💰 Comp Framework + Draft Reply to John

So the numbers below have a job attached to them.

• Route: John Lubig (neighbor) → his company InfoServices → Robo (Robo Retail, LLC; robo.us; Wixom, MI) → Dom = Dominique Parolin, Robo's CTO & Principal Architect.
• The likely role: a senior systems / validation engineer on safety-critical connected-vehicle work — an individual-contributor (IC) seat bridging vehicle CAN/embedded to cloud/app. Robo currently has a live Embedded Software Engineer opening in Wixom. (Full company detail + role-fit map: the meeting-prep page.)
• Engagement type is undecided by design — could be W-2 (work FOR Robo) or contract through Same Solutions LLC (work WITH Robo). The comp framing differs for each; both are below.

Anchor to the right tier so you neither undersell nor overreach.

This is a senior IC engineering seat

Your internal reference point is your GM senior-engineer band (you've described it as ~GM Level 7, roughly $140–190K total). That's the right mental anchor: a senior individual contributor with deep EV/CAN + validation depth, who also ships software.

It is NOT executive / VP / CTO money — and that's fine

• Robo already has a CTO (Dom) and a CEO (Marc Fecker). You'd be joining as a senior engineer, not buying into the C-suite.
• So this is not a "9th-level / VP / equity-partner" conversation, and pricing it like one would read as miscalibrated. Anchoring to a strong senior-IC band is both more credible and more winnable.
• The upside lever here is rate / contract scope / a sign-on, not a title jump. Keep the ask in the lane.

Michigan / automotive, current. Use these to defend your number, not to recite at Dom.

Where you sit in that spread

You're not the median validation engineer — you're EV/CAN systems + validation + ships-software + DFSS Blackbelt + SAFe, on safety-critical work. That combination lands you in the upper-middle-to-premium part of the spread, not the average. The functional-safety premium band ($170–195K) is the ceiling reference; the senior-systems average ($121K) is the floor reference.

The Hyundai data point

Your Hyundai figure (~$97K) sits below the Michigan senior-systems and automotive-embedded averages — i.e., it was below market for your profile. Do not let it become the anchor; it understates you. If asked about comp history, frame forward ("market for this profile in Michigan is X"), not backward.

Path A — W-2 (work FOR Robo)

Then negotiate the total package, not just base:

• Bonus: target/annual % — ask the structure and the on-target number.
• Equity: Robo is private; ask whether any equity / options / phantom-equity exists. Don't expect much; treat any as upside, not as base-replacement.
• Sign-on: a one-time sign-on is the easiest lever for them to pull if base is capped — ask for it to bridge any gap to your number.
• Benefits: health (you currently self-pay — real dollar value here), 401k match (helps end the bridge pulls), PTO.
• Logistics as comp: remote/hybrid (Dom's in Seattle; the seat is Wixom) has real dollar value — fold it into the trade.

Path B — Contract through Same Solutions LLC (work WITH Robo)

Note on the "$80–100/hr" figure from the prior planning note: that is the salary-replacement floor (roughly base ÷ 1,000–2,000 to break even on a ~$160–185K W-2 after you carry benefits + self-employment tax + utilization gaps) — it is not the market contract rate and is too low to anchor on. Use it only as your internal "below this, a W-2 is strictly better" walk-away floor. Quote market ($145–185/hr), not the floor.

• Scope beats hourly: if Dom frames a project, a fixed-scope / phased SOW (their own Identify→Validate→Launch model) can bill the value, not the clock — often better than hourly.
• You carry benefits + taxes on contract — that's exactly why the rate must clear the salary-replacement floor by a wide margin to be worth it.

Negotiation posture

• Don't anchor first if you can avoid it. Let Dom put the shape on the table (role vs. project), then place your number into the right path.
• If pressed for a number first, give a range whose floor is a number you'd accept ("for this profile in Michigan, I'd be looking at $160–185 base, or a contract in the $150–185/hr range depending on scope").
• Anchor to the value you bridge (vehicle ↔ software), which almost no single hire covers — that's what justifies the top of the range.

This came to you warm, through a neighbor. Protect that.

• John Lubig is a neighbor first, a referral source second. You also do work with/for the Lubigs (the basement bathroom, the relative's Terrova install). Don't let a hard money negotiation with Robo bruise the John relationship.
• Negotiate with Dom, stay grateful with John. Keep the dollar conversation in the Robo channel; keep the John channel warm and appreciative regardless of outcome.
• Even a "no" should leave the door open — Robo is a small connected-vehicle shop in your backyard; the relationship has option value beyond this one role.

Short, warm, gratitude-first, then a light substantive nudge. Edit the brackets and send from your professional email. SAM-CONFIRM the exact channel + whether John already submitted you to Dom before sending.

Why it's built this way: gratitude first (relationship), one line of relevant substance (so John can speak to your fit if asked), and a single clear question (direct-to-Dom vs. intro) so the ball moves with minimal friction. No numbers — comp is a Robo/Dom conversation, never a John one.

Already resolved (don't re-ask) ✓

• Robo's real identity: Robo Retail, LLC (brand "Robo," robo.us, Wixom). ✓
• Winnebago connection: confirmed — Robo delivers the Winnebago Connect software platform. ✓
• Robo CEO: Marc Fecker (co-founder; ex-FordDirect); CTO is Dom = Dominique Parolin. ✓

(All three were open questions in the original planning note; the meeting-prep page resolved them on 2026-06-02.)