Principal inference and ML systems engineer salary

The median posted base pay for principal inference and ML systems jobs is $260K a year, from 178 open jobs at 97 companies. The middle half of the jobs is from $218K to $303K. One job in ten has posted pay above $369K.

Data of Nov 9, 2026. This is posted base pay, not total pay. It does not include stock or a bonus.

Median posted base pay: $260K
Middle half of the jobs: $218K to $303K
10th to 90th percentile: $178K to $369K
Open jobs with posted pay: 178
Companies: 97

Inference and ML systems engineer pay by level

Posted base pay for inference and ML systems jobs, by the level in the job title. This page is about the principal level. A level needs 20 or more jobs with posted pay.

Entry level31 jobs$164K$146K to $193K
Level not stated1,753 jobs$220K$181K to $273K
Senior913 jobs$212K$185K to $238K
Staff505 jobs$254K$225K to $281K
Principal178 jobs$260K$218K to $303K
Director+127 jobs$276K$235K to $306K

Each band goes from the 10th to the 90th percentile. The darker part is the middle half of the jobs. The line is the median. This is posted base pay, not total pay.

Pay bands by level, inference and ML systems. Posted base pay in US dollars for each year.
Level	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Jobs with pay
Entry level	$138K	$146K	$164K	$193K	$220K	31
Level not stated	$150K	$181K	$220K	$273K	$330K	1,753
Senior	$162K	$185K	$212K	$238K	$269K	913
Staff	$203K	$225K	$254K	$281K	$331K	505
Principal	$178K	$218K	$260K	$303K	$369K	178
Director+	$200K	$235K	$276K	$306K	$350K	127

Top-paying companies for principal inference and ML systems jobs

The companies with the highest median posted base pay for principal inference and ML systems jobs. A company name opens its levels in the pay explorer.

1Roblox$320K11 jobs
2Motional$285K6 jobs
3Atlassian$273K6 jobs
4DigitalOcean$259K8 jobs
5SambaNova$245K6 jobs
6d-Matrix$240K5 jobs
7Clarity Innovations$226K5 jobs
8Astera Labs$219K5 jobs

The median posted base pay of each company for principal inference and ML systems jobs. We use the middle point of each posted range. A company needs 5 or more jobs with posted pay. This is posted base pay, not total pay.

Principal inference and ML systems engineer pay by US region

The median posted base pay for principal inference and ML systems jobs in each US region, compared with the median of all US jobs.

Bay Area87 jobs+9%$283K
US remote34 jobs+3%$267K
Other US cities78 jobs−4%$249K

The median posted base pay for principal inference and ML systems in each US region, compared with the median of all US jobs ($260K). A job that lists two regions counts in each region. A region needs 20 or more jobs. This is posted base pay, not total pay.

Pay by region, principal inference and ML systems. Posted base pay in US dollars for each year.
Region	Median posted base pay	Against the US median	Jobs with pay
Bay Area	$283K	+9%	87
US remote	$267K	+3%	34
Other US cities	$249K	−4%	78
All US jobs	$260K	0%	172

Open jobs

Other levels

By place

Other job types

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.