I could see this as being bad from both sides. Even as a relatively unskilled negotiator, I know that you can leave a lot on the table by simply not asking for

I could see this as being bad from both sides. Even as a relatively unskilled negotiator, I know that you can leave a lot on the table by simply not asking for it. I can see a conversation going along these lines: Me: I'm really excited about the company, but we need to talk about the salary. H.M.: Sorry, that's set by a formula. We can't change it. Me: Yes, but I've demonstrated that I can bring in value in excess of $1m per year, and have higher offers from 2 other companies. H.M.: We can't do that, or everyone will see that yours is higher. Now I'm out of a potential job and they're out of a top performing developer, or we're left with trickery like giving the "expert" modifier for 1.3x or maybe give the title "VP" to keep me without messing up the formula. Or, you would have to give backdoor bonuses that aren't reported officially.