AI Engineer Salaries 2026
What AI engineering roles pay, from the salary ranges companies publish in their job postings. Pick a role for its pay by seniority, city and company.
- Median posted salary
- $240k
- 0% since Q3 2026
- Middle 50%
- $200k–$295k
- Salary ranges
- 2,034
- Posted in the last 90 days
Salary by role
| Role | Median | Middle 50% | Chart | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI Engineer | $226k | $188k–$278k | 936 | |
| AI Agent Engineer | $240k | $202k–$289k | 279 | |
| LLM Engineer | $240k | $197k–$284k | 85 | |
| Machine Learning Engineer | $240k | $211k–$272k | 279 | |
| AI Research Engineer | $300k | $250k–$413k | 180 | |
| AI Infrastructure Engineer | $270k | $220k–$311k | 275 |
Bars run from $150k to $450k. The light bar is the middle half of posted pay, the dark tick the median.
How these figures are worked out
- Every figure comes from the pay ranges employers publish in their job postings on AiRagJobs between Aug 2, 2026 and Oct 31, 2026, not from surveys or self-reported pay.
- Each posting counts once, at the middle of its range. An opening posted in several cities counts once too.
- These are annual base salaries in US dollars. Equity and bonuses aren’t included, and they can add a lot at AI labs and late-stage startups.
- Postings in other currencies, and hourly or monthly rates, are left out.
- A figure needs at least 5 postings; below that, a single posting would set the number.
- The guides cover the last 90 days and refresh as new jobs arrive. Each finished quarter is saved so you can see how pay moves over time.