Typical comp shape
Research scientists usually earn rsu + sign-on rsu grants. Common employers include Meta FAIR, Google Research, Microsoft Research, Anthropic. Research scientist sign-on RSUs often vest on accelerated one-year cliffs, concentrating a big chunk of equity in year one.
What Washington changes
Washington has no wage income tax, which is structurally favorable for research scientists with meaningful RSU comp. The savings vs a CA-resident colleague can be $30-60k per year at senior IC levels. That math is why Austin and Seattle are the two top relocation destinations for Bay Area tech workers.
Planning cadence
For a research scientist in Washington, the three planning windows are: after each RSU vest (withholding check and sell-vs-hold), before any ISO exercise (AMT model at federal only), and in Q4 (estimated tax top-up to clear the safe harbor). A move-out question — if you're considering leaving Washington for a high-tax state, time it around vesting.