This reflects what we see from the recruiter’s side of the table, which is a useful vantage point when you are planning your own next move. Negotiating a MedTech executive package requires understanding what actually drives value in the offer, which varies enormously depending on whether the company is early-stage, commercial-stage, PE-backed, or public. The most common negotiating error is optimizing base salary while leaving the components that will determine your actual outcome, equity terms, severance, and milestone definitions, largely unexamined.
Key Takeaways
- The value drivers differ sharply by company stage and ownership.
- Equity terms matter more than headline equity amounts.
- Milestone-based bonuses need carefully defined, achievable triggers.
- Severance and change-of-control terms deserve real attention.
- Negotiate the whole structure, not just base salary.
Know What Kind of Offer You Are Negotiating
An offer from a pre-approval device startup, a PE-backed commercial-stage company, and a public device manufacturer are entirely different instruments. In the startup, equity terms and the realism of the regulatory and funding plan dominate value. In the PE-backed company, the equity structure, how it vests, what happens at exit, what the sponsor’s return thresholds are, dominates. In the public company, the mix of salary, annual incentive, and long-term equity, plus severance protections, dominates. Negotiating well starts with correctly identifying which components actually carry the value in your specific situation.
Equity Terms Over Equity Headline
Candidates routinely negotiate the size of an equity grant while accepting the terms as given, which is backwards. Vesting schedule, acceleration on change of control or termination without cause, treatment of unvested equity if you leave, exercise windows, and, in PE structures, where your equity sits relative to preferences and return hurdles, all determine whether a headline number becomes real money. A smaller grant with strong terms frequently outperforms a larger grant with weak ones. Ask for the underlying documents and understand them before focusing on the number.
Scrutinize Milestone Definitions
Device company offers often include bonuses tied to milestones: a regulatory submission or clearance, a launch, a revenue threshold, a funding event. These are valuable only if the triggers are defined precisely and are genuinely within reach. Ambiguous triggers, submission versus clearance, launch versus first commercial sale, produce disputes and disappointment. Given how often device timelines slip for reasons outside any individual’s control, negotiate definitions carefully and consider whether partial or timeline-adjusted triggers are appropriate. Vague milestone language is one of the most common sources of later grievance in device executive packages.
Do Not Neglect Severance and Protection
Device companies face binary events, a clinical result, a regulatory decision, a funding outcome, that can change a company’s trajectory abruptly and through no fault of the executive. This makes severance terms, notice provisions, and change-of-control protections materially more important than in more stable industries. Negotiating meaningful severance is not pessimism; it is appropriate given how often device executives lose roles because a trial read out badly or a submission failed. Address these terms explicitly while you have leverage, which is before you accept, not after.
What This Looks Like in Practice
A MedTech executive negotiating an offer first identifies which components carry the value given the company’s stage and ownership, examines equity terms and underlying documents before focusing on grant size, negotiates milestone triggers to be precisely defined and achievable, and addresses severance and change-of-control protections explicitly while leverage exists.
The Mistake Candidates Keep Making
The most common mistake is anchoring the negotiation on base salary because it is the easiest number to compare, while accepting equity terms, milestone definitions, and severance provisions as boilerplate. In device companies, where binary events drive outcomes and timelines slip routinely, those unexamined terms usually determine what the package is actually worth. The candidate optimizes the visible number and leaves the consequential ones untouched.
Where Value Sits by Company Type
| Company Type | Dominant Value Driver |
|---|---|
| Pre-approval startup | Equity terms and plan realism |
| PE-backed commercial | Equity structure, vesting, exit treatment |
| Public manufacturer | Incentive mix and severance protections |
| All types | Milestone definitions and change-of-control terms |
The Bottom Line
Negotiate the whole structure rather than the base salary, identifying what drives value given the company’s stage and ownership, scrutinizing equity terms rather than headline amounts, defining milestone triggers precisely, and securing severance and change-of-control protections appropriate to an industry where binary events routinely end tenures. Do the substantive work rather than the cosmetic version of it, and the opportunities tend to follow.
Related Reading
For more, see How to Land a C-Suite Role in the Medical Device Industry, Preparing for Interviews at Top MedTech Companies, What Recruiters Look for in MedTech Candidates.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: What matters most in a MedTech executive offer?
- A: It depends on company stage; equity terms and plan realism in startups, equity structure and exit treatment in PE-backed companies, and incentive mix and severance in public companies.
- Q: Why do equity terms matter more than the grant size?
- A: Because vesting, acceleration, exercise windows, and position relative to preferences determine whether a headline number becomes real money, so a smaller grant with strong terms often outperforms a larger one with weak terms.
- Q: How should milestone bonuses be structured?
- A: With precisely defined, genuinely achievable triggers, since ambiguity between submission and clearance, or launch and first sale, produces disputes when timelines slip.
- Q: Why negotiate severance in devices?
- A: Because binary events, clinical results, regulatory decisions, funding outcomes, can end tenures through no fault of the executive, making protections materially more important than in stable industries.
- Q: What is the most common negotiating error?
- A: Optimizing base salary because it is easy to compare, while accepting equity terms, milestone definitions, and severance provisions as boilerplate, when those usually determine the package’s real value.
![](https://www.jrgpartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/tanya-gallardo.jpeg")
Tanya Gallardo
Managing Director, Executive Search & AI Talent Strategy
Tanya Gallardo is the Managing Director of Executive Search & AI Talent Strategy at JRG Partners, leading C-suite and Board engagements across key growth sectors including Technology, Financial Services, and Manufacturing.
With over 18 years of experience specializing in disruptive technology leadership, Tanya is recognized as a leading authority on talent architecture for future-focused executive roles, such as the Chief AI Officer (CAIO) and Chief Digital Officer (CDO). Her expertise lies in accurately assessing the cultural fit and technical depth required to ensure a high return on investment (ROI) for critical leadership appointments.
Prior to her role at JRG Partners, Tanya held senior roles directing global talent acquisition strategies at a major publicly-traded technology firm, advising on organizational design and succession planning for emerging executive functions. She is a recognized speaker and contributor to industry events, sharing data-driven insights on executive compensation, leadership development, and the measurable business impact of C-suite talent.
