AI Engineer Salary Trends in the US (2026 – 2022)

Compare ai engineer salary ranges by experience level and year, from internship roles through engineering leadership positions.

2026 Median Salary$155KMid Level AI Engineer benchmark
Senior Range$155K – $280KSenior AI Engineer market range
Starting Hourly Range$13–$39/hrAI Engineer Intern / early-career estimate
Category (Experience)
Year
Min – Max (USD)
Salary Range (Min – Max in USD)
AI Engineer Intern(Current student; paid AI engineering internship, with annualized full-time-equivalent pay for comparison.)
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
$13–$39/hr
$29–$58/hr
$25–$36/hr
$25–$36/hr
$25–$36/hr
$13
$39
$29
$58
$25
$36
$25
$36
$25
$36
Junior AI Engineer(0-1 years; implements scoped production AI features with close guidance.)
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
$80K – $130K
$90K – $115K
$81K – $118K
$81K – $145K
$78K – $137K
$80K
$130K
$90K
$115K
$81K
$118K
$81K
$145K
$78K
$137K
Entry Level AI Engineer(1-2 years; ships bounded model integrations, tests, evaluations, and data or inference workflows.)
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
$95K – $140K
$100K – $140K
$99K – $134K
$114K – $141K
$99K – $156K
$95K
$140K
$100K
$140K
$99K
$134K
$114K
$141K
$99K
$156K
Associate AI Engineer(2-4 years; owns components of RAG, agent, evaluation, inference, safety, or LLMOps systems.)
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
$102K – $155K
$120K – $160K
$118K – $148K
$110K – $145K
$99K – $177K
$102K
$155K
$120K
$160K
$118K
$148K
$110K
$145K
$99K
$177K
Mid Level AI Engineer(3-5 years; independently builds, deploys, monitors, and improves production AI systems.)
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
$130K – $200K
$140K – $190K
$118K – $163K
$114K – $185K
$137K – $201K
$130K
$200K
$140K
$190K
$118K
$163K
$114K
$185K
$137K
$201K
Senior AI Engineer(5-9 years; leads complex delivery across architecture, reliability, evaluation, safety, and operating cost.)
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
$155K – $280K
$190K – $250K
$134K – $200K
$136K – $185K
$156K – $232K
$155K
$280K
$190K
$250K
$134K
$200K
$136K
$185K
$156K
$232K
Lead AI Engineer(8-12 years; sets cross-team technical direction, mentors engineers, and owns major production outcomes.)
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
$173K – $310K
$230K – $286K
$150K – $232K
$150K – $214K
$164K – $232K
$173K
$310K
$230K
$286K
$150K
$232K
$150K
$214K
$164K
$232K
Principal or AI Architect(10+ years; principal individual-contributor ownership of enterprise AI architecture, platforms, standards, and high-risk technical decisions.)
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
$214K – $325K
$217K – $350K
$171K – $239K
$170K – $256K
$164K – $239K
$214K
$325K
$217K
$350K
$171K
$239K
$170K
$256K
$164K
$239K
VP of AI Engineering(12+ years; executive ownership of the AI engineering organization, budget, portfolio, governance, staffing, and business-level production outcomes.)
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
$220K – $340K
$204K – $370K
$196K – $284K
$181K – $271K
$174K – $280K
$220K
$340K
$204K
$370K
$196K
$284K
$181K
$271K
$174K
$280K