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OpenAI pays a median of $308K ($252K–$339K) across 570 public job postings (2025–2026).
Median: $308K · Based on 570 public OpenAI job postings · Updated July 1, 2026
This OpenAI salary benchmark is built from public job postings — no private placement data. Figures reflect the posted-range midpoint (equity is separate) and are refreshed as new postings are collected.
2% of OpenAI's disclosed-pay roles are remote-friendly. Remote roles run a $280K median vs $308K onsite.
Most-required skills across these postings: OpenAI (267) · Python (137) · Go (35) · Kubernetes (35) · Rust (28) · Azure (26) · CI/CD (25) · AWS (21) · Terraform (21) · JavaScript (20).
Commonly listed: relocation (210) · mental-health (3) · medical (1).
OpenAI is Late Stage stage · 1,001–5,000 employees · founded 2015 · HQ San Francisco, California. This context shapes pay: later-stage, well-funded companies tend to anchor base salary higher.
Roles typically ask for around 7 years of experience (up to 20+ for the most senior). Most postings don't state a degree requirement; of the 40 that do, Bachelor's and PhD and Master's are most common.
The figures on this page are the midpoint of each posting's advertised salary range (which, for commission roles, includes on-target earnings). Equity is a separate — and often large — component of total compensation, especially at high-growth and AI-native companies; 86% of these postings reference equity. Equity is not included in the medians above.
Beyond the posted-range midpoint, postings indicate: 100% include commission; common structures: hourly. Bonus, commission, and equity vary by role and are not included in the base medians above.
OpenAI has 570 open roles right now, and this benchmark draws on 570 public job postings with disclosed pay. 170 of these roles were first seen in the last 30 days (412 in the last 90).
Compare OpenAI's pay with companies in the same space:
| Company | Median pay | vs OpenAI | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | $353K | ↑ +15% | Series H |
| Writer | $195K | ↓ -37% | Series C |
| Fal | $208K | ↓ -33% | Series D |
| Arize AI | $186K | ↓ -39% | Series C |
| CoreWeave | $184K | ↓ -40% | Public |
| Fluidstack | $205K | ↓ -33% | Series D |
Perplexity · Listen Labs · Goodfire · Decagon · Tools for Humanity · Cloudflare
Top-Paying Tech Companies for Engineers (2026) · Highest-Paying Cities for Software Engineers · Highest-Paying Engineering Roles
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All Engineering salaries → · Browse all tech salaries →
What does OpenAI pay?
The median pay is $308K, with a typical range of $252K–$339K, based on 570 public job postings (2025–2026). Base only — equity is separate.
What is the highest-paying job at OpenAI?
One of the highest-paying open roles is Research Engineer, Retrieval & Search, Applied Engineering, at $293K–$585K base.
Which team pays the most at OpenAI?
The safety systems team, at a $370K median.
Where does this data come from?
Public job postings on company career pages and public job boards — no private placement or client data.
Posted-range midpoints (USD) aggregated from 570 public OpenAI job postings (2025–2026). Range = 25th–75th percentile; median = 50th percentile. Roles, departments, skills, and experience are parsed from the postings. Base salary only — equity excluded. Last refreshed July 1, 2026.
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