Recruiting Manager

💰 $103K–$158K salary range

Median: $130K  ·  Based on 271 public job postings  ·  Updated August 30, 2026

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Driving the growth of innovative high-growth companies, this role is paramount in identifying, attracting, and securing top-tier talent across machine learning, data science, and AI engineering disciplines. The individual develops and implements scalable hiring strategies critical for building high-performing, specialized technical teams. Compensation for this pivotal position typically ranges from $125,000 to $180,000, with a median salary of $153,000, based on an analysis of 66 recent job postings. Professionals who command the highest pay demonstrate a profound understanding of AI development pipelines, expertise in technical talent assessment methodologies, and advanced proficiency in leveraging AI-powered recruitment analytics platforms. Their strategic contributions directly enable startups to scale their technical capabilities and accelerate product development.

📊 Salary breakdown

Recruiting Manager salary by location

• All locations: $130K median ($103K–$158K typical range)
• San Francisco: $163K median, $141K–$199K range (+25% vs. national)
• New York: $133K median, $101K–$160K range (+2% vs. national)
• Los Angeles: $125K median, $112K–$130K range (-4% vs. national)
• Boston: $141K median, $129K–$157K range (+8% vs. national)
• Chicago: $100K median, $83K–$131K range (-23% vs. national)
• Dallas: $123K median, $115K–$145K range (-6% vs. national)
• Denver: $106K median, $88K–$124K range (-18% vs. national)

Highest paying companies

San Francisco

• OpenAI: $240K median
• Crusoe: $145K median

New York

• Legora (formerly Leya): $165K median

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

What's typically included

• Health insurance: 68% of postings
• Equity (RSU/options): 60% of postings
• Flexible PTO: 56% of postings
• Parental leave: 24% of postings
• Learning/education budget: 20% of postings
• Visa sponsorship: 2% of postings

Typical experience required: 6–7 years.

People salaries by seniority

• Technical Sourcer: $107K
• Technical Recruiter: $117K
• Recruiting Manager: $130K
• Senior Technical Recruiter: $151K
• Talent Lead: $168K
• Head of Talent Acquisition: $190K
• VP People / Head of HR: $205K

What does a Recruiting Manager do?

Recruiting Managers are HR, recruiting, and people operations professionals who hire and grow teams. This benchmark reflects Manager-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 $150K for Recruiting Manager roles, ranging $136K–$171K, across 45 filings. This is reported separately from — never blended with — the job-posting median above.

Common questions

What is the average Recruiting Manager salary at an AI startup?
The median pay is $130K, with a typical range of $103K–$158K, based on 271 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 271 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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