ML Tech Lead

💰 $151K–$240K salary range

Median: $188K  ·  Based on 67 public job postings  ·  Updated September 8, 2026

This ML Tech Lead salary benchmark is built from public job postings at high-growth and AI-native companies — no private placement data. Figures reflect base salary and are refreshed as new postings are collected.

📊 Salary breakdown

ML Tech Lead salary by location

• All locations: $188K median ($151K–$240K typical range)
• San Francisco: $277K median, $208K–$312K range (+48% vs. national)
• New York: $213K median, $170K–$230K range (+13% vs. national)
• Chicago: $132K median, $127K–$169K range (-30% vs. national)
• Boston: $183K median, $180K–$188K range (-3% vs. national)

Highest paying companies

San Francisco

• OpenAI: $402K median
• Scale AI: $204K median

New York

• Qualitate: $170K median

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

What's typically included

• Health insurance: 72% of postings
• Equity (RSU/options): 61% of postings
• Flexible PTO: 45% of postings
• Parental leave: 19% of postings
• Learning/education budget: 18% of postings
• Visa sponsorship: 7% of postings

Typical experience required: 6–8 years.

AI/ML salaries by seniority

• ML Engineering Manager: $91K
• AI/ML Engineer: $108K
• Senior ML Engineer: $159K
• ML / AI Engineer: $180K
• ML Tech Lead: $188K
• Forward Deployed Engineer: $200K
• Head of AI: $227K
• Staff ML Engineer: $228K

What does a ML Tech Lead do?

ML Tech Leads are machine-learning and AI engineers who build, train, and ship models into production. This benchmark reflects Lead-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 $175K for ML Tech Lead roles, ranging $164K–$200K, across 62 filings. This is reported separately from — never blended with — the job-posting median above.

Common questions

What is the average ML Tech Lead salary at an AI startup?
The median pay is $188K, with a typical range of $151K–$240K, based on 67 public job postings collected in 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 67 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 September 8, 2026.

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