π Executive Summary
High-level findings for Zenith Dynamics Corp. β 2,847 employees across 12 states
P47
Market Position
β 3% below P50
214
Flight Risk
7.5% of org
Key Findings
π΄ Engineering IC4-IC5 is 14% below market β losing talent to FAANG
π΄ 38 managers earn less than their direct reports
π‘ California (62% of org) paid 8% below state market
π’ Sales comp at P58 β healthy, competitive positioning
ποΈ Job Architecture
Career framework and level distribution
INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTOR MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE
IC1 β Entry/Associate M1 β Team Lead E1 β VP
IC2 β Intermediate M2 β Manager E2 β SVP
IC3 β Senior M3 β Sr. Manager E3 β C-Suite
IC4 β Staff M4 β Director
IC5 β Principal M5 β Sr. Director
IC6 β Distinguished
π° Pay Grades
Recommended salary structure β 14 grades, three tracks
| Grade | Level | Track | Min | Mid | Max | Spread | Market P50 | HC |
|---|
| G01 | IC1 | IC | $52,000 | $62,000 | $74,000 | 42% | $60,500 | 186 |
| G02 | IC2 | IC | $68,000 | $82,000 | $98,000 | 44% | $80,200 | 412 |
| G03 | IC3 | IC | $90,000 | $112,000 | $136,000 | 51% | $110,000 | 524 |
| G04 | IC4 | IC | $125,000 | $158,000 | $192,000 | 54% | $155,000 | 389 |
| G05 | IC5 | IC | $170,000 | $210,000 | $255,000 | 50% | $205,000 | 142 |
| G06 | IC6 | IC | $220,000 | $275,000 | $340,000 | 55% | $268,000 | 28 |
| M01 | M1 | Mgmt | $95,000 | $118,000 | $142,000 | 49% | $115,000 | 198 |
| M02 | M2 | Mgmt | $125,000 | $155,000 | $188,000 | 50% | $152,000 | 287 |
| M03 | M3 | Mgmt | $155,000 | $195,000 | $240,000 | 55% | $190,000 | 156 |
| M04 | M4 | Mgmt | $190,000 | $242,000 | $300,000 | 58% | $238,000 | 98 |
| M05 | M5 | Mgmt | $230,000 | $295,000 | $370,000 | 61% | $288,000 | 42 |
| E01 | E1 | Exec | $280,000 | $360,000 | $460,000 | 64% | $350,000 | 24 |
| E02 | E2 | Exec | $380,000 | $485,000 | $620,000 | 63% | $475,000 | 8 |
| E03 | E3 | Exec | $500,000 | $680,000 | $950,000 | 90% | $650,000 | 3 |
π Compensation Benchmarking
Market position by job family β GICS: Information Technology (SaaS)
| Job Family | Company Avg | Market P50 | Position | Gap | HC | Payroll Gap |
|---|
| Engineering | $162,400 | $175,000 | P42 | -7.2% | 892 | -$11.2M |
| Product | $155,800 | $160,000 | P47 | -2.6% | 312 | -$1.3M |
| Sales | $138,500 | $132,000 | P58 | +4.9% | 428 | +$2.8M |
| Design | $142,100 | $145,000 | P48 | -2.0% | 186 | -$0.5M |
| Marketing | $118,300 | $122,000 | P45 | -3.0% | 215 | -$0.8M |
| G&A | $92,400 | $95,000 | P46 | -2.7% | 548 | -$1.4M |
| Data & Analytics | $158,000 | $162,000 | P47 | -2.5% | 266 | -$1.1M |
πΊοΈ Geographic Analysis
Location-adjusted benchmarking β BLS/ERI differentials applied
| State | HC | Avg (Aged) | Geo Factor | Market Expected | Gap |
|---|
| California | 1,764 | $148,200 | 1.18x | $162,500 | -8.8% |
| New York | 312 | $142,800 | 1.15x | $155,200 | -8.0% |
| Texas | 286 | $118,600 | 1.00x | $115,000 | +3.1% |
| Washington | 198 | $152,400 | 1.12x | $148,800 | +2.4% |
| Colorado | 142 | $128,600 | 1.07x | $130,500 | -1.5% |
| Massachusetts | 87 | $138,200 | 1.13x | $142,800 | -3.2% |
| Remote | 58 | $145,800 | 1.05x | $140,000 | +4.1% |
β οΈ California (62% of workforce) and New York (11%) are significantly below location-adjusted market rates. Combined gap: $14.2M annually.
π¨ Flight Risk Analysis
214 employees (7.5%) below their grade minimum β estimated $4.2M adjustment needed
| Level | HC at Risk | Avg Gap | Total Budget | Priority |
|---|
| IC4 (Staff) | 62 | -$18,400 | $1,141K | CRITICAL |
| IC3 (Senior) | 48 | -$12,200 | $586K | HIGH |
| IC5 (Principal) | 28 | -$22,600 | $633K | CRITICAL |
| M2 (Manager) | 34 | -$15,800 | $537K | HIGH |
| M4 (Director) | 18 | -$28,200 | $508K | MEDIUM |
| Other levels | 24 | -$11,500 | $795K | MEDIUM |
β‘ Compression Analysis
38 cases where individual contributors earn more than their managers
| Manager Level | Mgr Avg | IC Level | IC Avg | Gap | Cases |
|---|
| M2 (Manager) | $155,000 | IC4 (Staff) | $162,400 | +$7,400 | 18 |
| M3 (Sr. Manager) | $195,000 | IC5 (Principal) | $210,000 | +$15,000 | 12 |
| M1 (Team Lead) | $118,000 | IC3 (Senior) | $125,000 | +$7,000 | 8 |
π‘ Root cause: Technical IC track inflated faster than management track (4.2% vs 3.3% annual growth). Recommendation: introduce management differential policy (managers must earn β₯10% more than highest-paid report).
π― Peer Group Intelligence
Head-to-head comparison vs. 5 named competitors β real ATS data, updated daily
Selected Peers: Datadog, HubSpot, Twilio, Cloudflare, MongoDB
Data from live ATS endpoints β Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby | Scraped March 2026
Software Engineer (IC3-IC4) β Salary Comparison
Hiring Velocity (last 30 days)
| Company | Open Roles | Ξ vs Last Month | Top Hiring Dept | Avg Posted Salary |
|---|
| Zenith (You) | 142 | +18% | Engineering | $158,000 |
| Datadog | 287 | +24% | Engineering | $185,000 |
| HubSpot | 198 | -12% | Sales | $145,000 |
| Twilio | 89 | -31% | Product | $172,000 |
| Cloudflare | 156 | +8% | Engineering | $178,000 |
| MongoDB | 214 | +15% | Sales | $165,000 |
β οΈ Datadog is posting engineering roles at $185K avg β 17% above your current IC4 range. Twilio is contracting (-31% open roles) β potential talent pool opportunity.
βοΈ Pay Equity Snapshot
High-level equity analysis β demographic deep-dive available as add-on
By Job Category
| Category | HC | Avg | Median |
|---|
| Technical | 1,654 | $158,200 | $148,000 |
| Non-Technical | 1,193 | $108,400 | $95,000 |
By Tenure
| Tenure | HC | Avg | vs. New Hire |
|---|
| 0-2 years | 892 | $142,000 | baseline |
| 2-5 years | 1,124 | $138,500 | -2.5% |
| 5+ years | 831 | $131,200 | -7.6% |
π΄ Tenure inversion: 5+ year employees earn 7.6% less than new hires at the same level. This is the #1 driver of attrition in tech. Recommended: tenure-based adjustment program.
π Recommendations
Prioritized action plan based on analysis
π΄ Immediate (0-30 days)
1. Fund $4.2M adjustment budget β bring 214 below-grade employees to grade minimums. Prioritize IC4-IC5 Engineers ($1.8M).
2. Resolve 38 compression cases β implement 10% manager differential policy.
π‘ Short-term (30-90 days)
3. Implement 14-grade pay structure β formalize ranges, publish to managers.
4. California/NY geo adjustment β $14.2M gap, phase over 18 months.
5. Title rationalization β consolidate 342 β ~95 standardized titles.
π Strategic (90+ days)
6. Tenure equity program β close the 7.6% new-hire premium gap.
7. Subscribe to TSAG Continuous Monitor β monthly refresh, competitor alerts.