I'll leave the subject of compensation to the threads dedicated to it, but 'software engineers [...] are treated more like "code monkeys" who report to their managers and don't have any self-direction' absolutely does not apply to GitLab. Have you had a chance to check out our values (https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/values/) or our section on making decisions (https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/leadership/#making-decisio...)? What you're describing is pretty much the opposite of how we actually work :)