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    Cruise Salary Negotiation Guide

    Do we like negotiating with Cruise?

    Cruise is open to negotiating, and they are usually one of the better-paying companies in the industry. In addition to that, Cruise's compensation ranges can be pretty fluid. This can be a double-edged sword as it means that you can start your new role with a salary gap vs. peers if you don't negotiate properly.

    Cruise's compensation structure

    • Base Salary
    • Cruise Equity Package (see Cruise rsu vesting schedule below)
    • Cruise Signing Bonus (not included in every Cruise offer package)
    • Performance Bonus (varies by level)
    • Stock Refreshers

    Cruise has rolled out a new equity program that helps provide employees the opportunity to sell RSUs before IPO. It is called the Cruise Recurring Liquidity Opportunity (RLO). The program allows employees to sell any amount of vested equity each quarter. In the past, private companies like TikTok have offered something similar but typically less frequent intervals and at lower share prices vs. the true value. It sounds like Cruise's intent is to assess the true value as accurately as possible, but we'll have to wait and see.

    Cruise performance bonus targets

    Cruise's annual bonuses are quite high compared to other companies. Some target numbers for software engineering positions are listed below.

    • L3 - 20%
    • L4 - 30%
    • L5 – 30%
    • L6 – 40%
    • L7 – 50%
    • L8 – 50%

    Cruise's approach to remote pay

    Cruise doesn't have a company-wide approach to remote work. They let the manager and the employee decide what's best in a particular situation. You can learn more from their blog regarding their philosophy on remote work. With that being said, Cruise remote salary and equity will be discounted on the basis of location, which is still normal in the industry. Only a few companies (e.g. Bolt) don't discount based on where you choose to work/live within the US.

    Cruise's relocation package

    Cruise helps with relocation packages when you are required to move and the package is pretty strong (typically $15k + additional benefits for junior/mid-level employees). You should of course expect a higher $ figure for more senior roles. Corporate housing is another important piece and you should push for 2 months vs 1 month.

    Most negotiable component

    As is the case at many tech companies, the most negotiable component is equity. However, one interesting thing to note is that at Cruise base salary has more room for negotiation than at other tech companies.

    Does Cruise require written offers?

    Cruise does not require written offers in most cases, but they will ask for other details like the level and location of the offer. In unique cases (e.g., if you quote extraordinarily high numbers), they might ask to see a written offer. However, this can be deflected if you prepare correctly.

    Will Cruise go above band if I have a strong competing offer?

    It will require more than just a strong competing offer. You will also have to play your hand perfectly during the negotiation + crush the interviews to get an above band offer. All that said, it is possible at Cruise unlike some other companies which only go above band for L7+ leadership positions.

    Is my hiring manager relationship important at Cruise?

    Your hiring manager can play a role in your negotiation at Cruise. You should focus on building a solid relationship with them by discussing projects and the team - your goal is to have them be very excited for you to join. This will increase the odds that they support your recruiter in securing the top of band or above band compensation.

    What does the hiring process look like at Cruise?

    The eng hiring process at Cruise typically has four stages: recruiter/HM screen, technical phone interview, virtual onsite, and lastly, the offer stage (if you reach this point, this is where your Cruise salary negotiation process will begin).

    Does Cruise pay well compared to Waymo?

    Cruise pays a lot more compared to Waymo. For instance, let's consider a L5 Cruise software engineer's salary vs. L5 at Waymo. L5 top of band comp is about $500k per year (base, RSU, performance bonus, signing bonus / 4) at Cruise, but at Waymo, it is only $400k.

    What kind of benefits does Cruise offer?

    While negotiating at Cruise, the focus should always be on the main components like base pay, equity, and Cruise sign on bonus. Cruise does have an unlimited PTO policy which has its pros and cons. Generally, Cruise managers are pretty good about not shaming people for taking time off. It's certainly better than Amazon's 2 week PTO but not materially better than 4/5 weeks off at Google. Other than that, you can expect the standard tech benefits as part of your offer. These are not really negotiable, and it also doesn't usually work to point to another company's benefits as justification for higher compensation - the more optimal strategy is comparing monetary components to monetary components.

    Cruise Equity Vesting Schedule

    Year 1
    25%
    Year 2
    25%
    Year 3
    25%
    Year 4
    25%

    Cruise Levels

    Cruise Level

    L3

    L4

    L5

    L6

    L7

    L8

    L9

    =

    Equivalent Level at Google

    L3

    L4

    L5

    L6

    L7

    L8

    L9

    Our Clients Love Rora

    Coming from a non-FAANG background, I was shocked to find out how much I could be earning. Before I signed up with Rora, I made the mistake of telling Amazon my current compensation. Thankfully, Rora knew exactly how to fix it and ended up getting me an offer that was 2.3X what I previously made and more than $600K higher than Amazon’s initial offer!

    Through several weeks of interviews, Ganesh was always available to make sure I knew what to say for each conversation. I interviewed with start ups, Google, Facebook and Amazon and was really impressed that Rora knew the comp ranges and were able to give me tailored advice for each – even the start ups.

    There ended up being two particularly complex moments in my negotiation. One of the start-ups I had a personal relationship with and I wasn’t sure how it would affect the negotiation. I like that there was a focus on my individual circumstances and that they were leveraged to get me a higher offer. The other situation is that Amazon made a mistake on my written offer and initially wouldn’t rectify it. Ganesh was able to guide me through a challenging conversation to get it resolved.

    Steve Commisso
    L7 Principal Software Engineer, Amazon

    Maximize your Cruise Offer

    Cruise

    has a unique set of negotiation policies. If you don’t have experience negotiating with them, you risk losing out on large amounts of money because of very small mistakes.

    There are many of these rules you need to know to get the highest

    Cruise

     offer possible

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