Operations Lead

💰 $126K–$195K salary range

Median: $164K  ·  Based on 287 public job postings  ·  Updated August 30, 2026

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The individual overseeing core operational strategies at high-growth companies plays a pivotal role in ensuring the efficient design and optimization of critical data pipelines and ML model deployment workflows that underpin AI product development and scaling. Based on 35 recent job postings, the salary range for this position typically falls between $143,000 and $220,000, with a median salary of $185,000. This data reflects a competitive market for professionals capable of navigating the unique operational demands of AI environments. Candidates demonstrating expertise in MLOps platforms, robust data governance frameworks, and cloud infrastructure optimization for large-scale AI workloads frequently command salaries at the higher end of this spectrum. A deep understanding of automation and system reliability within a fast-paced, iterative product cycle is also highly valued.

📊 Salary breakdown

Operations Lead salary by location

• All locations: $164K median ($126K–$195K typical range)
• New York: $165K median, $133K–$195K range (+1% vs. national)
• San Francisco: $194K median, $170K–$231K range (+19% vs. national)
• Los Angeles: $125K median, $113K–$161K range (-24% vs. national)
• Austin: $155K median, $123K–$162K range (-5% vs. national)
• Denver: $150K median, $135K–$153K range (-8% vs. national)
• Boston: $150K median, $138K–$153K range (-8% vs. national)

Highest paying companies

San Francisco

• OpenAI: $285K median
• Sierra AI: $233K median
• Broccoli AI: $175K median
• Mach9: $170K median

New York

• SuperDial: $148K median

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

What's typically included

• Health insurance: 70% of postings
• Equity (RSU/options): 72% of postings
• Flexible PTO: 49% of postings
• Parental leave: 25% of postings
• Learning/education budget: 9% of postings
• Visa sponsorship: 4% of postings

Typical experience required: 6–7 years.

Operations salaries by seniority

• Business Operations Analyst: $98K
• Business Operations Manager: $116K
• Revenue Operations Manager: $125K
• Senior BizOps Manager: $148K
• Operations Lead: $164K
• Head of Strategy & Operations: $181K
• VP Operations: $199K

What does a Operations Lead do?

Operations Leads are operators who keep the company running and scaling. 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 (FY2025) show a median of $180K for Operations Lead roles, ranging $149K–$220K, across 61 filings. This is reported separately from — never blended with — the job-posting median above.

Common questions

What is the average Operations Lead salary at an AI startup?
The median pay is $164K, with a typical range of $126K–$195K, based on 287 public job postings collected in 2025–2026.

What is the Operations Lead salary in New York?
New York Operations Leads at AI-native startups earn a median of $165K, with a typical range of $133K–$195K (25th–75th percentile). That's 1% above the $164K US national median. 15% below San Francisco's $194K. Based on 75 qualifying postings, 2025–2026.

What is the Operations Lead salary in San Francisco?
San Francisco Operations Leads at AI-native startups earn a median of $194K, with a typical range of $170K–$231K (25th–75th percentile). That's 19% above the $164K US national median. Based on 58 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 287 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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