Editorial integrity.
Most career blogs recycle old advice or write articles to please corporate HR departments. We don't. Here is how we verify our salary data and keep our guides accurate.
Sourcing real data
We do not guess or rely on hearsay. The salary numbers, stock option breakdowns, and interview timelines on Leon come directly from:
- Real Offer Letters: Anonymous offer packages shared by candidates we represent.
- Candidate Timelines: Direct process logs tracking how long companies take between interview rounds.
- Recruiter Insights: Hands-on experience managing engineering hiring searches across dozens of tech companies.
Editorial standards & fact-checking
Tech hiring moves fast. A salary guide written two years ago will have outdated numbers. Head of Talent Acquisition Sadikshya Adhikari and Senior Technical Recruiter Anisha Katwal review and maintain our research:
- Every salary guide is checked regularly against real offers and current market data.
- Every article is reviewed by an experienced recruiter before it is published.
- We write in plain English, cutting corporate HR buzzwords and diplomatic fluff.
- We share clear advice about what companies actually pay and how hiring decisions get made.
What our guides cover
Every guide on Leon is focused on one of these core areas:
Salaries & Equity
Verified base salary ranges, equity vesting schedules, and stock option values across major tech employers.
Offer Negotiation
Practical counter-offer scripts, signing bonus guidelines, and advice for handling competing offers.
Hiring Timelines
Average wait times between interview rounds, when to follow up, and what happens during team debriefs.
Application Statuses
What candidate portals like Workday, Greenhouse, and Lever mean when your status changes.
Technical Interviews
What engineering teams expect during coding rounds, system design discussions, and behavioral interviews.
Career Growth
How engineers move from senior to staff engineer, navigate promotions, or make career transitions.
Corrections & updates
We treat salary numbers and interview timelines as living guides. If you notice an updated pay band or a change in a company's interview process:
- Submit Corrections: Email us directly at info@leonstaff.com with the subject line
Data Correction. - Details: Mention the company name, job level, and any details or offer notes you can share.
- Review Window: Our team reviews submissions and updates affected guides within 48 hours.
Independence & integrity
We do not accept sponsored posts, paid employer promotions, or corporate PR articles. Everything we write is completely independent and designed to give software engineers honest, actionable information.