Meridian Health Tech — Senior Software Engineer

Offer Summary

Base Salary: $148,000/year Signing Bonus: $8,000 (one-time) Equity: 0.08% (4-year vest, 1-year cliff) PTO: 15 days/year Health Benefits: $500/month employer contribution Work Arrangement: Hybrid — Austin, TX (2 days in-office)

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Market Assessment

This offer is below market for a Senior Software Engineer with 7 years of experience in Austin, TX.

• Market range for this role: $158,000–$180,000 base (Levels.fyi, Glassdoor, Payscale — Q1 2024)
• Meridian's offer sits at the 28th percentile of comparable roles at Series B health-tech companies
• Full-stack experience (React, Node.js, PostgreSQL) with healthcare domain exposure commands a 15–20% premium in this space — your background justifies a strong counter
• The equity grant (0.08%) is thin — Series B senior IC benchmarks run 0.12%–0.20%
• 15-day PTO is below the 20-day standard at similarly-sized tech companies

Bottom line: You have clear, data-backed leverage here. The gap between this offer and market rate is large enough that a counter is expected — not aggressive.

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Counter-Offer Email

Subject: Offer Discussion — Alex Rivera, Senior Software Engineer

Hi Sarah,

Thank you for the offer — I'm genuinely excited about the opportunity to join Meridian and contribute to the platform work we discussed. I've done some research and would love to talk through a few items before signing.

Base Salary: I'm targeting $168,000, which aligns with current market data for Senior Software Engineers with my background in Austin. Given my 7 years of full-stack experience and healthcare systems expertise, I believe this reflects accurate market positioning — and I want to start our relationship on the right foot.

Signing Bonus: I'd appreciate a signing bonus closer to $15,000. I'm forgoing a year-end bonus by leaving my current role now, and this would help offset that gap.

Equity: I'd like to discuss increasing the grant to 0.12%, which is more in line with Series B benchmarks for senior IC roles. I see real upside potential at Meridian and want to be aligned with the company's growth in a meaningful way.

PTO: 20 days would match the standard I've maintained in previous roles. It genuinely helps me show up sustainably — and I've found it makes a measurable difference in the quality of my output.

I want to be direct: Meridian is my first choice. I'm not shopping this offer. I just want to make sure we land somewhere that sets us both up for a great long-term relationship.

Looking forward to your response, Alex Rivera

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Rebuttal Prep

Objection 1: "That salary is above our band for this role."

Your response: "I appreciate you sharing that — could you help me understand the band range? The figures I'm referencing reflect current Austin market rates for senior full-stack engineers with healthcare experience, which does tend to carry a premium. If the base is truly fixed, I'm open to revisiting equity, signing, or PTO to arrive at a total comp package that feels competitive."

Objection 2: "We can't move on equity at this stage of the company."

Your response: "That's helpful to know. If equity is fixed, I'd like to revisit the base salary or signing bonus to make sure total comp is competitive. I'm not trying to be difficult — I just want to land somewhere that makes sense for the long run. What flexibility do we have there?"

Objection 3: "We need an answer by end of week — can you decide soon?"

Your response: "Absolutely, I respect the timeline. I just want a brief chance to talk through these points before I sign — it'll take 20 minutes. I can commit to a final answer within 24 hours of that call. Does tomorrow morning work?"

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Non-Salary Wins

Even if base salary is firm, there's real value to capture elsewhere:

• Remote work stipend — $1,500–$2,000 one-time or $100/month home office allowance
• Accelerated equity cliff — Request a 6-month cliff instead of 12, given your seniority
• Title upgrade — "Staff Engineer" or "Senior Engineer II" opens faster comp bands at review time
• Professional development budget — $2,000–$3,000/year for conferences, courses, and certifications
• Earlier performance review — Ask for a 6-month initial review instead of 12-month, with a merit increase on the table
• Flexible start date — A 3-week buffer costs the company nothing and gives you time to transition cleanly