How much do Microsoft engineers earn?
A leaked internal document reveals the tech giant’s compensation packages, from junior engineers to top-level talent.
The tech giants, known by the acronym GAMFA (Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon), are renowned for the high salaries they offer their employees. Now, a leaked internal Microsoft document offers a rare look into the numbers, revealing exactly how much the company pays its U.S. recruits, from engineers with no experience to the most senior technical staff.
The document, obtained by Business Insider and last updated in May, outlines salary ranges, signing bonuses, and stock packages based on experience and location. It’s used by Microsoft recruiters to determine offers for candidates across the globe. The disclosure comes at a time when major tech companies are fiercely competing to attract top AI talent, often offering massive compensation packages.
Microsoft uses an internal tier system to determine pay, where both experience and cost of living in the employee’s location play key roles. Employees in high-cost cities like San Francisco are placed in the "high" salary band, while those based at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, fall into the "main" band.
Salary levels at Microsoft range from 57 to 70:
- Levels 57–59: Entry-level engineers
- Level 63: Senior engineers
- Level 65: Principal engineers
- Level 68: Partners
- Level 70: Distinguished engineers
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A level 70 engineer in a high-cost area can earn up to $408,000 per year, receive $1.9 million in stock options upon joining, and an additional $1.48 million in stock annually. This is on top of a signing bonus (not specified) and an annual cash bonus of up to 90% of base salary.
At the other end of the spectrum, a new engineer just starting out at Microsoft may earn up to $124,600 in a high-cost location. They also receive stock worth up to $13,000 and a signing bonus of up to $9,000.
Compared to its rivals, Microsoft's average compensation for entry-level engineers, around $141,000, trails that of Google, where a comparable position reportedly pays $184,000.
Meta also operates on a tiered system and offers significantly higher packages:
- Software engineers at Meta earn $273,000–$432,000, depending on experience.
- Top-level engineers can earn up to $912,000 annually.
- The average salary for software engineers at Meta is $408,000, while engineering managers average $734,000 per year.
