Databricks Software Engineer Compensation
SDE through Distinguished Engineer. Pre-IPO equity at the most recent tender offer (~$60B+ valuation).
Ranges aggregated from publicly-available sources. Treat the median (p50) as roughly representative; quartile bands reflect negotiation range. Have specific data points or corrections? Send them in.
Company-specific notes
Databricks is private. Equity is pre-IPO RSUs vesting 4 years (25/25/25/25) with no cliff, priced at the most recent tender offer. Tender offers occur ~annually. IPO has been broadly anticipated for several years; timing remains uncertain. Bonus is structured as a cash target tied to company and individual performance.
Levels
IC2
Software Engineer (Junior)| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $165K | $180K | $195K | $210K |
| Equity (annualized) | $50K | $70K | $100K | $140K |
| Bonus / sign-on amortized | $15K | $20K | $25K | $30K |
| Total comp | $230K | $270K | $320K | $380K |
Junior IC level. Equity at tender price.
IC3
Software Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $200K | $220K | $240K | $260K |
| Equity (annualized) | $85K | $130K | $185K | $250K |
| Bonus / sign-on amortized | $25K | $30K | $35K | $50K |
| Total comp | $310K | $380K | $460K | $560K |
Mid-level IC.
IC4
Senior Software Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $240K | $265K | $290K | $315K |
| Equity (annualized) | $135K | $205K | $305K | $425K |
| Bonus / sign-on amortized | $35K | $40K | $45K | $60K |
| Total comp | $410K | $510K | $640K | $800K |
Senior IC. Common ladder for engineers from FAANG L5/E5.
IC5
Staff Software Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $285K | $310K | $335K | $360K |
| Equity (annualized) | $230K | $340K | $480K | $680K |
| Bonus / sign-on amortized | $45K | $50K | $65K | $80K |
| Total comp | $560K | $700K | $880K | $1.12M |
Staff IC. Heavy equity component.
IC6
Distinguished Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $330K | $360K | $390K | $420K |
| Equity (annualized) | $380K | $555K | $805K | $1.17M |
| Bonus / sign-on amortized | $60K | $75K | $95K | $115K |
| Total comp | $770K | $990K | $1.28M | $1.7M |
Distinguished IC. External hires at this level are rare.
Primary sources
- ·Levels.fyi (public reports, ~150 Databricks data points)
- ·WA State Pay Transparency postings (Databricks Seattle)
- ·Public Databricks career-page postings (US)
- ·Comprehensive.io aggregated data
- ·Public reporting on Databricks tender offer valuations
Cross-referenced against public reporting, state pay-transparency postings, and triangulated where source ranges disagreed. Last refresh: 2026-04-29.
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