Across 10,737 live US postings with salary data, measured September 2026, the median offer is $175,000–$240,000 a year. This covers tracked tech-company postings, not the whole labor market.
Measured September 2026 · n=10,737 US postings with salary
AI engineer salaries, measured from live postings.
Every number below comes from 26,799 tracked postings at 361 tech companies. No surveys, no self-reports — listed salaries only.
- The median live US posting offers $175,000–$240,000 a year (n=10,737).
- Roles that build AI systems (Level 4) list $200,000–$315,360, vs $166,900–$227,000 where AI is not the work.
- 48.8% of the 26,799 tracked postings are remote.
Median salary by job title (USD / year)
Title matched in the posting headline. Both bounds required.
| Segment | US postings with salary | Median min–max / year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI engineer | 91 | $200,000–$278,000 | — |
| ML engineer | 84 | $203,500–$275,000 | — |
| LLM engineer | 21 | $170,000–$230,000 | — |
| Prompt engineer | 3 | $88,900–$247,700 | — |
Median salary by profession (USD / year)
Categories with at least 20 US postings carrying salary data.
| Segment | US postings with salary | Median min–max / year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Engineering | 3,271 | $188,000–$260,000 | 44% remote |
| Sales | 1,853 | $171,000–$228,500 | 42.7% remote |
| Other | 1,694 | $156,000–$210,000 | 56.1% remote |
| Operations | 619 | $152,000–$200,000 | 52.5% remote |
| Marketing | 537 | $160,000–$210,000 | 57.9% remote |
| Product | 673 | $189,000–$260,200 | 39.9% remote |
| Data | 433 | $185,000–$250,900 | 53.7% remote |
| Finance | 306 | $160,000–$205,418 | 58.4% remote |
Building AI vs working around it
Same market, same month — the premium for making AI systems the product. How levels are measured.
| Segment | US postings with salary | Median min–max / year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 4 — Build AI systems | 827 | $200,000–$315,360 | — |
| Level 1 — Work around AI | 7,184 | $166,900–$227,000 | — |
Method
US-dollar postings with both salary bounds listed. Hourly rates are annualized; ambiguous amounts are excluded, never guessed.
Sample: tech companies tracked by Level (361 employers, 26,799 live postings on the measured date). Not the whole labor market — do not cite as national averages.
Refreshed monthly by an automated worker; this edition is measured September 2026. Small-n slices move a lot month to month — read the n column first.
Which AI job title pays the most?
In our tracked sample (September 2026), ML engineer postings show $203,500–$275,000 at the median, vs $200,000–$278,000 for AI engineer and $88,900–$247,700 for prompt engineer. Small samples move these numbers — check the n column before comparing.
Do roles that build AI systems pay more?
Yes, in listed salaries: Level 4 roles (building AI systems) median $200,000–$315,360, vs $166,900–$227,000 where AI is not the work (September 2026, US postings with salary data).