AI engineer salary 2026
Updated Oct 16, 2026 · from live postings on company job boards
The median posted base salary for AI engineers is $236K; the middle half of postings pay $202K–$265K. Based on 159 AI engineer postings with a US salary, out of 419 open at 90 AI companies. Staff and principal titles post a median of $266K.
Pay by level
Bars show p25–p75 of posted US base pay; the tick is the median.
Level is read from the job title; "No level in title" is usually mid-level.
Highest-paying companies
| Company | Median | Middle half | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perplexity | $312K | $312K–$312K | 4 |
| Anthropic | $300K | $300K–$300K | 7 |
| Figure AI | $300K | $300K–$300K | 9 |
| OpenAI | $264K | $256K–$308K | 15 |
| Agility Robotics | $252K | $250K–$265K | 5 |
| Baseten | $248K | $182K–$248K | 3 |
| Scale AI | $243K | $243K–$284K | 7 |
| Snowflake | $235K | $190K–$322K | 5 |
Show 10 more companies
| Company | Median | Middle half | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Datadog | $234K | $164K–$267K | 3 |
| NVIDIA | $231K | $197K–$236K | 22 |
| Fireworks AI | $230K | $230K–$230K | 3 |
| Anduril | $222K | $193K–$222K | 6 |
| Socure | $220K | $215K–$255K | 3 |
| Databricks | $216K | $216K–$286K | 3 |
| Decagon | $202K | $202K–$202K | 4 |
| Cognition | $202K | $202K–$202K | 3 |
| Writer | $175K | $175K–$175K | 4 |
| Arize AI | $174K | $172K–$175K | 4 |
USD annual base, midpoint of each posted range. Companies with 3+ postings that list pay.
FAQ
What is the average AI engineer salary in 2026?
In live postings at AI companies the median posted base salary is $236K (USD, annual base), with the middle half between $202K and $265K. Based on 159 postings that publish pay, updated Oct 16, 2026.
How much do senior AI engineers make?
Senior titles post a median base of $225K (40 postings); staff and principal titles $266K.
Which companies pay AI engineers the most?
Perplexity ($312K), Anthropic ($300K), Figure AI ($300K).
Does this include equity or bonus?
No. These are base salary ranges as published in job postings. Equity and bonus are rarely posted, so total compensation is usually higher, especially at AI labs.