Pre-IPO MLE vs Amazon / Meta SE
(Posting on behalf of my friend for career advice) Yoe 3 years as a data scientist in a very small startup and took up a ton of SE work at that time. Trained LC and got the following offers in Canada: 1. In a pre-IPO as a ML engineer: 160k base + 100k RSU 2. In Amazon as a SDE I: 145k base + 65k sign on (verbal offer waiting details) 3. In Meta as a SE: still waiting details, but should be less than Amazon since I didn't perform that well Which one would be the best for my career? My Concerns: I prefer switching to a MLE role since I might still be able to train models on top of SE work. However in the pre-IPO offer I was expected to take up the backend duties in the MLE team. 1) If the work nature is similar across the offers, would it be better to learn a good backend practice / large system design skills from the big companies instead? 2) Would the FANNG name on my resume helps open MLE opportunities in the future as well? Or in contrast, a SE title from the big names actually discounts heavily my previous DS experience? 3) Is it actually possible to switch to ML-like projects in Amazon/Meta as well, and from then on establish a MLE career later? On the other hand, is TC a concern here? The pre-IPO's offer is high in TC but RSU are lottery tickets, while the Amazon offer seems final since the recruiter fought this offer for me which exceeded their max cap already. Which also means no salary adjustment whatsoever untill I am promoted to SDE II but the recruiter said the team saw my potential to get promoted quickly. As for team match, I like both the hiring managers from the pre-IPO and Amazon. No ideas for Meta yet due to the bootcamp matching. Thriving to learn so WLB is not really a concern as long as I earn decently and work on fun stuff. #swe #mle
In amazon, the role u are referring to is called applied scientist. And switching from sde to AS is not unheard of. Is that SDE1 offer for Seattle? If yes, that's a really good number, definitely not a standard issue
Thanks for the AS role info! The offer is in Canada
How do the pre-IPO RSUs work? Why aren't they giving options? Is there anything positive about the Amazon offer?
The $100k RSUs per year are in 4ys vesting schedule, one year cliff with the actual number of shares based on the preferred price at that time. No stock options might be because it's in the later stage. Amazon offer: less risky cash flow, potential to get promoted quickly (claimed)
You think you are more likely to get promoted at Amazon than a startup? If the startup grows at all, you are almost guaranteed to be promoted and lead a team or the like just by existing. To do the same at Amazon involves politics and luck. Are you that worried about cash flow risk? Are you not certain in your ability to find another job?