Microsoft Pays Its AI Engineers 48% Extra. What About You?

So a more moderen situation that’s mentioned so much at start-up board conferences and investor conferences is AI Engineer comp.

Typically, I discover most start-ups need to hold engineering comp pretty flat.  Again within the day, my CTO simply needed 3 tiers: entry stage, high IC, supervisor.  That was it.  3 pay bands, they usually have been very tight.  Fairness various much more, however I do know it was essential to my CTO that everybody on his staff felt like equal stakeholders, relative to expertise.

I do assume that is true at most start-ups, at present too.  They need pretty constant comp throughout engineering, and concern if nothing else, a number of situation if favorites are performed, the brand new “man” will get a greater deal, and many others.

However AI is difficult this.

No start-up can compete with OpenAI”s huge comp and annual tender presents to supply partial liquidity.  But it surely has created a two-tiered comp system for engineers.  The “AI Staff” usually makes much more.

I don’t have any solutions right here however I discovered the above Enterprise Insider article with a leaked Microsoft memo useful:

They pay AI engineers 48% extra
They’ve particular spot retention bonuses for AI engineers to maintain them

That is roughly what I see, too.  The “AI Staff” at many SaaS startups makes 30%-40% extra.  It creates points and drama.

However most likely not paying their premium will create simply as many points and drama as effectively.

What I usually see is many SaaS corporations aren’t actually AI-native and sometimes simply have 1 or 2 true AI magicians on the staff.  Those that basically make the AI magic occur.  And also you usually can’t afford to lose them.  Are they price 48% extra?  Equity apart — after all they’re.