ML / AI Engineer

💰 $138K–$253K salary range

Median: $174K  ·  Based on 958 public job postings  ·  Updated July 1, 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: $174K median ($138K–$253K typical range)
• San Francisco: $308K median, $220K–$353K range (+77% vs. national)
• New York: $175K median, $150K–$223K range (+1% vs. national)
• Seattle: $143K median, $136K–$157K range (-18% vs. national)
• Remote: $161K median, $109K–$189K range (-7% vs. national)
• Chicago: $125K median, $109K–$150K range (-28% vs. national)
• Boston: $170K median, $128K–$173K range (-2% vs. national)
• Austin: $139K median, $135K–$155K range (-20% vs. national)
• Dallas: $150K median, $132K–$151K range (-14% vs. national)

Highest paying companies

San Francisco

• Thinking Machines Lab: $413K median
• Anthropic: $368K median
• AfterQuery: $350K median
• OpenAI: $330K median
• Cartesia: $270K median
• Together Ai: $230K median

New York

• Anthropic: $333K median
• Biohub: $295K median
• Mecka: $225K median
• Asana: $173K median
• Amazon: $172K median
• Tower Research Capital: $168K median

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

What's typically included

• Health insurance: 64% of postings
• Equity (RSU/options): 51% of postings
• Flexible PTO: 42% of postings
• Parental leave: 25% of postings
• Learning/education budget: 5% of postings
• Visa sponsorship: 7% of postings

Typical experience required: 4–6 years.

AI/ML salaries by seniority

• ML Engineering Manager: $91K
• AI/ML Engineer: $113K
• Senior ML Engineer: $159K
• ML Tech Lead: $172K
• ML / AI Engineer: $174K
• Staff ML Engineer: $233K
• Head of AI: $233K

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.

Common questions

What is the average ML / AI Engineer salary at an AI startup?
The median pay is $174K, with a typical range of $138K–$253K, based on 958 public job postings collected in 2025–2026.

How does ML / AI Engineer pay compare in San Francisco vs. remote?
San Francisco roles pay a median of $308K, while fully-remote roles pay $161K.

What is the ML / AI Engineer salary in San Francisco?
San Francisco ML / AI Engineers at AI-native startups earn a median of $308K, with a typical range of $220K–$353K (25th–75th percentile). That's 77% above the $174K US national median. Based on 259 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 $175K, with a typical range of $150K–$223K (25th–75th percentile). That's 1% above the $174K US national median. 43% below San Francisco's $308K. Based on 98 qualifying postings, 2025–2026.

What is the ML / AI Engineer salary in Seattle?
Seattle ML / AI Engineers at AI-native startups earn a median of $143K, with a typical range of $136K–$157K (25th–75th percentile). That's 18% below the $174K US national median. 54% below San Francisco's $308K. Based on 61 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 958 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 July 1, 2026.

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