Ann Arbor Tech Salaries by Level 2026: L3 to Principal

Short answer: at the five large Ann Arbor employers where Levels.fyi has enough self-reported data to form bands, 2026 total compensation looks like this. L3/E3 entry: $120K to $185K. L4/E4 mid: $190K to $295K. L5/E5 senior: $270K to $390K. L6/E6 staff: $380K to $550K. L7/E7+ principal: $500K to $900K, and effectively ceilingless at the top of the range when RSU vintages cooperate.

Those bands cover Google AA, Amazon AA, Cisco/Duo, KLA, and Toyota R&D as of Q1 2026. Every number below is hedged. Levels.fyi snapshots vary week to week. RSU grant valuations move with the stock. Signing bonuses depend on the offer cycle. The core AA salary report has the broader methodology; this page is the finer-grain level breakdown that report defers.

Levels.fyi snapshot window for this piece: data pulled April 2026 covering reports posted January 2025 through April 2026. Reports older than 18 months are excluded from the median math. Where a company has fewer than 8 recent AA-specific self-reports at a given level, the band is marked "thin data" and should be treated as directional.

Reading the level system

Tech leveling is nominally standardized across big tech but actually varies. Here is the rough equivalence used throughout this page:

The correspondence is not exact. Amazon's SDE II commonly maps to both L4 and L5 depending on scope. Cisco's post-Duo grading has drifted since the acquisition. KLA uses internal MT and Staff/Distinguished designations that don't translate cleanly. But the order of magnitude is correct and the comp bands sort roughly as the table suggests.

L3 / Entry

New-grad offers in 2026 Ann Arbor at the FAANG tier cluster around $125K to $135K base plus $25K to $40K signing bonus and a four-year RSU grant in the $90K to $140K range. Enterprise-tier new-grad offers are $100K to $115K base with heavier RSU weighting. Startup-tier new-grad offers are $95K to $110K base with equity grants that range from cosmetic to genuinely meaningful.

Google Ann Arbor L3. Per Levels.fyi AA-specific reports (n=14, Jan 2025 to Apr 2026): median $128K base, $32K signing, $110K first-year stock value. Total first-year comp median $176K. Google AA L3 hires are predominantly UM new grads from CSE or ECE.

Amazon Ann Arbor SDE I. Per Levels.fyi (n=8, thin data): median $115K base, $25K year-1 signing, $25K year-2 signing, 4-year stock grant valued $70K to $110K. First-year total $160K to $180K. Amazon's compensation philosophy caps base earlier than the other FAANGs.

Cisco Duo Grade 8. Per Levels.fyi Cisco AA reports (n=6, thin data): median $112K base, $15K signing, $15K to $25K target bonus, 4-year RSU $60K to $90K. Total first-year $155K to $180K.

KLA MT1/MT2. Per Levels.fyi (n=5, thin data, hedged): median $108K base, $10K signing, 4-year RSU in the $80K to $130K range. KLA has the heaviest first-year RSU grant at entry of any AA employer in the sample. Total first-year $170K to $200K.

Toyota R&D PE2. Per Levels.fyi and Glassdoor aggregate (n=4, very thin, directional only): median $95K base, $10K to $15K signing, 4-year RSU $40K to $80K (Toyota Motor stock). Total first-year $125K to $155K.

Band summary L3 total first-year comp: $120K (Toyota low) to $200K (Google / Amazon / KLA high). Median around $160K.

L4 / Mid-Level (3 to 7 years experience)

The largest cohort of engineers in Ann Arbor, by raw count. Three to seven years of experience, full ownership of a service or feature area, leading projects.

Google Ann Arbor L4. Per Levels.fyi (n=31, substantial data): median $170K base, 16 percent target bonus ($27K at target), 4-year RSU valued at grant $210K to $290K. Total comp median $280K at vesting steady state. Google Ann Arbor applies a locality factor (low single-digit percent reduction from SF base), but the total comp is competitive with any US metro at L4.

Amazon Ann Arbor SDE II. Per Levels.fyi (n=18): median $175K base, $40K to $60K target bonus, 4-year stock grant weighted back-end per Amazon's 5/15/40/40 vesting schedule. Steady-state total comp median $258K. Amazon's own public self-reports frequently cite the ~$252K SDE II total comp Ann Arbor number; Levels.fyi data supports that within a $10K band.

Cisco Duo Grade 9 / Senior Engineer. Per Levels.fyi (n=22): median $148K base, 15 percent target bonus ($22K), 4-year RSU refresh $60K to $100K/year. Total comp median $215K. The Cisco 25-25-25-25 equity vesting is predictable; the refresh cycle is standard.

KLA MT3. Per Levels.fyi (n=11): median $143K base, 12 percent target bonus ($17K), 4-year RSU with heavier mix than Cisco. Total comp median $225K with stock cooperating. KLA stock has outperformed the broader semis ETF over the last three years, so the "cooperating" case has been the base case for most L4 KLA engineers.

Toyota R&D PE3. Per Levels.fyi (n=9): median $130K base, 10 to 15 percent target bonus, 4-year RSU tied to Toyota Motor stock $30K to $80K. Total comp median $178K.

Band summary L4 total comp: $190K (Toyota low) to $295K (Google high). Median around $230K.

L5 / Senior (5 to 10 years experience)

Senior engineers in Ann Arbor clearing meaningful total comp numbers. This is the level most relocations are happening at.

Google Ann Arbor L5. Per Levels.fyi (n=27): median $210K base, 20 percent target bonus ($42K), 4-year RSU at grant $370K to $480K. Steady-state total comp median $345K. Google AA L5 offers routinely clear $320K in the first year with signing bonus.

Amazon Ann Arbor SDE III. Per Levels.fyi (n=15): median $200K base (at or near Amazon's base cap for most levels), $50K to $75K target bonus, 4-year stock grant $300K to $500K. Steady-state total comp median $355K.

Cisco Duo Grade 10 / Principal Engineer (Duo context, not Cisco Distinguished). Per Levels.fyi (n=19): median $195K base, 20 percent target bonus ($39K), 4-year RSU $150K to $250K. Total comp median $270K to $290K.

KLA MT4 / Staff. Per Levels.fyi (n=8): median $195K base, 15 to 20 percent target bonus, 4-year RSU $200K to $350K. Total comp median $305K with stock cooperating. KLA's AI R&D group concentrates staff-level comp at the high end of this range.

Toyota R&D PE4 / Senior. Per Levels.fyi (n=6, hedged): median $170K base, 15 percent target bonus, 4-year RSU $80K to $160K. Total comp median $240K.

Band summary L5 total comp: $240K (Toyota low) to $400K (Google / Amazon high). Median around $310K.

L6 / Staff (8 to 15 years experience)

Staff engineering seats in Ann Arbor are numerically small but individually meaningful. These are the named technical leaders on specific platform investments.

Google Ann Arbor L6 Staff. Per Levels.fyi (n=14): median $255K base, 25 percent target bonus, 4-year RSU at grant $620K to $900K. Steady-state total comp median $490K with stock at median. Total comp commonly clears $530K in vesting-strong quarters.

Amazon Ann Arbor L7 (Principal). Per Levels.fyi (n=8): median $210K base (cap-constrained), $90K to $120K target bonus, 4-year stock grant $600K to $1.1M. Steady-state total comp median $470K.

Cisco Duo Grade 11. Per Levels.fyi (n=11): median $225K base, 25 percent target bonus ($56K), 4-year RSU $300K to $500K. Total comp median $380K.

KLA Distinguished. Per Levels.fyi (n=6, hedged): median $225K base, 20 to 25 percent target bonus, 4-year RSU $400K to $700K. Total comp median $405K to $470K with stock cooperating. Staff-and-above KLA AI R&D seats are among the highest-comp positions in the city outside Google AA L6.

Toyota R&D PE5 / Principal. Per Levels.fyi (n=3, very thin, directional): median $210K base, 18 percent target bonus, 4-year RSU $150K to $300K. Total comp median $310K.

Band summary L6 total comp: $310K (Toyota) to $550K+ (Google / Amazon / KLA high). Median around $440K.

L7+ / Principal (12+ years experience)

Thin data across every employer. Principal-level seats in Ann Arbor are rare, usually named positions attached to specific architectural investments.

Google Ann Arbor L7. Per Levels.fyi (n=5): median $310K base, 30 percent target bonus, 4-year RSU at grant $1M to $1.5M. Steady-state total comp median $680K to $750K with stock cooperating. The top L7 offers in the city can clear $900K in a strong vesting year.

Amazon Ann Arbor L8. Per Levels.fyi (n=2, very thin): total comp reports in the $650K to $850K range. The cap on base ($210K at L7, ~$250K effective at L8 with specific role adjustments) means almost all of the L8 comp is stock.

Cisco Duo Distinguished Engineer. Per Levels.fyi (n=4): median $265K base, 30 percent target bonus, 4-year RSU $500K to $900K. Total comp median $500K to $600K.

KLA Fellow. Per Levels.fyi (n=2, very thin): reported total comp $550K to $750K. KLA Fellow designation is rare and the compensation reflects that.

Toyota R&D PE6 / Fellow. Per Levels.fyi (n=1, insufficient for band, directional only): total comp approximately $350K to $420K based on a single recent report cross-referenced with Toyota Technical Center norms. Toyota's senior technical track is explicitly less compensated than Detroit-OEM equivalents at the principal level, a pattern reflected in the career arc of several senior Toyota technical leaders in the region.

Band summary L7+ total comp: $350K (Toyota low) to $900K+ (Google high). Median around $620K at the bigger tech employers.

What the bands actually imply

Three observations drop out of the data.

One, Ann Arbor's FAANG-tier bands are competitive with any US metro outside the Bay Area at L4 through L7. Google Ann Arbor L5 total comp at ~$345K median lands between Seattle ($360K median) and Denver ($320K median). Amazon Ann Arbor SDE III at ~$355K total comp is in the same band as Seattle and Austin. Cost-adjusted, the Ann Arbor comp is the single best FAANG deal in the US for a mid-to-senior engineer because housing is roughly half the Bay Area cost and comp is 85 to 90 percent of it.

Two, KLA's AI R&D group is the under-the-radar top-of-market AA employer at staff and above. The RSU component at KLA, combined with the stock's performance since the AI chip cycle began, has pushed effective L6 and L7 comp to the upper end of the sample. If you are an AI systems engineer at the staff level and the KLA offer lands, run the math twice.

Three, Toyota R&D's compensation trails the other four employers at every level in the sample. The bands are real: Toyota engineers at every level are making 15 to 30 percent less total comp than their peers at Google, Amazon, Cisco/Duo, and KLA. The offset is the work itself (long-horizon vehicle systems, advanced materials, hardware-software integration) and the meaningfully longer tenure Toyota engineers typically post. Toyota R&D engineers at 10+ years of tenure are common; FAANG engineers at 10+ years of tenure at the same employer are rare. The comp gap narrows over a career for the small set of engineers who actually stay.

Startup-tier comp at the same levels, for comparison

The startup-tier comp bands are substantially lower on cash and higher on theoretical equity value. Rough 2026 mid-level and senior at named AA Series B-plus startups:

• Voxel51, Censys mid-level: $140K to $160K base, $15K to $25K target bonus, equity grants worth $40K to $120K per year on paper depending on the stage and dilution.
• Voxel51, Censys senior: $175K to $205K base, $25K to $45K target bonus, equity grants $80K to $250K per year on paper.
• May Mobility mid-level: $135K to $150K base, 10 to 15 percent bonus, equity grants tied to commercial AV deployments.
• May Mobility senior: $170K to $195K base, equity grants meaningful but realization timeline tied to AV unit economics.

The paper equity number at startups is, honestly, worth 20 to 40 percent of its stated face value when you weight exit probability, dilution, and preferred stack. The core salary report has the expected-value math.

Data caveats

Levels.fyi snapshot date: April 2026. Reports used are January 2025 through April 2026.

Sample size warnings: any band marked "thin data" (n < 8) is directional. Principal-level bands across every employer except Google AA are thin data. Treat with caution.

RSU valuation method: grant-date value divided by four-year vesting period, plus steady-state refresh assumption. Real comp varies substantially with stock price movement. Google AA comp math assumes GOOGL stock at April 2026 levels; if the stock moves 20 percent in either direction before your RSU grant, your total comp moves roughly half that.

Startups not included in the main bands: Levels.fyi data at AA startups is too thin to form defensible medians. The startup-tier comparison section above uses company-specific offer data shared off the record, cross-referenced with Glassdoor aggregates, not Levels.fyi medians.

Bonus vs. base: Cisco, KLA, and Toyota all use meaningful base-plus-bonus structures with 10 to 25 percent target bonuses. Most employees hit close to target in most years. FAANG RSU-heavy comp structures do not replace bonus so much as subsume it into equity.

Signing bonuses: typically 15 to 30 percent of first-year base at the FAANG tier, 10 to 15 percent at Cisco and KLA, smaller at Toyota and at most startups. Signing bonuses are one-time, not recurring, and should not be included in steady-state total comp.

How to use this data in a negotiation

If you're sitting with an AA offer in hand, three useful exercises.

One: compare the offer total comp (base + bonus + 4-year stock / 4) against the band median at your level. If you are below median with 5+ years of experience, the recruiter has room. Push on the equity component, which is the easiest line to move.

Two: ask the recruiter for the compensation band for your level and level-up. "What are the top of L4 and bottom of L5 total comp ranges for this role?" is a normal question. Most FAANG recruiters will share. Cisco recruiters will share bands more selectively.

Three: verify the grant share count, not just the grant value. A $300K RSU grant at Google is 1,500 shares at $200. If GOOGL drops to $170 in the six weeks between offer and signing, your grant value has moved to $255K. Real comp is tied to share count. Ask the recruiter for the share count and do the math at several share prices.

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FAQ

What is an L5 software engineer at Google Ann Arbor's total compensation in 2026? Per Levels.fyi reports posted January 2025 through April 2026 (n=27), the median total compensation is approximately $345K per year. Base median is $210K, target bonus 20 percent ($42K), 4-year RSU grant $370K to $480K at grant-date value.

How much do Cisco Duo senior engineers make in Ann Arbor? Grade 10 / Duo principal-context engineers have a Levels.fyi AA-specific median (n=19) of approximately $195K base, 20 percent target bonus ($39K), and 4-year RSU of $150K to $250K at grant. Total comp median $270K to $290K.

Does KLA Ann Arbor pay competitively at staff level? Yes, and arguably at the top of the AA market in some vintages. KLA Distinguished-level total comp median (n=6) is around $405K to $470K with stock cooperating. KLA stock has outperformed the semis index meaningfully over the past three years, so realized comp has been at or above the upper band for most staff-level engineers.

What's the Levels.fyi snapshot date for these numbers? April 2026. Reports used cover submissions from January 2025 through April 2026. Older reports are excluded to avoid stale comp data contaminating the bands.

Why is Toyota R&D compensation lower than the other four employers? Toyota R&D pays 15 to 30 percent less total comp at every level than Google, Amazon, Cisco, and KLA based on the Levels.fyi sample. The offset is the nature of the work (long-horizon vehicle systems, advanced materials) and the substantially longer tenure Toyota engineers typically post. A Toyota R&D engineer at 10 or 15 years of tenure is common; that is rare at the other four employers and changes the career-arc comp math.