[sneed_chucker]

Software engineer titles are largely meaningless.

The same title can mean totally different things at different companies.

You typically get "leveled" by a company based on your resume, years of experience, and interview performance. Sometimes companies intentionally under level you to try and pay you less than your fair market rate.

[mattbrewsbytes]

Going in under-leveled but at the highest salary/total comp you qualify for could be beneficial. If its a large company that has a well known job title hierarchy you ideally want the maximum salary in the lowest job title in the hierarchy that has that salary in its range. Pretend your target salary is $100 (the numbers don't matter) and they have L1-L10 with L1 being the lowest and the ranges are:

* L2: $80-110

* L3: $90-120

* L4: $100-130

You would ideally want to go in as an L2 at $100 because then the silly game of corporate promotions works in your favor. Typically its easier for lower levels to get promoted and promotions usually have some bump % tied to them. If you enter at L4 you may find progressing into L5 or L6 takes much more political savvy, luck and time than actual merit. At some point most people, statistically speaking, will top out at a title and salary either because the pyramid nature of the hierarchy means its super selective to move up or because they have plateaued with skills, etc.

[sneed_chucker]

Yes, I suppose so but that assumes two things:

1. That you know the per-level salary bands before you join the company (this is often not public information)

2. That the salary bands overlap to a significant degree

[mattbrewsbytes]

Per level salary bands are easier to figure out for FAANG companies with sites like levels.fyi. You may be able to get an understanding during an interview, probably best to ask a recruiter since they are in the HR department and may have more detailed knowledge. Obviously don't ask "I want the lowest level with the highest salary" but more along the lines of asking how promotions work with titles/levels, annual reviews, etc. because those are relevant things to know and the answers may help decide between one company and another.

All salary bands overlap, a company with a lot more people will have a lot more variation in salary per level/title.