ML / AI Engineer

💰 $150K–$278K salary range

Median: $200K  ·  Based on 1,001 public job postings  ·  Updated August 30, 2026

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At high-growth companies, ML / AI Engineers are pivotal in transforming cutting-edge research into scalable, production-ready AI products, focusing on the deployment, operationalization, and performance optimization of machine learning models. Analysis of 145 recent job postings indicates a typical salary range of $185,000–$254,000, with a median compensation of $220,000. Professionals commanding top pay often possess expertise in production-grade MLOps, designing distributed systems for high-throughput model serving, and advanced techniques for fine-tuning large language models (LLMs) for specialized applications. This role demands a strong integration of robust software engineering practices with deep machine learning knowledge to build and maintain high-impact AI solutions.

📊 Salary breakdown

ML / AI Engineer salary by location

• All locations: $200K median ($150K–$278K typical range)
• San Francisco: $293K median, $220K–$348K range (+46% vs. national)
• New York: $190K median, $163K–$250K range (-5% vs. national)
• Seattle: $177K median, $150K–$248K range (-11% vs. national)
• Chicago: $199K median, $140K–$250K range (-1% vs. national)
• Boston: $151K median, $118K–$171K range (-24% vs. national)
• Raleigh: $87K median, $81K–$93K range (-57% vs. national)
• Miami: $246K median, $198K–$251K range (+23% vs. national)
• San Diego: $77K median, $77K–$82K range (-61% vs. national)

Highest paying companies

San Francisco

• Thinkingmachines: $413K median
• Anthropic: $340K median
• OpenAI: $330K median
• Vizcom: $325K median
• Worldlabs: $294K median
• P 1%20ai: $293K median

New York

• Anthropic: $333K median
• Jane Street: $300K median
• Seven Research: $250K median
• Edra: $231K median
• Mecka: $225K median
• Pdt Partners: $190K median

Based on companies with 3+ active postings. Median of publicly advertised salary range.

What's typically included

• Health insurance: 60% of postings
• Equity (RSU/options): 51% of postings
• Flexible PTO: 38% of postings
• Parental leave: 18% of postings
• Learning/education budget: 8% of postings
• Visa sponsorship: 8% of postings

Typical experience required: 5–6 years.

AI/ML salaries by seniority

• AI/ML Engineer: $110K
• ML Engineering Manager: $140K
• ML Tech Lead: $155K
• Senior ML Engineer: $176K
• Forward Deployed Engineer: $200K
• ML / AI Engineer: $200K
• Head of AI: $233K
• Staff ML Engineer: $236K

What does a ML / AI Engineer do?

ML / AI Engineers are machine-learning and AI engineers who build, train, and ship models into production. This benchmark reflects Mid-level base compensation at high-growth and AI-native companies.

Government wage data

For corroboration, U.S. Department of Labor certified wage filings (FY2026) show a median of $183K for ML / AI Engineer roles, ranging $154K–$215K, across 3,128 filings. This is reported separately from — never blended with — the job-posting median above.

Common questions

What is the average ML / AI Engineer salary at an AI startup?
The median pay is $200K, with a typical range of $150K–$278K, based on 1,001 public job postings collected in 2025–2026.

What is the ML / AI Engineer salary in San Francisco?
San Francisco ML / AI Engineers at AI-native startups earn a median of $293K, with a typical range of $220K–$348K (25th–75th percentile). That's 46% above the $200K US national median. Based on 313 qualifying postings, 2025–2026.

What is the ML / AI Engineer salary in New York?
New York ML / AI Engineers at AI-native startups earn a median of $190K, with a typical range of $163K–$250K (25th–75th percentile). That's 5% below the $200K US national median. 35% below San Francisco's $293K. Based on 128 qualifying postings, 2025–2026.

Where does this salary data come from?
It is aggregated from public job postings on company career pages — no private placement or client data. We require a minimum of 15 postings per role.

Methodology

Figures are the midpoint of each posting's advertised USD salary range, aggregated from 1,001 public job postings (2025–2026). The range shown is the 25th–75th percentile; the median is the 50th percentile. Equity is separate and not included; where a posting's range reflects on-target earnings (OTE) for commission roles, that is included in the midpoint. Roles require at least 15 postings to be published. Last refreshed August 30, 2026.

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