Machine learning engineer salary
The median posted base pay for machine learning and AI engineer jobs is $215K a year, from 6,188 open jobs at 1,647 companies. The middle half of the jobs is from $178K to $260K. One job in ten has posted pay above $310K.
- Median posted base pay
- $215K
- Middle half of the jobs
- $178K to $260K
- 10th to 90th percentile
- $150K to $310K
- Open jobs with posted pay
- 6,188
- Companies
- 1,647
Machine learning engineer pay by level
Posted base pay for machine learning and AI engineer jobs, by the level in the job title. A level needs 20 or more jobs with posted pay.
- Intern33 jobs$150K$132K to $176K
- Entry level63 jobs$158K$141K to $179K
- Level not stated3,232 jobs$205K$170K to $250K
- Senior1,609 jobs$208K$185K to $233K
- Staff816 jobs$255K$223K to $286K
- Principal245 jobs$259K$209K to $297K
- Director+190 jobs$275K$237K to $317K
| Level | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | Jobs with pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intern | $108K | $132K | $150K | $176K | $250K | 33 |
| Entry level | $115K | $141K | $158K | $179K | $219K | 63 |
| Level not stated | $141K | $170K | $205K | $250K | $313K | 3,232 |
| Senior | $160K | $185K | $208K | $233K | $265K | 1,609 |
| Staff | $196K | $223K | $255K | $286K | $337K | 816 |
| Principal | $173K | $209K | $259K | $297K | $338K | 245 |
| Director+ | $200K | $237K | $275K | $317K | $355K | 190 |
Top-paying companies for machine learning and AI engineer jobs
The companies with the highest median posted base pay for machine learning and AI engineer jobs. A company name opens its levels in the pay explorer.
- 1Thinking Machines Lab$413K31 jobs
- 2Magic$413K6 jobs
- 3Anthropic$403K146 jobs
- 4Aaru$376K6 jobs
- 5OpenAI$366K103 jobs
- 6Wayve$351K19 jobs
- 7Mirendil$350K12 jobs
- 8Harvey$340K17 jobs
- 9Odyssey$336K8 jobs
- 10Mercor$335K18 jobs
- 11Lambda$331K30 jobs
- 12Roblox$320K31 jobs
- 13Runway$318K8 jobs
- 14Datadog$317K6 jobs
- 15Perplexity$313K16 jobs
- 16Adyen$313K6 jobs
- 17Institute of Foundation Models$300K17 jobs
- 18Decagon$300K15 jobs
- 19Inferact$300K14 jobs
- 20Turing$300K12 jobs
Machine learning engineer pay by US region
The median posted base pay for machine learning and AI engineer jobs in each US region, compared with the median of all US jobs.
- Bay Area3,036 jobs+9%$240K
- New York1,254 jobs+7%$235K
- US remote1,015 jobs−6%$208K
- Other US cities1,911 jobs−6%$206K
| Region | Median posted base pay | Against the US median | Jobs with pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Area | $240K | +9% | 3,036 |
| New York | $235K | +7% | 1,254 |
| US remote | $208K | −6% | 1,015 |
| Other US cities | $206K | −6% | 1,911 |
| All US jobs | $220K | 0% | 5,653 |
Related pay pages
Other levels
By place
How we compute these numbers
We read each job from the job board of the company and check it every day. We use only open jobs that state a yearly pay range in US dollars. One job counts with the middle point of its posted range. The median is the middle value of these amounts: half of the jobs are above it and half are below it.
We do not use a range with a bottom below $15,000, a top above $1,000,000, or a top that is more than four times the bottom. A role page needs 20 or more open jobs with posted pay. In the bar chart, a company needs 5 or more jobs with posted pay.
The numbers are base pay as the company posted it. They are not the pay of a person, and they do not include stock, a bonus or benefits. For the stock and the bonus that people reported, see Reported pay.