A senior engineer counteroffer script: scope, level, total compensation, and what to do when the title and the band disagree.
Sample figures are filled in so you can see the script. Replace them with your offer before you copy it.
Your script
Base $180,000. Annual bonus $25,000. Equity yearly value $45,000.
Priced total: $250,000.
Target total compensation: $285,000.
Target is $35,000 above the priced figure, about 14%.
Opener
Thank you for the offer. I want to be direct about the number I would accept for the senior software engineer role.
Say this, then stop. Let them respond before you add the number.
Anchor and justification
I am targeting $285,000 in total compensation.
From what I can price today: $180,000 base, $25,000 bonus, $45,000 as the yearly equity value I am willing to count.
That priced total is $250,000. I am asking for $35,000 more, about 14%, which is my target and not a padded number.
The gap is wide enough that I want to check the level before we trade small concessions. If the scope is smaller than I thought, I need to hear that. If the scope is the one we discussed, the number needs to move.
The market check I can cite is that senior totals I trust for this city and this scope cluster around $250,000 to $290,000. The scope I can defend is this. I have led a service in production and mentored engineers who shipped without me in the room.
Name the target once. Do not raise it on the spot, and do not apologize for it.
If they say this is our best offer
I hear you, and I appreciate you saying it directly. If this base is the ceiling, I still want to see whether a signing bonus, the equity grant, or the level can move. If none of those can, I will decide on the package as it stands rather than ask the same question again.
I also want the level in writing, so I know whether we are talking about the same job.
Thank them before you ask what else can move. Then wait.
If they say the budget is fixed
Understood. A salary band is often fixed once the level is fixed. Signing bonuses and equity grants sometimes sit outside that annual budget. Is either of those actually open? If both are closed, what does a pay review look like in six months, and what would have to be true for the level to change?
Ask one question, then stop. A list of demands sounds like you did not hear them.
If they ask for your current salary
I would rather keep this on the pay for this role. A prior salary is a different job, and in some places an employer should not ask. The number I am using here is $285,000.
I am not going to invent a current salary, and I am not required to answer with one.
You can decline. If you answer, use the real number.
Non-salary asks
If salary cannot move the whole way, I will ask about other terms I actually want. I will start with a signing bonus.
If base cannot reach the target, I would like to talk about a signing bonus that closes part of the first-year gap. I want the amount, and any payback terms, in writing.
On equity, I would like the grant size, the vesting schedule, the cliff, and what happens to vested shares if I leave. If these are options, I also want the last independent valuation and how long I have to exercise after I leave. I will not treat a percentage as cash.
I would like to know how refresh grants work here: whether they happen on a schedule, what they depend on, and whether this offer is only the initial grant.
Remote work matters to me. I would like the written policy: which days, which locations are allowed, and whether pay changes with location.
I would like to confirm paid time off: the number of days, whether they are accrued, and what happens to unused days.
I can start on a date I can keep. If you need someone sooner, tell me the real date and I will say yes or no, rather than agree and then slip.
Pick the two you care about. You do not have to read all six.
Closing
If you can reach $285,000, I am ready to accept. If you cannot, tell me which parts can move and I will answer this week with a yes or a no.
Stop talking after the question. The next person to speak should be them.
Email version
Subject: Compensation for the senior software engineer role
Hello,
Thank you for the offer. I want to be direct about the number I would accept for the senior software engineer role.
I am targeting $285,000 in total compensation.
From what I can price today: $180,000 base, $25,000 bonus, $45,000 as the yearly equity value I am willing to count.
That priced total is $250,000. I am asking for $35,000 more, about 14%, which is my target and not a padded number.
The gap is wide enough that I want to check the level before we trade small concessions. If the scope is smaller than I thought, I need to hear that. If the scope is the one we discussed, the number needs to move.
The market check I can cite is that senior totals I trust for this city and this scope cluster around $250,000 to $290,000. The scope I can defend is this. I have led a service in production and mentored engineers who shipped without me in the room.
If base cannot reach the target, I would like to talk about a signing bonus that closes part of the first-year gap. I want the amount, and any payback terms, in writing.
If you can reach $285,000, I am ready to accept. If you cannot, tell me which parts can move and I will answer this week with a yes or a no.
Thank you,
[Your name]
Senior offers fail in a specific way: the title says senior, the band says mid, and the job description says staff. This page is a direct phone script for a senior software engineer sample at $180,000 base, $25,000 bonus, and $45,000 of equity value, targeting $285,000 total. That is a wide gap on purpose, so the script also asks whether the level is right. Put your real package in before you use it.
Level before haggling
If the gap is large, the useful question is the level, not a request for five thousand dollars of tone. Ask what the band is for the level they are offering, and what the band is for the level that matches the scope you interviewed for. You are trying to find out whether you are negotiating inside the right row of a spreadsheet.
Bring scope you can defend: production ownership, mentoring, design, on-call. Leave out adjectives. “I am a rockstar” is not a compensation argument. The sample skills line is deliberately concrete. Replace it with something you can tell a story about if they ask.
Equity at this level is often a large part of the total. Count only a yearly value you believe, and ask about refresh if the grant is the entire story. A senior package that looks rich in year one and empty in year three is a different offer.
Questions
Should seniors always counter?
Counter when the level or the total is off and you can say why. A ritual counter with no reason wastes the recruiter’s trust. This script stays on the target you enter.
Updated 2026-10-08. Wording help, not legal advice.
