Desk·2026-11-11
Microsoft Redmond cash clears Amazon SLU by $8k
Same software-engineer title. Microsoft prints the Redmond cash year. Amazon prints the South Lake Union book under it by about $8k. Bases sit three thousand apart. Both sit in Seattle.
Microsoft typical $226,000 against $218,000 at Amazon.
AmazonSWE typical
Microsoft typical sits ~1.04× Amazon
Same title. Redmond clears $226k typical on a $158k base. SLU clears $218k on a $155k base.
How to plan it
Sit the Redmond year or the SLU book in Seattle
A 26-year-old planning 2027 should treat Microsoft and Amazon as two next IC seats in Seattle, not one Pacific Northwest band. Microsoft software engineer prints $226k typical on the ledger with a $158k base, sample ninety-one, forty-seven work-email. Amazon prints $218k typical with a $155k base, sample eighty-eight, fifty-eight work-email. The Redmond book leads typical by about $8k. The SLU book leads verified density. Amazon filed a Washington WARN for ninety-five cuts, most in Seattle Stores roles including software engineers, with separations from December. That filing does not reprice these seats. Anthropic launched its IPO roadshow on 10 November targeting $70-78 per share and a listing around 19 November. That roadshow does not reprice these seats either. If you want the slightly higher cash year and can ship systems at Microsoft scale, sit Redmond first. If you want the larger retail and AWS surface and can clear the Amazon loop, sit SLU — but name the mix. Do not treat a $226k Redmond year and a $218k SLU year as the same next seat.
Also: Amazon vs Microsoft · Who pays cash