Aurora innovation offer evaluation
Hello guys, I got some numbers from Aurora and I want to get opinion from y’all. This is for a Senior SWE with 3.5yrs experience post PhD. Base: $210K, RSU: 86K units over 4yrs, Options: 86K units over 4yrs, Target bonus: 15%.#tech What do you folks think? Its not big bump in my current salary. I’m mainly attracted by the opportunity of working at the cutting edge and getting to learn and grow. MOST IMPORTANTLY, is this a good time to join? I’m still very worried about the high burn rate and still no commercial product. The new raise is a positive sign though. Everyone at Aurora seems positive about success but I sense a bias there. Current TC: 200K + options.#
I believe it's a good offer. If you are looking for something sure and safe, this might not be the place for you. However, if you are for high risk, high reward, then you wouldn't regret joining. There are a lot of people doubting us, but we'll deliver a product; I am not too worried about that.
Not a bad offer. Aurora is a mixed bag depending on the team you end up in. Are we positioned for success? Personally I'm not sure I believe the Kool aid. What we are attempting is really hard and its not clear we have the funding to tough it out. But I don't see us folding, the IP + "talent" is widely regarded as too valuable. The most likely outcome is that we become an acquisition target. On the plus side, if you're in the right team you'll find cool problems to work on.
Cool problems is the attractive part here. But im on a visa so trying to be extra cautious. Dont to be joining a sinking ship.
I am on visa too. It all depends on how much risk you are willing to take. Some chicken out because it's out of their comfort zone, some have the balls to be in such tumultuous Industry. In the end, it depends on you
Can I dm you?
The uncomfortable truth is that nobody knows what’s going to happen. If you ask 10 different people you’ll get 10 different answers. From my perspective: 1. Long haul trucking is a huge market ripe for automation. 2. Aurora’s first go to market product will be long haul trucking. 3. The only other serious contender for long haul trucking right now is Kodiak Robotics, even then they are tiny relative to Aurora. Given this, I feel the two most likely scenarios is that either (1) nobody solves autonomous long haul trucking, or (2) Aurora is one of the companies that does. Given the rate of progress so far, I find it hard to believe that nobody will solve this. But I’m just a random guy on Blind so what do I know.
They are definitely in the lead, but can they solve the tech and business challenges before they run out of money? What would the impact of a major accident be? What happens when someone solves the same problem with far less investment? Not disagreeing with you, btw, these are just some of the questions that I wrestle with in this industry.
Curious about the above question too
So any tips on what to negotiate on? I want to up the base but im not sure if they’d do that.
With the recent hard push for RTO I'm not sure if it's a good place to come onboard anymore. 6 months ago I would have said yes.
Are they pushing for 5 days a week in office or hybrid is still okay?
Depends a lot on the team. Software wants at LEAST 2 days per week, but it's so inconsistently enforced between teams and managers and everything it's really a crapshoot. But they've been ramping up slowly. If our CEO had his way we'd be fully in office so the writing on the wall is that's where we're all headed eventually. I'm looking for a fully remote position and I know a lot of other people are too.
Regulations and laws are also a risk, though that affects the entire industry not just Aurora.
Yeah i saw the bill virtually banning autonomous trucks in CA. Curious to know the sentiment around that.
What team?
How do you value the RSUs/options? I don’t see Aurora going anywhere anytime soon. These companies have been overpromising for forever.
Right. Thats my main concern too. RSUs and more so options are worthless. But that said, im at a small startup so options are worthless here too :(
“RSUs are worthless”? This is a publicly traded company. You can sell them for $$ as soon as they vest.