Machine learning engineer jobs

Machine learning engineer jobs are the postings that name that exact job title, not every role that touches AI. Of 26,929 live AI-related postings at 369 companies, 206 carry the title machine learning engineer, concentrated inside the data category, where model work gets counted.

The number this article rests on: 206 live postings carry the exact title machine learning engineer, out of 26,929 AI-related jobs tracked in the catalogue. Measured September 2026.

A title search is a narrow net. Employers use several labels for people who build and train models: machine learning engineer, AI engineer, LLM engineer. This page counts the title itself, then widens to the data category and the tools those postings name, so the picture does not depend on which label a company picked that week. Every number below traces back to a live posting, not a survey or a forecast.

How many machine learning engineer jobs are open?

206 live postings carry the exact title machine learning engineer, against 221 for AI engineer and 63 for LLM engineer. The wider data category, which includes titles beyond machine learning engineer, holds 1,259 live postings, 135 of them at Level 4, where building AI is the job itself. Measured September 2026.

Level 4 is the rating that matters here: it means the posting describes training, fine-tuning, or shipping a model, not just using one. Data: 1,259 live jobs, 48.8% at Level 1, 63.1% remote, median maximum $250,000 on 422 USD postings. That single line is the widest honest view of where machine learning engineer work concentrates, since the title itself is only one label inside it.

What tools do machine learning engineer jobs require?

The tools most named in machine learning engineer postings, read across the whole live catalogue rather than a syllabus, are PyTorch (514 mentions), Databricks (489 mentions), and TensorFlow (180 mentions), out of 4,357 live postings naming at least one AI tool of 70 tracked. Measured September 2026.

scikit-learn and XGBoost are tracked tools too, but too few live postings name them this month to rank alongside the list above. That is a monthly count, not a permanent ranking: a framework can enter or drop out as the live catalogue turns over. For the full ranked list of tools across every AI role, see What are the skills needed for AI engineer?.

Do machine learning engineer jobs require a degree?

A degree is mentioned in 4,781 of 26,929 live AI-related postings, a 17.8% share, read from the description text rather than a requirements checklist. That figure covers the whole catalogue; Level does not isolate machine learning engineer postings for this metric, so it is the only honest number to quote here. Measured September 2026.

Seniority is a more specific lens for this title. Across the catalogue, 772 postings are tagged junior and 188 intern, against 8,442 senior and 3,614 lead, out of 26,929 live jobs with 7,487 left unstated. In the data category, only 23 of 1,259 postings are tagged intern or junior, which suggests machine learning engineer is rarely an entry-level title even where the catalogue does track seniority.

Which machine learning engineers earn the highest salaries?

7,407 of 10,606 live USD postings across the whole catalogue reach a $200,000 maximum or more, the threshold Level tracks for high pay. Machine learning engineer postings sit above that bar on their own: median maximum salary is $273,500 and the median floor is $200,000, on 74 postings that publish a USD range. Measured September 2026.

The market-wide median maximum, across every category and title, is $240,000 on 10,606 USD postings. Machine learning engineer pay sits above that line, which lines up with the title's concentration in Level 4 work: the highest-rated postings in the catalogue tend to publish the highest ranges. The data category itself, where most of these postings sit, publishes a $250,000 median maximum on 422 USD postings, the number to compare the title-specific figure above against.

The jobs right now

Generated from the live catalogue, not written: postings in the data category, newest first. It changes every six hours.

Browse the full list on the data hub, or start from Level 4 for every posting where building AI is the job across all categories, whatever the title on it.

Method

• Scope: live postings in the Level catalogue whose title contains "machine learning engineer" or "ml engineer", plus the Data category for wider context.
• Sample: 26,929 live jobs, of which 11,953 publish a salary and 10,606 publish it in USD.
• Measured: September 2026, from the live catalogue at jobsbylevel.com, refreshed every six hours.
• Currency: USD only, no conversions. Medians are on the posted maximum unless stated.
• Not measured: a degree count specific to the machine learning engineer title does not exist, only the catalogue-wide figure; seniority is unknown on 7,487 postings.