Across 44,243 live US postings with salary data, measured October 2026, the median offer is $144,000–$200,000 a year. This covers tracked tech-company postings, not the whole labor market.
Measured October 2026 · n=44,243 US postings with salary
AI engineer salaries, measured from live postings.
Every number below comes from 168,899 tracked postings at 984 tech companies. No surveys, no self-reports: listed salaries only.
- The median live US posting offers $144,000–$200,000 a year (n=44,243).
- Roles that build AI list $184,000–$264,000, vs $135,600–$189,350 for jobs with little AI.
- 16.4% of the 168,899 tracked postings are remote.
Median salary by job title (USD / year)
Title matched in the posting headline. Both bounds required.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Segment | US postings with salary | Median min–max / year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI engineer | 160 | $184,500–$251,104 | - |
| ML engineer | 270 | $199,450–$265,675 | - |
| LLM engineer | 164 | $122,600–$179,500 | - |
| Prompt engineer | 1 | $320,000–$405,000 | - |
Median salary by profession (USD / year)
Categories with at least 20 US postings carrying salary data. Categories and job titles with a larger, stable sample get their own dedicated page on Salaries.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Segment | US postings with salary | Median min–max / year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 10,205 | $124,500–$177,600 | 10% remote |
| Software Engineering | 14,668 | $152,000–$218,500 | 18.8% remote |
| Sales | 4,625 | $150,000–$204,973 | 29.5% remote |
| Operations | 3,579 | $119,328–$168,370 | 13.9% remote |
| Data | 1,763 | $153,400–$213,800 | 21.9% remote |
| Finance | 1,408 | $107,320–$163,200 | 15.8% remote |
| Product | 2,042 | $168,000–$235,200 | 23.5% remote |
| Marketing | 1,243 | $147,050–$200,000 | 29.8% remote |
Builds AI vs. Little AI
Same market, same month: the premium for making AI systems the product. How levels are measured.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Segment | US postings with salary | Median min–max / year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Builds AI ●●●● | 3,445 | $184,000–$264,000 | - |
| Little AI ●○○○ | 32,984 | $135,600–$189,350 | - |
Method
How these numbers are measured
US-dollar postings with both salary bounds listed. Hourly rates are annualized; ambiguous amounts are excluded, never guessed.
Sample: tech companies tracked by Level (984 employers, 168,899 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 Do not cite as national averages.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 October 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 (October 2026), ML engineer postings show $199,450–$265,675 at the median, vs $184,500–$251,104 for AI engineer and $320,000–$405,000 for prompt engineer. Small samples move these numbers: check the n column before comparing.
Do roles that build AI pay more?
Yes, in listed salaries: roles that build AI median $184,000–$264,000, vs $135,600–$189,350 for jobs with little AI (October 2026, US postings with salary data).