Linear Software Engineer Compensation
Small private company, ~100 people. High base for stage; equity is illiquid options. Sample sizes are thin - treat all bands as low-confidence estimates.
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
Linear is a private, roughly 100-person company, which means two big caveats. First, sample sizes: most levels have single-digit public reports, so these bands are triangulated from pay-transparency postings and peer-stage benchmarks rather than dense crowdsourced data. Second, equity: grants are stock options in a private company - illiquid until a sale or IPO, valued here at the last preferred round. Cash bonus is not part of the structure. Linear hires experienced product engineers almost exclusively; there is no meaningful new-grad pipeline.
Levels
Linear is a small (~100-person) private company - sample sizes are thin (often single-digit reports per level), so treat every band here as low-confidence. Equity is illiquid private stock options. Linear does not really run a new-grad pipeline; the entry level below assumes a few years of experience.
Engineer
Software Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $165K | $180K | $195K | $210K |
| Equity (annualized) | $35K | $50K | $70K | $95K |
| Total comp | $200K | $230K | $265K | $305K |
Entry point for experienced hires - Linear rarely hires new grads. Equity is options in a private company: illiquid until a sale or IPO, so cash-equivalent value is speculative.
Senior
Senior Software Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $195K | $210K | $225K | $240K |
| Equity (annualized) | $55K | $80K | $110K | $150K |
| Total comp | $250K | $290K | $335K | $390K |
Most-common Linear hire. Strong product-engineering generalists; the bar emphasizes craft and shipping. Equity figures assume the last preferred-round valuation - illiquid until an exit.
Staff
Staff Software Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $220K | $235K | $250K | $265K |
| Equity (annualized) | $80K | $115K | $160K | $215K |
| Total comp | $300K | $350K | $410K | $480K |
Senior-most common IC level at a company this size. Single-digit data points - the band is an estimate triangulated from posted ranges and peer-stage startups.
Principal
Principal Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $240K | $255K | $270K | $285K |
| Equity (annualized) | $110K | $155K | $215K | $290K |
| Total comp | $350K | $410K | $485K | $575K |
A handful of people company-wide. Effectively negotiated case-by-case; the band is indicative, not calibrated.
Primary sources
- ·Public Linear career-page postings (CA/NY pay-transparency ranges)
- ·Levels.fyi (public reports - single-digit sample sizes)
- ·Blind (anonymous reports, triangulation only)
- ·Pave / Carta startup benchmark aggregates (stage-comparable)
Cross-referenced against public reporting, state pay-transparency postings, and triangulated where source ranges disagreed. Last refresh: June 2026.
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