> we're very happy with international engineers but if you come to me asking for a US engineer comp, it takes away the primary reason why we'd consider international in the first place

So engineers outside the US are fine if you can get them at a steep discount compared to their American counterparts? This sounded quite appealing until this line. Now I feel like the company is overly stingy. In the future you may want to leave this line out and simply tailor offers to the candidates when the time comes.

meh. it's just the reality and the last time i posted (and hired a few from HN post), it was a recurring thing. we actually pay above market locally but when someone in Brazil is demanding $200k/year USD to start... it unfortunately turns into a non-starter.

Yes, people who do the same work should be paid differently based on where they live. It makes complete sense.

sorry it's not the same work and most of the time no where close to same effort. there are timezone, culture, language, and many other differences that have to be bridged so when I can hire an engineer in the US for $200k and an international engineer for $200k (with all of the differences), the reality is, i'm going to hire a US engineer doing the "same work".

My word of (unsolicited) advice: think about how you come across in some of these statements and responses. There are companies like GitLab which geoarbitrage and scale the pay based on location. It is fine to do but they don't approach it in an antagonistic manner. It is neutral and pay is adjusted to cost of living. That is that.

When I read the original post and the responses, why would I even bother applying if outside the US when I will clearly be treated like a second class citizen from the start?

Maybe I'm doing more harm than good here if you end up hiding your true beliefs in future job postings. Maybe only target US devs if there is such a bias already.

One last thing to consider, lets say you can pay $150-200k USD (arbitrary number). You would likely have trouble finding talent in US tech hubs like SF, but you open yourself to near top of the market in places in Romania and Bulgaria. One competent international hire can (and will likely) be cheaper multiple mediocre local hires. Except now, the way that you present yourself will certainly scare away these competent international engineers who likely have experience interfacing with colleagues in the US to expect such compensation.

edit: To last last part, basically you are scaring away international talent, leaving subpar international candidates to apply, which then goes on to reinforce you preexisting notions. Then you trap yourself in a positive feedback loop leaving you with a limited view of the world.