Hiring an ai engineer in Austin? Across 41 live ai engineer postings in Austin, the market pays a $175K median salary (typically $160K–$215K). Recruiting from Scratch is the contingency technical recruiting firm for these hires — a 29-day average time to hire, 300+ placements, and a 2M+ candidate network.
An ai engineer builds AI-powered product features — LLM applications, retrieval, agents, and the systems around them. Hiring one in Austin means competing with the companies below.
What employers actually screen for, aggregated across 41 active ai engineer postings in Austin:
| Percentile | Base salary |
|---|---|
| 25th | $160K |
| Median | $175K |
| 75th | $215K |
Based on 19 ai engineer postings in Austin that disclose pay. Base only — equity is typically on top.
Austin pays about 8% below the US median for this role ($190K).
The companies with the most live ai engineer openings in Austin, with what each pays and screens for (medians shown only where at least 3 postings disclose pay):
| Company | Open ai engineer roles | Median pay (disclosed) | Top skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | 2 | — | Python |
| webAI | 2 | — | PyTorch, TensorFlow, Data Pipelines |
| Light & Wonder | 2 | — | TypeScript, React, Snowflake |
| Verisoul | 2 | — | Python, TypeScript, GCP |
| SecurityScorecard | 2 | — | TypeScript, Kubernetes, Docker |
| Homeward | 1 | — | Python, Django, FastAPI |
| Linkt AI | 1 | — | Python, TypeScript |
| Terex Corporation | 1 | — | — |
| Sonarsource | 1 | — | Python, JavaScript, Salesforce |
| Amat | 1 | — | Python, SQL, Feature Engineering |
Where the ai engineer demand sits across funding stages, across the 36 companies with the most live openings in Austin:
| Stage | Companies hiring | Open roles | Median pay (disclosed) | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | 1 | 1 | — | Humata |
| Series A | 5 | 7 | — | webAI, Verisoul, Foundation (Remote) |
| Series B | 2 | 2 | — | Homeward, Level |
| Series C | 1 | 1 | — | Amat |
| Series D+ | 4 | 5 | — | SecurityScorecard, Seekr, Currencycloud |
| Public | 6 | 7 | — | Apple, Terex Corporation, Expedia |
A further 17 of those companies have no funding stage on file and are not shown above.
Recruiting from Scratch is a contingency technical recruiting firm — no retainer and no upfront cost, so you pay only when you make a hire. The process: align on the role and must-haves → a curated shortlist of 3–5 genuinely qualified AI engineers (not resume volume) → a 29-day average time to hire versus the 49-day industry average → a 90-day replacement guarantee. Backed by 300+ placements, a 2M+ candidate network, and named hires at companies like Decagon and Mercor.
An ai engineer builds AI-powered product features — LLM applications, retrieval, agents, and the systems around them.
What salary does an ai engineer in Austin command in 2026?Across 41 live postings in Austin, a $175K median salary (typically $160K–$215K) — base only; equity is typically on top. Most postings expect 5+ years of experience.
What should you look for when hiring an ai engineer?Depth in the skills these postings require (Python, TypeScript, AWS, OpenAI, GCP, Kubernetes, Go, React), plus applied LLM/ML experience paired with strong software engineering. Recruiting from Scratch sends a shortlist of 3–5 genuinely qualified candidates, not resume volume.
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