They won't routinely deviate from prescribed bands for your typical engineer. There are many, many engineers who are atypical, whether because of skill set or skill level; before I went into consulting I was able to command top-of-market salaries because I am pretty good--not the best, but pretty good--and actively went into areas of technology that others didn't. I was then able to communicate to potential employers why this mattered and how I would be able to help them, because I have enough of a business background to be able to make the case for myself. And while whatever "talent" is involved may be innate--I don't think it is, but whatever--the rest is eminently learnable.

And calling me "anonymous" is kind of funny.