Workday CTO Quits Title for Vague 'Member of Technical Staff' and Fat Paycheck

KEY POINTS

•Peter Bailis left his Workday CTO role in early 2026 to become a member of technical staff at Anthropic.
•Anthropic offers MTS roles with broad research-engineering duties and salaries ranging from $300,000 to $405,000.
•Anthropic’s $380 billion valuation promises equity that could create multimillionaires amid AI’s stock-drama-fueled ‘SaaSpocalypse.’

In the grand circus of tech titles, Peter Bailis pulled a Houdini act in 2026 by skipping from Workday CTO—after less than a year in the driver’s seat—to Anthropic as a 'member of technical staff' (MTS). Sounds like a demotion until you peek at the paycheck: Anthropic reportedly lobs $300k–$405k at these part engineer, part researcher hybrids, which sounds like tech HR playing dress-up. The startup is so proud of its flat, aura-infused hierarchy, their careers page claims engineers and researchers 'do each other's jobs,' like a professional swap meet. Meanwhile, Anthropic’s $380 billion valuation sweetens the MTS deal with enough equity to mint multimillionaires faster than you can say 'SaaSpocalypse.' Past MTS gladiators here include Google VP and Instagram CTO Mike Krieger, proving ‘chief’ titles are optional if you crave mysterious prestige and equity glitter.