Principal machine learning engineer salary

The median posted base pay for principal machine learning and AI engineer jobs is $259K a year, from 244 open jobs at 132 companies. The middle half of the jobs is from $208K to $298K. One job in ten has posted pay above $339K.

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: $259K
Middle half of the jobs: $208K to $298K
10th to 90th percentile: $173K to $339K
Open jobs with posted pay: 244
Companies: 132

Machine learning engineer pay by level

Posted base pay for machine learning and AI engineer 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.

Intern33 jobs$150K$132K to $176K
Entry level63 jobs$158K$141K to $179K
Level not stated3,228 jobs$205K$170K to $251K
Senior1,609 jobs$208K$185K to $232K
Staff817 jobs$255K$223K to $286K
Principal244 jobs$259K$208K to $298K
Director+190 jobs$275K$238K to $317K

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, ML / AI engineering. Posted base pay in US dollars for each year.
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	$251K	$314K	3,228
Senior	$160K	$185K	$208K	$232K	$263K	1,609
Staff	$196K	$223K	$255K	$286K	$337K	817
Principal	$173K	$208K	$259K	$298K	$339K	244
Director+	$200K	$238K	$275K	$317K	$355K	190

Top-paying companies for principal machine learning and AI engineer jobs

The companies with the highest median posted base pay for principal machine learning and AI engineer jobs. A company name opens its levels in the pay explorer.

1Roblox$320K13 jobs
2Lila Sciences$287K8 jobs
3Motional$285K6 jobs
4Atlassian$273K11 jobs
5DigitalOcean$259K7 jobs
6Salesforce$256K5 jobs
7Flagship Pioneering, Inc.$247K5 jobs
8STR$243K6 jobs
9Capital One$173K14 jobs
10Xometry$173K5 jobs

The median posted base pay of each company for principal machine learning and AI engineer 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 machine learning engineer pay by US region

The median posted base pay for principal machine learning and AI engineer jobs in each US region, compared with the median of all US jobs.

Bay Area100 jobs+13%$292K
US remote59 jobs0%$259K
Other US cities106 jobs−5%$245K
New York27 jobs−19%$209K

The median posted base pay for principal ML / AI engineering in each US region, compared with the median of all US jobs ($259K). 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 ML / AI engineering. Posted base pay in US dollars for each year.
Region	Median posted base pay	Against the US median	Jobs with pay
Bay Area	$292K	+13%	100
US remote	$259K	0%	59
Other US cities	$245K	−5%	106
New York	$209K	−19%	27
All US jobs	$259K	0%	231

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.