Your Guide to AI Engineer Salary
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Your Guide to AI Engineer Salary

Artificial Intelligence has come a long way, from its roots in narrow academic circles to becoming the driving force in our daily lives. Today, it's hard to find a tool or technology that doesn't incorporate Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning. These technologies have permeated various industries and domains and made the profession of an AI engineer extremely popular. These experts typically score soaring salaries, given that their job requires solid tech background and in-depth expertise in many fields.

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In this article, you’ll find out everything about an AI engineer's salary. Artificial Intelligence engineer salaries aren’t set in stone – they tend to vary based on many factors, including location, experience, and company. With that in mind, we will cover:

  • AI developer salary in different countries (USA, India, Europe)
  • AI engineering salary offered by prominent companies (Microsoft, Google)
  • AI software engineer salary based on experience levels.

How much do Artificial Intelligence engineers make? By country

An AI engineer is currently one of the most sought-after roles around the world, and the AI jobs salary will go up as the demand for professionals grows in years to come. The AI programmer's salary is tied to the geographic location and is defined by the country’s job market, local employment situation, currency rate, taxes, and more. In this section, we’ll review the AI engineer salary in India, the USA, and across Europe.

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Artificial Intelligence salary in the US

To find out the answer to the question “How much does an AI engineer make in the US, Europe, and India?” we’ve broken down AI salaries by the biggest cities. To define the range of Artificial Intelligence jobs salary in each country, we consulted such resources as ZipRecruiter, PayScale, and GlassDoor.

City

Annual AI engineer salary (average)

San Francisco

$182,600

New York City

$160,000

Seattle

$167,825

Boston

$155,191

Los Angeles

$179,654

Chicago

$160,931

Austin

$142,242


How much do AI engineers make? EU

City

Annual AI engineer salary (average)

London, UK

£57,151

Berlin, Germany

€61,043

Paris, France

€87,456

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

€80,000

Copenhagen, Denmark

€73,617

Madrid, Spain

€42,000

Stockholm, Sweden

€51,000

AI engineer salary in India

City

Annual AI engineer salary (average)

Bengaluru

1,500,000 INR

Mumbai

1,400,000 INR

Chennai

1,300,000 INR

Delhi

1,200,000 INR

Kolkata

1,150,000 INR

Jaipur

1,050,000 INR



Now that you have an idea of AI jobs salary in different countries, let’s include another important factor – the experience of an AI engineer.

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AI specialist salary: By experience

AI engineer salary is often defined by years of experience of a candidate in question. Obviously, entry-level AI engineer salary will be lower than that of their more experienced counterparts. But even with a few years of experience and a strong skill set, one can secure a solid AI salary, given the high competition in the field.

Entry-level AI engineer salary

An entry-level AI engineer salary is commonly paid to specialists with no professional experience, including students, recent graduates, and IT professionals looking to switch to the AI field from other fields of software development. Although the professional experience of such candidates is limited, they may have a relevant educational background and superficial knowledge of AI/ML technologies. According to GlassDoor, the average entry-level AI engineer salary in the United States is $62,223 per year.

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Middle-level AI Engineer Salary

This category includes professionals who are already engaged in the field as AI engineers. These experts typically have more than 3 years of experience under their belt. Given their experience in AI projects and well-rounded skill sets, it’s natural that these professionals secure higher paychecks than entry-level AI engineer salary candidates.

Moreover, these experts have profound knowledge in several AI-related areas, including data analysis, visualization, modeling, etc. Mid-level experts can also be proficient in NLP, deep learning, and other advanced fields of AI, which is essential for career advancement. On average, the mid-level AI engineer's salary falls between $100,000 and $110,000.

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Senior AI engineer salary

Senior AI engineers are seasoned professionals with 5-10 years of experience in the field. Such experts can be hard to come by since AI is a relatively new technology. The expertise of senior-level employees plays a crucial role in developing AI infrastructure and incorporating this technology into operations and an organization's business model. Nowadays, a senior AI engineer's salary is all-time high in such domains as Fintech, Automotive, and Healthcare. On average, it falls between $140,000–$150,000 per year.

AI consultant salary

Another popular category of AI engineers is AI consultants. These professionals help companies make the most of AI technologies to improve their operations. They are typically responsible for creating algorithms and machine learning tools, enabling companies to design AI-driven solutions and products. The average AI consultant salary depends on several factors, such as geographic location, experience, and industry. If we were to provide a ballpark number, it would fall between $90,000 and $150,000 per year.

AI engineer level

Annual salary

Entry-level AI engineer salary


$62,000

Middle-level AI Engineer Salary


$100,000 – $110,000

Senior AI engineer salary


$140,000 – $150,000 

AI consultant salary

$90,000 – $150,000


Artificial Intelligence jobs salary: By experience

AI engineer salary: By company

Top companies worldwide are poaching AI engineers in droves and the salaries they offer tend to go through the roof. For instance, a Microsoft Azure AI engineer salary reaches a whopping $167,000 per year. It’s also reported that the yearly total compensation for the data and AI specialist at Microsoft salary is $215,000. At Google, a Machine Learning engineer salary is as high as $215,805 per year. Below, we’ve gathered information about AI engineer salaries at some of the most prominent companies in the world.

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Name of the company

Annual AI engineer salary (average)

Google

$204,679

Microsoft

$185,693 

Apple

$199,883 

Amazon

$200,749

IBM

$149,780

Tesla

$234,537

Netflix

$235,001

AI Engineer Salary: By company

AI job salary: By academic degree

As a tech leader, you may want to know about appropriate salary ranges for candidates with different academic degrees. Chances are you wonder about the difference between an Artificial Intelligence Ph.D. salary and a Master’s in Artificial Intelligence salary.

Typically, AI engineers with a Ph.D. degree command higher paychecks compared to those with an MS degree, thanks to the advanced skills and specialized knowledge they can bring to the table. However, the margin depends on the job role complexity, industry, location, and the candidate's level of experience. On average, an Artificial Intelligence Ph.D. salary can be 10% - 30% higher than a Master’s in Artificial Intelligence salary.

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If you’re wondering about the Artificial Intelligence major salary, which often means that your candidate has an Undergraduate degree, their salaries might be lower as compared to their Ph.D. and MS counterparts, especially at the early stages of their careers. Let’s compare an Artificial Intelligence degree salary:

Education level 

Annual AI salary range

Artificial Intelligence Ph.D. salary

$120,000 - $200,000+

Master’s in Artificial Intelligence salary

$70,000 - $150,000+

Artificial Intelligence major salary

$50,000 - $120,000+

Average AI degree salary

Hire AI engineers with Hiretop

In this post, we’ve covered AI engineer salaries based on various factors. As you can see, an AI engineer is a complex role that requires top-dollar payment. We at Hiretop offer an opportunity to work with skilled AI engineers at a more reasonable cost. Our model assumes sourcing AI talent in such a hotspot of AI engineering as Eastern Europe. With us, you can tap into a diverse pool of talented AI developers who will join your team at more competitive rates than you may count on in the USA and EU. Contact us today, we may be ready to send you some CVs of our available AI engineers today!