Apple's High Standards Require High Prices: The Astronomical Salaries Of Managers And Engineers In Cupertino

Apple Inc AAPL pays some of the highest salaries in Silicon Valley, and for good reason. The Cupertino-based company is rarely the first to bring a product to market, but with the help of top-paid talent, Apple just does it better than everyone else. 

Setting The Stage: It all started with Steve Jobs. The Apple co-founder didn't just unveil new products, he would sell the world on Apple's version before anyone even knew what he was offering.

Jobs could shape a product presentation into a story that kept audiences anxiously awaiting the next chapter. He would meticulously craft the unveiling, the same way Apple carefully crafts its products. 

Apple carries that on today. The company doesn't need to have its hand in every cookie jar, instead, it focuses on being the best in the areas it decides to touch, and it hires some of the best talent to help make its vision a reality. 

Check This Out: Steve Jobs Was The Master Of Unveiling Apple Products: This Was His Secret For Leaving Audiences Awestruck

Taking A Bite Out Of The Apple: Apple doesn't make salary information public, but the tech giant is required to disclose offers in work-visa applications submitted to the U.S. Office of Foreign Labor Certification, per a Business Insider report.

The highest base salary in the pay data was $322,000, offered to two of the company's software development engineer managers. The lowest offer Apple made was just over $102,000 to a business systems analyst. For comparison, Google offered talent salaries as low as $55,000 and Microsoft made offers as low as $77,000.

The following data doesn't include stock-based compensation and grants that can significantly add to overall pay. It also excludes individual performance rewards and bonuses.

Here's a look at some of the base salary ranges Apple offered to prospective workers for open positions in the first quarter of 2022.

• Global Supply Manager: $145,000 to $185,000
• Engineering Project Manager: $144,912 to $185,203
• Architectural/Engineering Manager: $200,750 to $286,874
• Software Development Engineer Manager: $178,000 to $322,000
• Hardware Development Engineer: $135,000 to $210,000
• Software Development Engineer: $138,762 to $216,300
• Manufacturing Design Engineer: $124,200 to $203,335
• Machine Learning Engineer: $155,000 to $205,000
• ASIC Design Engineer: $105,080 to $217,680
• Systems Design Engineer: $134,307 to $217,990
• AR/VR Development Engineer: $127,000 to $230,000
• Application Development Engineer: $131,808 to $255,000
• Financial Analyst: $110,000 to $181,406
• Data Scientist: $119,000 to $186,929
• HI Graphics Designer: $140,000 to $201,764
• Legal Counsel: $210,000 to 225,000

Read Next: Making Big Bucks At Google: A Look At How Much Alphabet Analysts, Managers And Engineers Get Paid

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