Canadian software engineers getting remote US salaries, how did you do it?

It's a numbers game. Send many applications and take interviews. Companies normally have no issues hiring Canadians. They only care about skills.

For payment, you'll want to consult with an accountant for what works best in your case. I know people who have incorporated (in Canada) and they invoice the US company from the corp and they pay themselves a salary in Canada. Other people do it via a personal corporation or sole proprietorship.

Target remote opportunities for companies that are NOT large enough / sophisticated enough to have a policy. They just want good engineers to write code. When they want you, they want to. The hiring manager will make it HR's problem.

Some other approaches:

- I'm planning on relocating to SF / NY / IL after the pandemic (wink, wink)

- I live in a high COL Canada city

- I'm being recruited by a FAANG company that's willing to pay me top dollar