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IC SWE-Principal, manager M1-M4. Private - strong cash, illiquid equity at the last 409A, periodic tenders. Famously demanding pace.
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.
Rippling is private (the 2025 Series G valued the company around $16.8B). Equity is options/RSUs valued at the last 409A - illiquid until an IPO, acquisition, or tender. Rippling has run employee tender offers alongside recent fundraises, giving tenured employees periodic (not guaranteed) liquidity windows. Treat the equityAnnual column as paper value with real liquidity risk. Cash is strong for a private company, and Rippling is unusually candid that it expects an intense, high-hours culture - factor that into total-comp-per-hour math.
| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $155K | $170K | $185K | $200K |
| Equity (annualized) | $40K | $58K | $85K | $120K |
| Total comp | $195K | $228K | $270K | $320K |
Early-career IC. Equity is options/RSUs at the last 409A - paper value until an exit or tender. Expect an intense pace; Rippling is open about its demanding culture.
| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $195K | $215K | $235K | $255K |
| Equity (annualized) | $80K | $120K | $170K | $240K |
| Total comp | $275K | $335K | $405K | $495K |
Senior IC. Most-common external hire level. The product surface is enormous (HR, IT, finance, spend) - product-minded generalists who ship fast pull the top of band.
| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $230K | $250K | $272K | $295K |
| Equity (annualized) | $130K | $195K | $275K | $385K |
| Total comp | $360K | $445K | $547K | $680K |
Staff IC. Equity dominates and carries full private-company liquidity risk - discount it against public-company competing offers.
| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $260K | $282K | $305K | $330K |
| Equity (annualized) | $195K | $290K | $415K | $575K |
| Total comp | $455K | $572K | $720K | $905K |
Principal IC. Very small population; external hires uncommon.
Cross-referenced against public reporting, state pay-transparency postings, and triangulated where source ranges disagreed. Last refresh: June 2026.
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