bands, but reasonable for many senior offers. Verified data shows Google SWE pay from about $210K to $1.98M, with L4 around $299K. Meta runs hotter at the high end — U.S. SWE pay spans about $175K to $4.36M, and E6 averages roughly $693K. The catch is tha(levels.fyi)are very different things. (levels.fyi) ### Why do these ranges get so messy? Because “senior” is not a universal unit. One company’s L5 is another company’s L4-plus. Equity timing matters. Refreshers matter. Remote discounts matter. Even vesting schedules matter — Stripe’s listings show multiple vesting patterns, which can make the same headline package feel very different in year one. It’s a little like comparing houses by sticker price without checking mortgage terms. (levels.fyi) ### So what should candidates take from it? Use threads like this as anchors, not gospel. The useful part is the market shape: entry-level at these firms really can start around the high-$100Ks to low-$200Ks, while strong senior and staff engineers can land anywhere from the mid-$300Ks to well past $1M depending on company and role. The negotiation mov(levels.fyi). (levels.fyi) ### Bottom line The thread went viral because it captured something real — top software-engineer pay has stretched dramatically in the AI era. But the real story is less “everyone makes $1M now” and more “a handful of companies will pay astonishingly well for the right engineer at the right level.” (levels.fyi)