Compensation Data 2026
AI Salaries
Real compensation benchmarks for AI engineers, researchers, and data scientists at the world's top AI companies.
Sourced from Levels.fyi, Glassdoor, and public reports. Estimates only — verify with companies directly.
Avg Base (US)
$175K
Senior AI roles
Avg Total Comp (US)
$350K
Including equity
Top Comp (US)
$600K+
Senior ML at top labs
Compensation by Role & Company
| Role | Company | Base Salary | Total Comp | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ML Engineer | OpenAI | $200K | $400K-$600K | 🇺🇸San Francisco |
| Research Scientist | Anthropic | $200K | $350K-$500K | 🇺🇸San Francisco |
| AI Engineer | Google DeepMind | $180K | $300K-$450K | 🇬🇧London |
| LLM Engineer | Mistral AI | €100K | €150K-€200K | 🇫🇷Paris |
| ML Engineer | Microsoft | $170K | $280K-$400K | 🇺🇸Seattle |
| AI Researcher | Meta AI | $190K | $320K-$480K | 🌍Remote |
| Data Scientist | Scale AI | $140K | $220K-$320K | 🇺🇸New York |
| NLP Engineer | Cohere | $150K | $250K-$380K | 🇨🇦Toronto |
| AI Engineer | Sarvam AI | ₹30L | ₹40L-₹80L | 🇮🇳Bangalore |
| ML Engineer | Groq | $180K | $300K-$450K | 🇺🇸San Francisco |
10 data points · Updated March 2026 · Estimates only
Salary Insights
AI engineers at top labs earn 2–3× more than traditional software engineers
Total compensation includes base salary, equity grants, and annual bonuses
San Francisco Bay Area offers highest compensation but also highest cost of living
Remote AI roles typically pay 70–80% of equivalent in-office compensation
European AI salaries are 40–60% lower than US, but come with better work-life balance
India AI salaries growing rapidly — top talent now earning ₹50L–₹1Cr+ total comp
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