As a salaried worker I am perfectly fine working weekends as long as I get compensatory time off in exchange - days I can take off the following week(s) on top

As a salaried worker I am perfectly fine working weekends as long as I get compensatory time off in exchange - days I can take off the following week(s) on top of my usual PTO allowances. If a team cannot promise me this I don't want to work for them. Sometimes, weekend work with a team is some of the most engaging work one can perform in a salaried role. I have fond memories of the cycle of scrambling before a launch, the catharsis of the launch, and then the ensuing vacation. The key thing is committing to the whole cycle - crunch is sometimes a necessary evil but must be followed by equal and opposite rest. Any group that doesn't respect this yin-yang is undeserving of your labor.