Meta Platforms Inc. has hired Ruoming Pang, a leading AI engineer from Apple Inc., with a compensation deal worth over $200 million.
Pang led Apple’s AI models team and is now part of Meta’s Superintelligence Lab. The package includes salary, bonuses, and equity, marking one of the largest ever for an engineer.
Pang holds a PhD from Princeton and worked at Google before Apple. At Google, he contributed to Lingvo and Zanzibar. At Apple, he led over 100 engineers and helped develop features like Genmoji, on-device AI notifications, and an upgraded Siri. He played a key role in Apple’s foundation models.
Meta’s offer includes long-term stock options tied to performance goals. It’s structured with a high base salary, big signing bonus, and equity to be earned over time. Apple chose not to counter the offer, which insiders said was higher than Tim Cook’s compensation.
Meta’s AI team also includes Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, and Alexandr Wang. Meta took a 49% stake in Scale AI, where Wang was co-founder. This group is working on building superintelligent AI systems that perform as well or better than humans.
Meta has poached more than 10 researchers from OpenAI. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, said Meta’s signing bonuses reached $100 million. He said OpenAI’s culture keeps talent loyal but admitted Meta’s financial offers are tough to ignore.
Sources said Meta’s stock grants vest over longer-than-usual terms. Engineers must meet performance targets and stay long-term to earn full value. Meta’s strategy mixes high pay with loyalty incentives.
Meta’s AI hiring tactics are changing industry norms. Now, top AI engineers may earn more than many CEOs. With Apple, Google, OpenAI, and Meta all racing ahead, AI compensation has entered a new era.
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