Airbnb Software Engineer Levels Explained: G7 to G12 and What They Pay

Airbnb software engineer levels run from G7 to G12. G7 is entry level, G9 is Senior Software Engineer, and G10 is Staff Software Engineer. Levels.fyi also lists G13 for Distinguished Engineer and G14 for Fellow, and neither has enough reported offers to show a pay figure.

The part that surprises people is that Airbnb never prints the code. Its job postings give a title and a base pay range, with no G number anywhere in them. The codes come to candidates through recruiter conversations, reported offers, and compensation sites instead.

One title also covers two levels. A G7 and a G8 are both called Software Engineer, so an offer letter does not tell you which of the two you were given. Ask the recruiter for the G code directly.

This guide covers what each level owns, the experience it expects, and the reported pay.

Airbnb Levels in One Table

Airbnb publishes no level matrix, so the mapping is assembled rather than official. Codes and titles come from levels.fyi, the years from Airbnb's own job postings, and the Google and Meta columns from matching titles.

Why the Numbers Start at G7

Airbnb does not explain the numbering anywhere public. Rora, a salary negotiation firm that publishes notes from Airbnb negotiations, reports that the G codes replaced an older L system in which G7 was L3, G9 was L5, and G11 was L7.

Every G number is therefore four higher than the old L number, and those old L numbers tracked Google's. The conversion is to subtract four. Airbnb G9 matches Google L5, and Airbnb G10 matches Google L6. That is a reported mapping rather than company policy, but it agrees with the titles at every step.

G7: Software Engineer, Entry Level

G7 is Airbnb's entry level, used for new graduates and for engineers with up to about three years of experience.

A G7 works on tasks that someone else has already defined. They write and review code inside one team's services, learn Airbnb's internal platforms, and take direction from a senior engineer.

Levels.fyi reports median total compensation near $175K for G7 in the United States, from submissions showing one to three years of experience. The coding rounds stay close to standard data structure work, and our list of Airbnb coding interview questions covers what they ask.

G8: Software Engineer

G8 is the second step, and it keeps the same public title as G7. Most G8 engineers have two to five years of experience.

The difference from G7 is independence. A G8 takes a vague problem, breaks it down, writes the design document, ships the feature, and then operates it in production. Scope is still one team.

Levels.fyi reports median total compensation near 297K at G8, against 175K at G7.

G9: Senior Software Engineer

G9 is Senior Software Engineer, and it is the level most Airbnb engineers hold.

A G9 owns a system or an area rather than a feature. They decide what gets built inside it, write the design documents other engineers implement, and cross team boundaries when the problem needs it.

Airbnb's own Senior Software Engineer postings print higher numbers than the title suggests. One for Service Tools asked for six or more years of industry experience, and one for Payments Infrastructure asked for seven or more years with a base pay range of 191,000 to 223,000.

Compensation sites and candidate reports describe G9 as Airbnb's terminal level. A terminal level is one where an engineer can stay for a full career with no pressure to be promoted. Airbnb publishes nothing about this, so treat it as a report rather than policy. Levels.fyi reports median total compensation near $468K at G9, most of it stock.

G10: Staff Software Engineer

G10 is Staff Software Engineer, and it is the first level where scope moves past one team.

A G10 sets technical direction for systems that several teams depend on, and the promotion case rests on naming problems that nobody else had named. Candidate reports on Team Blind describe G9 to G10 as much harder than G8 to G9, because the step asks you to create scope rather than deliver it.

Airbnb's own Staff Software Engineer posting for Passport and Commerce asked for nine or more years of experience with distributed backend systems, and a base pay range of 212,000 to 265,000. Levels.fyi reports median total compensation near 651K at G10, against 468K at G9.

The design round is where a G10 decision usually gets made. Our list of Airbnb system design interview questions shows the question types, which are mostly marketplace problems.

Preparing for a G9 or G10 loop means preparing for architecture more than algorithms. Working through complete system design problems is the highest value use of preparation time at those levels.

G11: Senior Staff Software Engineer

G11 is Senior Staff Software Engineer, and Airbnb advertises these roles publicly.

Two Senior Staff postings, for Tech Foundations and for Trust, each asked for twelve or more years of experience, with base pay ranges of 244,000 to 305,000 and 248,000 to 310,000.

A G11 owns the direction of a whole area rather than a single system, such as the trust platform. Other teams build on a G11 decision for years, so the work is as much writing as code. Levels.fyi reports median total compensation near $1.14M.

G12: Principal Software Engineer

G12 is Principal Software Engineer, the highest level with enough reported offers to show a number.

A Principal sets technical direction for a large part of Airbnb's platform, and there are very few of them. Airbnb's Principal postings have asked for twelve or more years of experience in one case and fifteen or more in another.

Levels.fyi reports average total compensation near $1.68M at G12, the top of its reported Airbnb range.

G13 and G14: Distinguished Engineer and Fellow

Levels.fyi lists two levels above Principal: G13 for Distinguished Engineer and G14 for Fellow. Neither has enough reported submissions to show a pay figure, and no Airbnb job posting advertises either one.

How Airbnb Pay Works

Airbnb pays the same band everywhere inside one country, and this is the largest structural difference from its competitors.

Airbnb's own announcement states: "You can move anywhere in the country you work in and your compensation won't change." The same announcement says Airbnb moved to "single pay tiers by country for both salary and equity."

So there is no Bay Area premium and no discount for living somewhere cheaper. A G9 in San Francisco and a G9 in a small city sit on the same band. Compare offers in the city you intend to live in, because that is where the difference appears.

The base band at each level is narrow. Rora reports that base salary moves by at most about $30K in a negotiation, which means equity is where the real negotiation happens. Airbnb equity is granted as restricted stock units, or RSUs, which are shares that become yours on a schedule.

Reports on the vesting schedule disagree, so ask for it in writing. Rora describes a four year schedule with a one year cliff, meaning nothing vests until the first anniversary and then a quarter vests each year. A levels.fyi community post describes newer Airbnb offers as front loaded at 35, 30, 20, and 15 percent across the four years.

Airbnb also grants annual refreshers and pays a performance bonus, so the first year total and the steady state total are different numbers.

How Airbnb Levels Compare to Google, Meta, and Amazon

Airbnb numbers sit four above Google's for the same work, so comparing raw numbers across companies gives the wrong answer every time.

The senior row decides most offers. Airbnb G9, Google L5, Meta E5, and Amazon L6 are the same job under four names. Pay does not match as neatly, because the G9 median on levels.fyi overlaps what several competitors pay at Staff.

For the full five company comparison, see the FAANG software engineer levels guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is G9 at Airbnb? G9 is Senior Software Engineer, the level most Airbnb engineers hold. A G9 owns a system or an area and decides what gets built inside it. Airbnb's own Senior Software Engineer postings ask for six or more years of experience, and levels.fyi reports median total compensation near $468K.

What is the difference between G8 and G9 at Airbnb? Scope, not coding skill. A G8 owns features inside one team and delivers work that was defined for them. A G9 owns an area and sets direction inside it. The pay gap is large, so the level decision in an Airbnb loop matters more than the negotiation that follows it.

How many years of experience do you need for Airbnb G10? Airbnb's own Staff Software Engineer postings ask for about nine or more years. Evidence of impact across several teams matters more, because G10 is the first level where scope moves past one team.

Is Airbnb G9 the same as Google L9? No, and the two are several levels apart. Airbnb G9 matches Google L5, while Google L9 is a Distinguished Engineer. Subtract four from the Airbnb number.

What is the terminal level at Airbnb? Compensation sites and candidate reports point to G9, Senior Software Engineer, as the level an engineer can hold indefinitely. Airbnb does not publish this, so treat it as a report.

Does your target level change what the Airbnb interview asks? The coding rounds stay similar across levels, while the design round and the values rounds matter more as the level rises. Our guide to Airbnb behavioral interview questions covers the values rounds, which candidates report are run by interviewers from outside the hiring team.

If you are heading into an offer conversation, Grokking Tech Salary Negotiations covers the scripts for level and compensation negotiation.

Related reading

• FAANG Software Engineer Levels Explained
• Google Software Engineer Levels Explained
• Meta Software Engineer Levels Explained
• Airbnb Interview Guide
• Salary Negotiation for Software Engineers