Recruiting Manager

💰 $105K–$161K salary range

Median: $130K  ·  Based on 245 public job postings  ·  Updated July 1, 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 ($105K–$161K typical range)
• San Francisco: $183K median, $147K–$200K range (+41% vs. national)
• New York: $136K median, $100K–$166K range (+5% vs. national)
• Los Angeles: $133K median, $102K–$145K range (+2% vs. national)
• Remote: $125K median, $105K–$164K range (-4% vs. national)
• Chicago: $125K median, $108K–$159K range (-4% vs. national)
• Austin: $125K median, $109K–$134K range (-4% vs. national)
• Boston: $137K median, $128K–$157K range (+5% vs. national)
• Seattle: $161K median, $135K–$163K range (+24% vs. national)

Highest paying companies

San Francisco

• Anthropic: $275K median

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

What's typically included

• Health insurance: 71% of postings
• Equity (RSU/options): 56% of postings
• Flexible PTO: 51% of postings
• Parental leave: 19% of postings
• Learning/education budget: 17% of postings
• Visa sponsorship: 2% of postings

Typical experience required: 5–6 years.

People salaries by seniority

• Technical Sourcer: $93K
• Technical Recruiter: $115K
• Recruiting Manager: $130K
• Senior Technical Recruiter: $149K
• Talent Lead: $164K
• Head of Talent Acquisition: $174K
• VP People / Head of HR: $201K

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.

Common questions

What is the average Recruiting Manager salary at an AI startup?
The median pay is $130K, with a typical range of $105K–$161K, based on 245 public job postings collected in 2025–2026.

How does Recruiting Manager pay compare in San Francisco vs. remote?
San Francisco roles pay a median of $183K, while fully-remote roles pay $125K.

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 245 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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