Senior ML Engineer

💰 $159K–$243K salary range

Median: $189K  ·  Based on 1,115 public job postings  ·  Updated October 17, 2026

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At high-growth companies, the Senior Machine Learning Engineer role involves designing, building, and deploying the core machine learning systems that transform cutting-edge research into scalable, reliable, and performant AI products from ideation to production. Compensation for this pivotal role typically ranges from $170K to $260K, with a median salary of $210K, derived from an analysis of 104 recent job postings. Top remuneration is awarded to professionals demonstrating deep expertise in production-grade MLOps, distributed ML systems, and advanced deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or JAX. These engineers also drive architectural decisions and optimize models for real-world performance, ensuring seamless integration into product pipelines.

📊 Salary breakdown

Senior ML Engineer salary by location

• All locations: $189K median ($159K–$243K typical range)
• San Francisco: $268K median, $220K–$319K range (+42% vs. national)
• New York: $197K median, $162K–$216K range (+4% vs. national)
• Los Angeles: $168K median, $121K–$186K range (-11% vs. national)
• Denver: $150K median, $129K–$162K range (-20% vs. national)
• Dallas: $159K median, $157K–$159K range (-16% vs. national)
• Seattle: $203K median, $177K–$222K range (+8% vs. national)

Highest paying companies

San Francisco

• OpenAI: $440K median
• Magic AI: $413K median
• Thinkingmachines: $413K median
• Anthropic: $388K median
• Mercor: $350K median
• AfterQuery: $330K median

New York

• Duolingo: $215K median
• Amazon: $206K median
• Ataraxis: $200K median
• Arlo Health: $195K median
• Arlo: $195K median
• nScale: $150K median

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

What's typically included

• Health insurance: 69% of postings
• Equity (RSU/options): 70% of postings
• Flexible PTO: 55% of postings
• Parental leave: 38% of postings
• Learning/education budget: 8% of postings
• Visa sponsorship: 6% of postings

Typical experience required: 5–7 years.

AI/ML salaries by seniority

• ML Engineering Manager: $82K
• AI/ML Engineer: $110K
• Embedded Systems Engineer: $169K
• ML / AI Engineer: $175K
• MLOps Engineer: $175K
• ML Tech Lead: $181K
• Senior ML Engineer: $189K
• Head of AI: $215K
• Staff ML Engineer: $225K

What does a Senior ML Engineer do?

Senior ML Engineers are machine-learning and AI engineers who build, train, and ship models into production. This benchmark reflects Senior-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 $184K for Senior ML Engineer roles, ranging $150K–$220K, across 1,552 filings. This is reported separately from — never blended with — the job-posting median above.

Common questions

What is the average Senior ML Engineer salary at an AI startup?
The median pay is $189K, with a typical range of $159K–$243K, based on 1,115 public job postings collected in 2025–2026.

What is the Senior ML Engineer salary in San Francisco?
San Francisco Senior ML Engineers at AI-native startups earn a median of $268K, with a typical range of $220K–$319K (25th–75th percentile). That's 42% above the $189K US national median. Based on 191 qualifying postings, 2025–2026.

What is the Senior ML Engineer salary in New York?
New York Senior ML Engineers at AI-native startups earn a median of $197K, with a typical range of $162K–$216K (25th–75th percentile). That's 4% above the $189K US national median. 27% below San Francisco's $268K. Based on 85 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 1,115 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 October 17, 2026.

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