Microsoft’s internal pay guidelines for 2025 have been leaked, revealing salary, signing bonus, and stock award ranges for roles from entry-level engineers to top technical leaders. The data, last updated in May and used by recruiters for global job offers, provides rare transparency into compensation at one of the world’s biggest technology employers amid a fierce battle for AI talent and a competitive tech labor market.
Microsoft’s pay system is organized by “levels,” each denoting increasing seniority and responsibility. New hires typically start at levels 57–59, with senior and principal engineers at levels 63 and above. Each level comes with defined “main” pay and “high” pay bands accounting for cost-of-living differences, especially in expensive tech hubs like San Francisco and New York.
Employees in high-cost-of-living areas like San Francisco are on the “high” pay scale, with up to 20% or more higher salary and stock awards than the Redmond “main” scale. AI, applied science, and infrastructure roles receive premium offers driven by market demand.
The gap between new hires and high-ranking technical leaders at the same company spans more than $300,000 in base salary alone. AI talent and highly skilled roles can receive custom-tailored pay significantly above band maximums during negotiation.
Microsoft’s pay transparency comes amid record demand for tech talent, especially in AI and cloud roles, and direct competition with peers such as Amazon, Meta, and Google. While Microsoft has raised compensation budgets for critical areas, 2025 also brought a freeze on annual raises and reductions to some stock bonus pools, aligning with broader tech sector cost control efforts.
Microsoft’s internal pay guide removes some mystery from tech compensation offering job seekers, recruiters, and industry analysts a rare, level-by-level map of what the software giant pays in today’s market.
