TikTok has been in the news a lot lately. Trump approved a TikTok deal through executive order, with Vance saying the U.S. business is valued at $14 billion. Under the deal’s terms (still awaiting China’s approval), a new joint-venture company will oversee TikTok’s U.S. operations while ByteDance holds less than 20% of the stock. Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX Investment Fund will be the main investors, collectively controlling about 45%.
Technically, TikTok is owned by ByteDance, the parent company.
Today I’m breaking down two recent ByteDance offers for technical roles (software engineers, data scientists, etc.), and how they compare to FAANG equivalents.
ByteDance Leveling vs. FAANG
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ByteDance 2-1 ≈ Amazon L5 (SDE2), Google L4, Meta E4
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ByteDance 2-2 ≈ Amazon L6, Google L5, Meta E5
ByteDance 2-1 Offer
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Base Salary: $190K
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Annual Bonus: 25% target
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RSUs: $100K over 4 years (25%/year)
Assumptions:
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100% bonus payout each year
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10% RSU appreciation annually (valued at end of each year)
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3% annual base raise
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No promotions
| Year | Base + Bonus | RSUs (w/ growth) | Total Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $237,500 | $27,500 | $265,000 |
| 2 | $244,125 | $30,750 | $274,875 |
| 3 | $251,449 | $33,790 | $285,239 |
| 4 | $259,388 | $36,738 | $296,126 |
ByteDance 2-2 Offer
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Base Salary: $260K
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Annual Bonus: 25% target
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RSUs: $300K over 4 years (25%/year)
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Sign-on Bonus: $30K
Assumptions:
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100% bonus payout each year
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10% RSU appreciation annually (valued at end of each year)
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3% annual base raise
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No promotions
| Year | Base + Bonus | RSUs (w/ growth) | Sign-on | Total Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $325,000 | $82,500 | $30,000 | $437,500 |
| 2 | $334,750 | $90,750 | — | $425,500 |
| 3 | $344,793 | $99,825 | — | $444,618 |
| 4 | $355,137 | $109,806 | — | $464,944 |
Observations
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ByteDance USA pays on par with FAANG+. Both 2-1 and 2-2 packages are very competitive in today’s market.
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Larry Ellison and his son David Ellison also own Skydance, which just acquired Paramount. It will be fascinating to see how the Ellisons’ media empire shapes competition with YouTube and Netflix — while also backing TikTok.
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The new joint-venture deal helps remove much of the uncertainty around TikTok’s U.S. operations. If you’ve been hesitant to interview or accept an offer, now may be a safer time to consider it.
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