Key figures from the chart
- Median total compensation at the top paying companies runs from $231k for an entry level engineer at LinkedIn to $1.45M for a principal engineer at Facebook.
- At entry level the trading firms pay most: Jane Street $350k, Optiver $337k and IMC $262k.
- Databricks is the top payer for both the software engineer level ($380k) and the senior level ($600k).
- OpenAI tops the staff level at $860k, and Facebook and Oracle are the only companies shown above $1M, both at principal level.
- Figures are Levels.fyi medians of total compensation (salary, stock and bonus) reported for 2024 [1].
Software engineer levels and pay in text
The chart is titled “Levels.fyi 2024 End of Year Median Total Compensation for SWE Top Paying Companies”. It shows seven companies for each of five standard levels, sorted from lowest to highest within each level. Values are as printed on the bars.
| Standard level | Level name | Companies and median total compensation |
|---|---|---|
| L1 | Entry Level Engineer | LinkedIn $231k, Waymo $234k, Roblox $234k, Scale AI $235k, IMC $262k, Optiver $337k, Jane Street $350k |
| L2 | Software Engineer | Rippling $308k, Facebook $309k, Figma $314k, Snowflake $325k, Netflix $325k, Roblox $350k, Databricks $380k |
| L3 | Senior Engineer | OpenAI $495k, Plaid $499k, StubHub $500k, Netflix $520k, Roblox $532k, Coupang $599k, Databricks $600k |
| L4 | Staff Engineer | Facebook $690k, LinkedIn $728k, Snowflake $750k, Broadcom $796k, Coupang $800k, Databricks $815k, OpenAI $860k |
| L5 | Principal Engineer | Google $728k, ByteDance $868k, Cruise $909k, Airbnb $923k, Uber $940k, Oracle $1.43M, Facebook $1.45M |
What the software engineer levels mean
L1 to L5 are the Levels.fyi Software Engineer Leveling Standard, a hierarchy it has abstracted from company specific level names so that pay can be compared [1]. Each company maps its own levels onto it. In the 2024 report, for example, the Facebook figures are its E4, E6 and E7 levels, Google’s principal figure is its L7, and Databricks’ senior figure is its L5 [1]. The report describes each standard level by experience.
| Standard level | Name on the chart | Levels.fyi description |
|---|---|---|
| L1 | Entry Level Engineer | Typically 0 to 2 years of experience |
| L2 | Software Engineer | Typically 2 to 5+ years |
| L3 | Senior Engineer | Typically 5+ years |
| L4 | Staff Engineer | Typically 10+ years |
| L5 | Principal Engineer | Typically 15+ years |
Levels.fyi adds that typically less than 30% of employees in a company are at the senior level, less than 10% at staff level and usually less than 3% at principal level, and that some smaller companies have no one at the principal level [1].
How this compares with typical pay
These are the top seven payers at each level, not typical salaries. The same report lists the highest median pay for software engineers by US metro area, led by the San Francisco Bay Area at $265,000, the Greater Seattle Area at $242,000 and the New York City Area at $190,000 [1]. In Europe, Zurich leads at $175,805 and Cambridge, United Kingdom, is second at $133,586 [1].
An earlier version of the chart, top paying companies by level
This Levels.fyi chart ranks the top paying software engineer companies at five levels by median total compensation in US offers from November 2023 to November 2024. Jane Street leads entry level at $400k, Databricks and OpenAI lead the middle levels, and Meta tops principal engineers at $1.4M. All 25 values are listed below.
- The chart shows the five highest paying companies for software engineers at each of five levels, by median total compensation in offers submitted to Levels.fyi between November 2023 and November 2024.
- At entry level, trading firms dominate. Jane Street is top at $400k, ahead of Optiver ($312k), IMC ($262k) and Millennium ($247k).
- Databricks is the top payer for Software Engineer (L2) at $380k, and ties with Coupang for Senior Engineer (L3) at $600k.
- OpenAI leads Staff Engineer (L4) at $860k.
- Meta tops Principal Engineer (L5) at $1.4M, followed by Oracle at $1.3M.
- Databricks and Roblox each appear at three levels.
Notes on this infographic
- Rounding. The chart truncates the report’s figures, for example Roblox at entry level is $234,333 and Facebook at principal level is $1,455,000 [1].
- Entry level list. The report’s current entry level table starts with Hudson River Trading at $410,000 and does not include LinkedIn [1]. The chart instead shows LinkedIn at $231k and leaves out Hudson River Trading, so the report may have been updated after the chart was made.
- Overlap between levels. Google’s principal median ($728k) is below several staff medians, because each level shows a different set of companies.
- Self reported data. Levels.fyi figures are medians of compensation submitted to its site [1].
Questions about software engineer levels
What is L1, L2, L3 software engineer?
In the Levels.fyi standard, L1 is an entry level engineer (typically 0 to 2 years of experience), L2 is a software engineer (2 to 5+ years) and L3 is a senior engineer (5+ years) [1]. Companies use their own names and numbers for the same steps.
What is a level 5 software engineer?
On this chart L5 is the principal engineer level, typically 15+ years of experience, with impact across the company [1]. Note that some companies call their own senior level L5, such as Databricks [1].
What engineer makes $500,000 a year?
On this chart, a senior engineer (L3) at StubHub ($500k), Netflix ($520k), Roblox ($532k), Coupang ($599k) or Databricks ($600k), and every staff and principal engineer listed.
Sources
- Levels.fyi, End of Year Pay Report 2024 (Top Pay by Software Engineering Level, Top SWE Pay in the US, Europe and the World).
- u/honkeem (Levels.fyi), [OC] 2023-2024 Top Paying Companies for Software Engineers in Tech, Distributed by Level, r/dataisbeautiful, 14 November 2024. The creator’s post with this chart, including the method comments.
- Levels.fyi, What are career levels and ladders.
- Levels.fyi, Software Engineer salaries.
Last reviewed 30 October 2026
