AI Engineering salary

48 market ranges · employer-stated pay · updated Oct 22, 2026

The best-evidenced figure here is for AI engineering roles at senior level across the United States: 435 postings where the employer stated pay put the middle half between $161,745 and $225,300, with a median of $195,000.

Pay rises with seniority across the United States: the medians run entry-level $91,575, mid-level $165,000, senior $195,000 and lead $236,250. Moving from entry-level to lead is worth roughly 158% more.

Every range here is counted from real postings, never modelled. 24 of the 48 ranges in the table rest on fewer than 10 postings and are marked hint: treat those as hints rather than benchmarks.

Every measured range

48 by market and level

Market	Level	Market range	Median	Sample
United States · country-wide	Entry	$74,631 – $101,463	$91,575	24
Canada · country-wide	Entry	CA$87,750	CA$87,750	5hint
United States · country-wide	Mid	$132,450 – $205,151	$165,000	376
Canada · country-wide	Mid	CA$100,000 – CA$150,000	CA$117,900	45
United Kingdom · country-wide	Mid	£54,125 – £91,875	£76,741	12
France · country-wide	Mid	€47,375 – €61,000	€55,750	8hint
United States · country-wide	Senior	$161,745 – $225,300	$195,000	435
Canada · country-wide	Senior	CA$124,500 – CA$191,250	CA$154,400	55
France · country-wide	Senior	€63,641 – €92,517	€72,500	10
Ireland · country-wide	Senior	€87,600 – €111,675	€104,400	6hint
United States · country-wide	Lead	$193,000 – $273,250	$236,250	75
Remote · United States	Mid	$138,125 – $217,869	$163,475	66
Remote · Canada	Mid	CA$106,101 – CA$141,125	CA$132,203	6hint
Remote · United States	Senior	$162,386 – $220,219	$193,985	108
Remote · Canada	Senior	CA$163,875 – CA$208,638	CA$172,105	8hint
Remote · United States	Lead	$205,513 – $267,125	$224,375	10
Atlanta	Mid	$131,000 – $195,500	$167,600	5hint
Atlanta	Senior	$150,803 – $191,075	$170,813	8hint
Austin	Mid	$118,350 – $140,400	$131,750	5hint
Austin	Senior	$148,775 – $247,250	$179,000	6hint
Boston	Mid	$136,625 – $169,100	$145,575	10
Boston	Senior	$191,400 – $216,250	$197,500	16
Chantilly	Mid	$166,850 – $184,900	$171,650	5hint
Charlotte	Mid	$134,237 – $141,400	$141,400	5hint
Chicago	Mid	$115,000 – $165,125	$132,700	10
Chicago	Senior	$134,425 – $169,215	$149,500	12
London	Mid	£77,500 – £137,500	£90,000	7hint
Mclean	Mid	$113,700 – $184,900	$162,000	5hint
Mclean	Senior	$185,713 – $222,326	$212,328	6hint
Mountain View	Mid	$156,250 – $172,500	$167,500	8hint
Mountain View	Senior	$205,625 – $271,625	$237,500	10
New York	Mid	$157,938 – $275,000	$195,000	51
New York	Senior	$178,750 – $239,488	$207,723	52
New York	Lead	$191,000 – $269,150	$245,000	21
Palo Alto	Senior	$192,800 – $230,300	$201,650	7hint
San Diego	Mid	$137,700 – $169,667	$148,450	5hint
San Francisco	Mid	$183,750 – $246,250	$215,000	47
San Francisco	Senior	$205,000 – $277,500	$232,500	53
San Jose	Mid	$162,369 – $300,000	$191,638	8hint
San Jose	Senior	$230,000 – $232,500	$230,400	9hint
Santa Clara	Senior	$194,306 – $242,225	$211,695	8hint
Seattle	Senior	$170,000 – $210,000	$208,550	5hint
Sunnyvale	Mid	$157,500 – $203,000	$186,000	7hint
Sunnyvale	Senior	$200,000 – $203,000	$200,750	8hint
Toronto	Mid	CA$106,250 – CA$167,125	CA$120,765	18
Toronto	Senior	CA$128,600 – CA$190,175	CA$152,100	26
Washington	Mid	$138,900 – $261,750	$162,000	12
Washington	Senior	$160,950 – $185,000	$183,350	5hint

Entry is junior titles. Mid is mid-level and manager titles. Senior is senior titles. Lead is director, VP and above. Rows marked hint rest on fewer than 10 postings: read them as a hint, not a benchmark.

Ranges span the 25th to 75th percentile of employer-stated base pay for the market and level. Median is the 50th percentile. Sample is the number of postings measured.