Engineer compensation
Exalynt pays engineers for the capacity they fulfill. You tell Exalynt your availability, Exalynt assigns capacity within it (details), and the payout for each block is known before you start. It's the same for every engineer, at every level, and doesn't depend on which client bought the block or who operates that client's software. On top of your own blocks, you earn team support on the blocks your teammates fulfill in weeks you're available. Operating products in production is paid separately (details).
How a payout is calculated
Engineer payout = Capacity Payout Basis × Engineer Share
- Capacity Payout Basis is Exalynt's compensation value for the Flex, Core, or Dedicated block you fulfill: its capacity units × $1,750. It is the same for every engineer, wherever they live, and it is not the client's price. The Capacity Payout Basis explains what it is and how it's set.
- Engineer Share is 60%. It is the same for every engineer, at every level, and for every block size.
- Engineer payout is the amount due for assigned capacity when that capacity is fulfilled, subject to the terms of the engineer's written agreement.
Your engineer payout is one of a block's Capacity Payout Allocations: shares of the block's Capacity Payout Basis, each earned when the block is fulfilled, not when the client buys it. Every block also carries team support for your available teammates and a Team Lead payout for the Team Lead of your Engineering Team, and may carry partnership earnings for the partnership that introduced the client. Each is worked out from the basis separately, so none reduces yours (details).
A block's payout covers both of its responsibilities: focused work on the client's needs and ordinary shared engineering contribution, such as reviews, pairing, mentoring, and improving shared practices (details). Shared contribution is paid work within the model, not unpaid work on top of your commitments. Substantial shared work is coordinated through assignments under these policies.
| Block | Units | Capacity Payout Basis | Engineer payout (60% of basis) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flex | 1 | $1,750 | $1,050 |
| Core | 2 | $3,500 | $2,100 |
| Dedicated | 4 | $7,000 | $4,200 |
There are no pay bands. Your level reflects the kinds of problems you have the experience to lead, and decides which work suits you, but it doesn't change your share: an Associate and a Principal each earn $4,200 for a Dedicated block. Growing into harder problems is how you take on more of the work that matters, not how a block pays more.
Team support
Team support = Capacity Payout Basis × Team Support Share, for each available teammate
Your Engineering Team helps you fulfill your blocks, and you help them fulfill theirs. Team support pays for it:
- Each block pays every available teammate. When an engineer fulfills a block, each of their available teammates earns 3% of its Capacity Payout Basis. Available teammates are the members of their team with some availability that week, other than the Team Lead and the engineer who fulfilled it.
- More teammates means more team support, not a smaller cut. Each teammate gets the same share, so a block pays team support to each one. A team has 2 to 6 engineers including its lead, so a block has up to 4 available teammates.
- It's paid by availability, not tracked per block. Nobody logs which reviews they gave or claims team support for them. The expectation is that available teammates review, pair, and share context when the team needs it (details).
- It doesn't reduce the engineer payout. Like every Capacity Payout Allocation, it's worked out from the basis on its own and earned when the block is fulfilled. Exalynt pays it out of what it would otherwise retain.
- The Team Lead doesn't earn it. The lead earns the Team Lead payout on every block the team fulfills instead.
What one available teammate earns from each block:
| Block | Capacity Payout Basis | Team support per teammate (3% of basis) |
|---|---|---|
| Flex | $1,750 | $52.50 |
| Core | $3,500 | $105 |
| Dedicated | $7,000 | $210 |
For example, an engineer fulfills a Dedicated block in a week when 3 of their teammates are available. They earn $4,200. The Team Lead earns the Team Lead payout, and each of the 3 available teammates earns $210.
Payout calculator
$7,000 basis × 60% share = $4,200 per Dedicated block
Gross contractor payout in U.S. dollars, before taxes, insurance, benefits, equipment, time off, and time between assignments. Doesn't include team support earned on teammates' blocks. Exalynt does not guarantee a number of blocks.
Location-independent compensation
Every Exalynt engineer receives the same Capacity Payout Basis and Engineer Share regardless of where they live. We pay for the contribution and responsibility we expect, not for the cost of living in an engineer's location. There is one basis for each block size, and it applies to everyone.
For example, an engineer fulfilling a Dedicated block receives $4,200 ($7,000 × 60%), wherever that engineer lives. Moving to a new city or country doesn't change it.
Market-informed, not market-determined
We still pay attention to software engineering compensation markets. Market data helps us answer questions about Exalynt's compensation as a whole:
- Is it competitive enough to attract excellent engineers?
- Is it fair for the responsibility we expect?
- Is it sustainable for both engineers and Exalynt?
- Does it need to change over time?
Market data is one signal among several. Exalynt sets its bases and shares by weighing it alongside the responsibility we expect, client pricing, the economics of capacity, contractor risk and flexibility, and the company's sustainability. That doesn't mean every engineer is entitled to the highest software engineering pay available anywhere in the world. It means that once Exalynt sets the payout, it applies equally to every engineer.
In short, we use market information to evaluate our compensation levels as a company. We do not use an engineer's geographic labor market to determine that individual's payout. If Exalynt decides compensation should change, the change applies to the basis or the share for everyone, not only to engineers in a particular place. Changes apply to future assignments, not capacity already assigned.
Why we don't adjust pay by location
Many companies adjust pay by location, and it can be a reasonable choice. We've chosen a different model for a few reasons:
- Equal responsibility, equal payout. Every engineer owns their blocks end to end. Location alone shouldn't make their payout differ.
- Simplicity. There are no market tiers, cost-of-living calculations, country multipliers, reclassifications, or questions about which market someone belongs to.
- Transparency. You can work out your payout from the capacity you fulfill, your teammates' blocks in weeks you're available, and any explicitly documented rules that apply to you, such as the Team Lead payout.
- Mobility. Where you live is your decision. Moving doesn't make the same contribution more or less valuable to Exalynt.
- Internal fairness. We're paying for contribution and responsibility, not looking for the lowest labor cost available in a particular place.
Why client prices are separate
These are Exalynt's current client prices for one block, shown for context. Client prices are subject to change. A change to a client price, or a coupon, does not change the 60% Engineer Share. The payout uses the Capacity Payout Basis, not a percentage of the invoice.
| Block | Units | Price | Capacity Payout Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flex | 1 | $2,000 | $1,750 |
| Core | 2 | $3,750 | $3,500 |
| Dedicated | 4 | $7,000 | $7,000 |
Payout bases follow capacity units exactly, so your payout for two Flex blocks equals your payout for one Core, and four equal one Dedicated. Client prices and payout bases are set and reviewed separately; a change to one does not change the other.
A Dedicated block pays $7,000 × 60% = $4,200 whatever the client pays: the current client price is $7,000, and the payout would be the same if that price changed or a coupon came off it. Likewise, you receive $1,050 for Flex or $2,100 for Core. If client prices change later, those payouts remain based on the basis and share; the basis may separately be reviewed and updated prospectively.
When Exalynt operates a client's product, the client also pays for an operations plan (Operations plans), and infrastructure costs are passed through at cost. Neither is part of a capacity payout. Operations has its own compensation.
How the money flows shows what Exalynt retains from each block after everyone is paid: it aims to keep 10–20% to keep the company running, and anything beyond that is its buffer for coupons and the unexpected.
What could this look like over a year?
The simplest way to think about annual income is payout per block × blocks actually fulfilled during the year. The table below assumes an engineer fulfills two, three, or four Dedicated blocks each month, four being a full working schedule (48 paid blocks in a year). These are gross contractor payouts in U.S. dollars, using the current bases above, and leave out team support.
| Dedicated blocks a year | Calculation | Engineer payout |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | 24 × $4,200 | $100,800 |
| 36 | 36 × $4,200 | $151,200 |
| 48 | 48 × $4,200 | $201,600 |
A mix of block sizes works the same way: one Dedicated plus one Core pays $4,200 + $2,100 for those two blocks. Team support adds to this: each Dedicated block a teammate fulfills in a week you're available pays you $210.
A contractor is paid for assigned, fulfilled capacity, and how much capacity is assigned varies. The figures are gross payouts before taxes, insurance, benefits, equipment, time off, and time between assignments. For that reason, a $151,200 annualized contractor payout is not directly equivalent to a $151,200 employee salary. Annual figures are also sensitive to volume: at 36 blocks instead of 48, an engineer earns a quarter less.
Operations compensation
When a product is on an operations plan, a named team stays accountable for it in production. That's paid separately from capacity, and it doesn't change any capacity payout.
The basis for each plan, how it divides between the parts below, and how actual coverage is measured are still undecided. This section explains how operations compensation is structured. It will state the amounts once Exalynt sets them.
Each plan has its own Operations Payout Basis: a monthly compensation value for a product on that plan, which Exalynt can set and change for each plan on its own.
| Plan | Operations Payout Basis, per product a month |
|---|---|
| Essential | Not yet set |
| Standard | Not yet set |
| Extended | Not yet set |
Three different things are paid for, and they're kept distinct:
| Part | Who it's for | What it pays for | What it follows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared team ownership | The product's owning team | Being accountable for the product in production, including routine care and operating knowledge | The responsibility the team accepted during the billing period |
| Team Lead coordination | The owning team's Team Lead | Coordinating ownership, handoffs, and escalation across the team | The responsibility the team accepted during the billing period |
| On-call | Whoever is on the rotation | Being the person who responds during the plan's coverage | The coverage actually carried during the billing period |
- It follows responsibility and coverage, not incidents. Compensation is allocated by the responsibility accepted and the coverage actually provided during the billing period. Incident counts don't enter it, so a quiet month doesn't pay less and a difficult one doesn't pay more.
- On-call can rotate weekly within monthly billing. Rotations don't line up with billing periods, so a rotation week can span two of them. Each billing period counts only the coverage that actually fell inside it.
- A month isn't four weeks. Months have different numbers of days, covered hours, weekends, and holidays, so a month's on-call share is never worked out by assuming four rotations.
Availability and assignments
Working at Exalynt means you state your availability, and fulfill the capacity that's purchased and assigned to you within it.
- You state your availability. Tell Exalynt how much capacity you can fulfill, and keep it current as your circumstances change.
- Exalynt assigns capacity within it. When clients buy capacity, Exalynt assigns the blocks, looking first to engineers on the client's assigned Engineering Team where practical. Assignments aren't offers, and they aren't confirmed in writing: if you've said you're available, you're expected to fulfill capacity assigned within that availability.
- Exceptions happen. Illness, emergencies, and other things come up. Tell Exalynt as early as you can, and we'll work around it. The expectation is the general rule, not a reason to work when you can't.
- You know the payout before you start. It's the Engineer Share of the block's Capacity Payout Basis, both published on this page.
- Each block is assigned to one engineer and is never shared. Your written engineer agreement governs payment timing, cancellations, and partially fulfilled work.
- Availability isn't a guarantee of work. Exalynt assigns capacity as clients buy it, so being available doesn't guarantee a number of blocks or a monthly income. Team membership doesn't entitle anyone to a client's blocks, and it doesn't change your engineer payout for a block.
An engineer who leads their Engineering Team as its Team Lead also earns a Team Lead payout, a separate Capacity Payout Allocation, on every block an engineer on their team fulfills, including their own, whichever client it's for, when that block is fulfilled. It is a responsibility, not a level, so it doesn't change their Engineer Share, and they don't also earn team support.
Exalynt may change client prices and periodically revise payout bases, but those changes do not alter the shares above or recalculate capacity already assigned. A revised basis or share applies to every engineer.
Frequently asked questions
Am I paid when the client buys a block, or when I fulfill it?
When you fulfill it. The client pays for a block up front, but your engineer payout, like every Capacity Payout Allocation on the block, is earned only once the block is fulfilled. The client's payment is held until then and pays your payout first, before Exalynt uses any of it for anything else (details). Your agreement governs payment timing, cancellations, and partially fulfilled work.
Does my percentage change when I take a larger block?
No. Your Engineer Share is 60% whether you fulfill Flex, Core, or Dedicated. The block's payout basis changes with its size.
Does my level change what I'm paid?
No. Every engineer earns the same Engineer Share at every level. Your level reflects the kinds of problems you're ready to lead, not a pay band (details).
Do I have to help on a teammate's block to earn team support?
Team support isn't tracked per block. Every available teammate earns it on each block their team fulfills, other than the Team Lead and the engineer who fulfilled it. Being available means being ready to review, pair, and share context when the team needs it (details).
Does it matter to my pay whether Exalynt operates the client's software?
Not your capacity payout. That's based on the Capacity Payout Basis and your Engineer Share, and client prices and who operates the software don't enter it. If your team owns a product on an operations plan, operations compensation is separate and on top.
What do operations plans pay engineers?
The amounts aren't decided yet. Each plan will have its own monthly Operations Payout Basis, allocated between shared team ownership, Team Lead coordination, and on-call. See Operations compensation.
Do I earn more in a month with more incidents?
No. Operations compensation follows the responsibility accepted and the coverage actually provided during the billing period, not incident counts. A month with a lot of incidents should prompt investigation and reliability improvement (details).
Does where I live affect my compensation?
No. Every engineer uses the same Capacity Payout Basis and Engineer Share regardless of location, and moving doesn't change them (details).
Does Exalynt ignore market compensation?
No. We use market data to periodically evaluate whether our compensation is competitive, fair, and sustainable. We don't use an individual's geographic market to set or adjust their payout. Our compensation is market-informed, not market-determined.
What if Exalynt changes its client prices or payout bases?
Client price changes do not change your Engineer Share or recalculate your payout. If engineering compensation markets change, Exalynt can revise the basis for future assignments, and the revision applies to every engineer rather than to a particular location. The payout for capacity already assigned stays as it was.
Does the annualized example mean I will receive three or four blocks every month?
No. It is a way to translate a per-block payout into a familiar yearly number. Exalynt assigns capacity as clients buy it, within your availability, and does not guarantee a number of blocks.
Am I paid differently when Exalynt is the client?
No. When Exalynt buys capacity for its own projects, such as open source or our own tooling, your payout uses the same basis and share, and the work is assigned the same way (details).
Am I paid separately for reviewing or mentoring other engineers?
Not per review, because it's already included. Ordinary reviews, pairing, and mentoring are part of every block's shared engineering contribution, and your payout covers them. Within your team, team support also pays you on each block a teammate fulfills in a week you're available. If helping becomes sustained ownership or substantial implementation, coordinate it with Exalynt so it's handled through assignments rather than absorbed as informal help (details).
Can I earn anything besides engineer payouts?
Your engineering pay is your engineer payouts and team support, or Team Lead payouts instead of team support if you're a Team Lead, plus operations compensation where your team owns a product on an operations plan. Separately, you can choose to enroll in the Exalynt Partnership Program and earn partnership earnings when a new client you introduce buys capacity and that capacity is fulfilled. It's optional, with no quotas or sales obligations, and it's its own Capacity Payout Allocation, calculated separately under the partnership terms. It doesn't change your level, your Engineer Share, or the payout for any capacity you fulfill.
What happens if I provide ongoing support beyond a block?
For a product on an operations plan, ongoing responsibility and on-call are paid through operations compensation. Any other ongoing support beyond an assigned block is separately agreed.