Application tracker
Edit this file directly to update status. Suggested columns: company · role · referral source · applied date · stage · next step · TC anchor · notes.
How to use
Edit application-tracker.html in any text editor. Add rows. Track ALL companies even if you only want to use them as practice loops. Comp leverage compounds with parallel timelines.
Active funnel
| Co. | Role | Tier | Source | Applied | Stage | Next step | TC anchor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | MTS Pretraining | S | — | — | — | Get warm intro from ex-Meta | $920k+ (T6) | Read Constitutional AI before recruiter call |
| OpenAI | MTS Personalization | S | — | — | — | LinkedIn alumni search | $875k–1.2m (L5/L6) | RecSys → Memory team is ideal pivot |
| Thinking Machines | MTS Pretraining | S | — | — | — | Reach to Andrew Tulloch (ex-Meta) | $450k+ base + equity | Tiny team, every conversation matters |
| SSI | Technical Staff | S | — | — | — | Apply via website (slow) | ?? (private) | Long-shot but worth the application |
| Google DeepMind | Sr Staff RE Gemini | A | — | — | — | Recruiter direct or referral | $700k–1.1m | Many ex-Meta in YouTube ML |
| xAI | ML RE | A | — | — | — | Cold app or X DM | $640k–990k+ | 20-min "hardest tech problem" prep |
| Cursor | MTS Models | A | — | — | — | Long-shot — direct app | $1.1m median | 4–8hr take-home expected |
| Physical Intelligence | ML RE | A | — | — | — | — | $500k–900k | Robotics foundation models |
| World Labs | Sr Staff CV/MM | A | — | — | — | — | $500k–900k | Fei-Fei Li-led; spatial AI |
| Mistral | Research Engineer | A | — | — | — | — | $400k–700k | Palo Alto US hub |
| Periodic Labs | ML researcher | A | — | — | — | — | $500k–800k | Materials science |
| Magic.dev | MTS Pretraining | A | — | — | — | — | $600k–900k | Code model frontier lab |
| Mirendil | ML researcher | A | — | — | — | — | — | Ex-Anthropic founders |
| Sr Staff MLE | B | — | — | — | Apply via Pinterest careers | $570k–959k (IC17) | Pure RecSys; ex-Meta network strong | |
| Roblox | Principal MLE | B | — | — | — | — | $750k | Pure RecSys |
| Sr MLE Ranking | B | — | — | — | — | $610k | Feed + ads | |
| Uber | Staff MLE | B | — | — | — | — | $620k–723k | Ranking, scale |
| Airbnb | Staff MLE | B | — | — | — | — | $548k–1.64m | Pricing, trust signals |
| DoorDash | Staff MLE | B | — | — | — | — | $550k | Geospatial, supply-aware |
| AppLovin | Staff MLE | B | — | — | — | — | $600k | Heavy ad RecSys |
| Sr Staff MLE Feed | B | — | — | — | — | $402k–700k | Microsoft RSU | |
| Databricks | L7 Sr Staff Mosaic | B | — | — | — | — | $800k–1.65m | Pretraining infra |
| Cohere | Sr Staff MLE | B | — | — | — | — | ~$700k | Pretraining + enterprise PT |
| Sierra | Sr SWE Agents | B | — | — | — | — | — | AI-native onsite (no LC) |
| Apple ML | ICT5 MLE GenAI | B | — | — | — | — | $550k–865k | Rebuild mode post-Pang |
| Nvidia | IC6 Principal MLE | B | — | — | — | — | $675k | RecSys, robotics, inference |
Stage legend
- applied — résumé sent
- screen — recruiter / phone screen
- onsite — final loop scheduled or in progress
- offer — written offer received
- rejected — pass
Weekly review checklist
- Update status on every active company
- Identify any stalled loops > 7 days; ping recruiter
- Identify any companies you haven't applied to in current tier — apply
- Note insights from any interview (write a postmortem)
- Audit which study area gaps were exposed; adjust study plan
Negotiation timeline tips
- Aim for offers landing in a 2-week window. If one comes early, ask recruiter for "extension citing other late-stage processes."
- Never accept on the spot. "Thank you, I need to think about this with my partner."
- Always counter at least once. Even +5% is real money.
- Use Levels.fyi p75 for the level + your competing offer as twin anchors.
- Counter on multiple components: base, signing, RSU, refresh, level. Recruiters often have flexibility on some but not others.