How different is the position of staff engineer at different companies. specially in a company like Walmart labs? Right now, i have an offer from Walmart labs in bay area offering me 190k base + 20% target bonus + 55k worth of yearly RSUs + 50k sign on bonus I also got an offer from Hulu and they are still in process of deciding the breakdown but TC is around $280k. This position is for sr. software engineer and is based in LA area. My question is how much does the title affect my future career prospects. Also, i feel walmart labs might be better in the short term but would love to know others’ opinion about it. YoE: 8 years
It varies company to company, but from what I have seen staff is where the tracts between management and tech really start to diverge. Technical ladder at most places seems to be senior eng -> staff eng -> principal eng -> architect. Management seems to be senior eng -> eng manager or technical project manager -> senior manager -> director, etc. At Sony, our bonus structure even changes going from senior engineer to staff, but it stays the same when going from senior engineer to manager for some reason. I’ve heard managers even say it’s a parallel move to go from senior engineer to manager. Like I said, this varies from company to company, but it might make sense to explain which tract you’d like to go to the recruiter or hiring manager to make sure that you are being placed in a role that makes the most sense.
I’d go for the title and more prominent name. The reason is that you can jump ship after 1-2 years while aiming for engineering manager or team lead. But Hulu is in LA; you'll be most likely find a wife there. Not sure about the culture at Hulu, but Walmart have good WLB. AND CONGRATS TO YOUR OFFER!
From what I’ve seen of Walmart labs, a Staff title there is like a Senior title in other places. I think it’s more a function of years of experience rather than responsibilities there. It might look good on a resume, but anyone who knows this might still not think you are staff level at other companies.
I agree with your point, but It depends on his role. Some staff work as an IC; others might have the opportunity to lead other engineers. It all comes down to the team structure and what he was hired for...
Titles don’t mean much imo since it depends on the company. I’m only a senior eng at FB, but at some places I could easily be Staff/Sr. Staff/Principal. Hell I could be CTO at some early stage startups.
Staff in Walmart labs would be senior at FANGs, sometimes one level lower than that if your interview doesn’t go well. I know no one who was staff at Walmart and went to FANG as staff. I was in Walmart, their titles are inflated.
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From what I’ve seen in companies that make this distinction, senior is a very technically experienced engineer, staff is senior + team lead, eg running projects