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Home / Compensation / Citadel / Software Engineer
Total compensation for a Citadel Software Engineer ranges from about $350K at the entry level to $2.9M+ at the most senior bands, with a typical mid-level package around $935K. Below is the full breakdown by level - base salary, annual equity, and bonus - from public-source data.
Public-source estimates (Beta). Last updated 2026-06. Figures are annualized USD.
| Level | Years | Base (p50) | Equity/yr (p50) | Bonus (p50) | Total (p25-p90) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New GradSoftware Engineer (New Grad) | 0-2 YOE | $225K | $2K | $200K | $350K - $660K |
| MidSoftware Engineer | 2-5 YOE | $265K | $5K | $375K | $490K - $1.1M |
| SeniorSenior Software Engineer | 5-9 YOE | $310K | $5K | $620K | $680K - $1.8M |
| LeadLead / Senior Lead Engineer (Staff-equivalent) | 8+ YOE | $350K | $10K | $1M | $970K - $2.9M |
Entry-level. Citadel Securities new-grad offers (especially low-latency C++ roles) typically land at the top of this band; Citadel hedge-fund engineering offers cluster around p50.
Mid-level. Citadel aggressively poaches from FAANG at this level and routinely beats big-tech total comp by 40-60% in cash. Expect a demanding performance culture in exchange.
Senior IC. Low-latency trading systems and market-data engineers at Citadel Securities define the p75-p90 band; enterprise/platform roles at the hedge fund track p25-p50.
Staff-equivalent. Bonus is heavily P&L-linked at this level. A portion above ~$1M is often deferred with multi-year vesting (the small equityAnnual band).
The offer calculator compares your current and target offers 4 years out - vesting, refresh grants, and federal + state + FICA tax - so you negotiate with real take-home numbers.
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