How a $670,000 Stripe offer got this ML infrastructure leader above Figma's normal comp ceiling

Aki came to us after being laid off. His specialism was ML infrastructure, and his big doubt was whether anyone else could really market a niche that specific for him.

In two months we landed him 13 interviews and a $670,000 offer at Stripe. He used that offer to negotiate with Figma, who went above their regular compensation band, and he accepted a Principal AI Engineer role worth $855,000 in total compensation.

Being straight about what we did and what we did not

It is worth being plain here, because it is the most interesting thing about the story. Aki found the Figma role himself, through references. What our search gave him was the leverage: a competing offer at Stripe big enough to move Figma off its normal ceiling.

“Wolf has been a fantastic support regardless, and it did land me really good offers that I would have accepted if not for the Figma offer.”

He also says he would happily have taken the Stripe offer, and that other live pipelines only got cut short because Figma closed first:

“If there was no Figma at that point, those would have also continued on.”

Why he signed despite the scepticism

“They went over all the data of success and all the metrics, the process, testimonials, and the whole thing about the guarantee of landing an offer that I like. Just looking at the track record, it definitely induced a lot of confidence, in addition to my own research.”

And how he weighed the fee, having just been laid off:

“For me the 8,000 was definitely worth it if it would help me land something that I like, because I was laid off. It was not a huge number compared to what the outside could be.”

The search in numbers

• 13 interviews in 2 months
• A $670,000 offer at Stripe, used as negotiating leverage
• $855,000 total compensation at Figma, above their regular band
• Level: Manager and Principal. Function: AI and Machine Learning