Apple Technical Program Manager Salary

• Apple base salary:

  Apple’s base salary bands are slightly lower than top-paying companies like Amazon and Meta. Their payment cycle and other base salary details are all standard.

• Apple equity (RSUs):

  Apple RSUs vest - meaning you receive shares evenly (25% a year) over a 4-year period. These shares will be distributed every 6 months (slower than the industry standard of 3 months). The actual number of shares you receive will be calculated by dividing the dollar value of RSUs you receive upon receiving your offer by a "share value." The share value is the closing price on the grant day (the 15th of the month after you join).

• Apple signing bonus:

  Apple can offer large signing bonuses. The standard is for the signing bonus to be paid for year 1 only, but there are some scenarios where it will be split over 2 years. Sign-on bonuses at Apple are paid within 30 days of your start date, although they reserve the right to clawback part of it if you leave within 12 months.

• Apple performance bonus:

  Apple performance bonus targets are smaller than most big tech companies and less "guaranteed." Recruiters will quote a wide range of numbers that aren't reliable and this is made worse because Apple doesn't actually list target numbers in the offer letter (unlike Google and Facebook). Each level has a different bonus target, which you will see listed below, and these are non-negotiable.

• Apple stock refreshers:

  Apple is known to have one of the best stock refresher packages in the industry. However, in typical Apple fashion, they often avoid sharing target numbers. That said, employees with good reviews should expect more than 25% of their initial grant as a refresher grant each year (though this does vary by team). Refreshers are typically given in October and also vest over 4 years. Note - you are only eligible for a full refresher in your first year of employment if you join Apple before April of that year, otherwise you’ll be granted one for the next year. Refreshers are non-negotiable at Apple.

Note: This post is focused on Technical Program Manager (TPM) roles - although, at Apple, there can be some overlap between TPM and EPM (Engineering Program Manager) roles.

In general, TPMs at Apple are very technical and work to design equipment to manufacture products whereas EPMs are more of a cross-functional role and communicate more with leadership. Engineering Program Manager is an entirely different pay band, although this may overlap with TPM for software or AI/ML teams.

Lastly, leveling is critical to understanding compensation bands. If you aren't familiar with Apple levels (which are quite unique), skip to the bottom to read this.