Compensation

Compensation for each role is a combination of salary, equity, and benefits.

Salary

The salary for a role is determined using market data from Option Impact that takes into account the stage of our company (Seed Funding Only), the industry we’re in (Enterprise), and the level of the role (Junior, Intermediate, Senior, etc).

Where you work from is also a factor. We aim to pay highly competitively (at the top or above market) everywhere by dividing the world up into a limited number of regions, and using this same market data to determine a salary that is competitive in the entire region.

Specifically, we determine the lower and upper bounds for regional salaries by taking the top-of-the-market (75th-90th percentile) salaries for the role in San Francisco, and multiplying them with a region-specific factor that is determined by comparing the SF salaries with salaries in the region’s major cities (that represent its top-of-the-market).

For roles at the Head/Director level and up, we pay US salaries regardless of the region, as the top-of-the-market talent pool at these levels is relatively small and as a result regional differences in salary are as well.

Periodic Compensation Refresh and Realignment

Meltano believes in paying every team member fairly, and we aim to keep our salaries competitive even beyond each individual’s hire date. At specific company milestones and at minimum once every 12 months, Meltano performs a company-wide compensation refresh. Each individual’s compensation will be checked against the above-mentioned market data in order to recalculate the updated target salary range. As a part of the periodic realignment, each team member’s annual salary will be raised as appropriate, in order to reflect the latest target salary ranges.

Important Notes:

• Market rate calculations do take into account Meltano’s maturity level as a startup, which means target salaries may sometimes increase as a result of important funding milestones and/or factors such as age and size of the company.
• For non-US team members, changes in international exchange rates are also considered when recalculating each team member’s target salary range.
• As a general rule, we will only increase and not decrease any compensation as a result of this periodic compensation refresh.

Moving

Meltano wants to afford its employees the ability to live wherever they wish. Generally moving within the same country is not a problem. But, there are legal implications to an employee moving. This includes Meltano having to register as an employer in whatever jurisdiction its employees live. Because of this, employees must ask for and receive permission in order to move between countries or between US states.

Equity

As an early-stage company, we expect every team member to have a huge impact on our success. We want to make sure that everyone has a financial stake in the success and that contributions are rewarded.

The equity (stock options) for a given role and level is determined using the same market data used for the salary, but there is no difference between regions and the San Francisco benchmark is used wherever you are based.

Specifically, we divide the 75th percentile Gross Equity Value by the latest valuation of the company to determine the appropriate ownership percentage, which is then multiplied by the total number of shares to determine the number of options to be granted.

Stock options vest monthly over 4 years, with a 1-year cliff. Early exercise is generally allowed in countries where this has potential tax benefits and is permitted by local regulations. Currently, early exercise is available to Meltano employees in the US and UK. Employees living in other countries who wish to early exercise can ask and Meltano will investigate whether this option can be made available in their country.

Bonuses

Discretionary Bonuses for Individuals

• There will be times where a team member goes “above the call of duty” and exemplifies our values in a way that the leadership recognizes as extraordinary. We want to highlight these achievements to others and to acknowledge these contributions with special recognition in the form of a discretionary bonus.
• Anyone can nominate any full-time team member who is not on the leadership team for a discretionary bonus.
• Bonuses are awarded as a dinner of up to $150.
• There is no limit to the frequency with which someone can receive a bonus but they cannot receive more than one for the same activity/project or for the same reasons.
• Only team members in good standing with the company are eligible for discretionary bonuses (I.E. not currently undergoing a performance improvement plan).

Process to Nominate Someone for a Bonus

• Identify a team member who has truly gone above and beyond what is expected of them as it relates to one of the company values.
• Contact the team member’s manager with the nomination information:
  • The name of team member
  • The specifics of why you are nominating them.
• The manager will bring the nomination to the leadership team.
• Once approved, the manager will let the team member know in their 1:1 and announce in Slack (internal-chatter).
• The manager must also add the detail to the Bonus Sheet so the bonus can be given.
• The team member will expense the bonus and operations will handle reimbursement via the expense reporting system.

Benefits

See the page on Benefits.