I work at a university as a software dev. I got offered the job, interviewed, and started working in a couple weeks. It was actually a very seamless process. The pay for my area is comparable to private jobs, but I don't get all the startups benefits like pingpong and snacks. It's just a basic office job. The good part though is that there is no bureaucracy and I have free roam to develop in any environment I want.

I'm not an academic but I work for one. If that makes sense.