Artificial Intelligence (AI) jobs are growing at the speed of light. AI engineering, in particular, is a job area that has seen significant growth over the last few years. AI engineers are some of the most sought-after IT professionals in the tech world today. Given the high demand, AI engineers are well-compensated and enjoy above-average pay packages.
This guide sheds light on AI engineer salary and how factors like company, location, industry, and skill levels impact your pay. By the end of this guide, you’ll have a fair understanding of AI job salaries and how to attract high-paying AI jobs, including an AI ML program to build the most coveted AI skills.
Who is an AI Engineer?
An AI engineer uses AI and machine learning techniques to develop AI-based applications and systems. They are responsible for creating and managing the AI development and infrastructure. An AI engineer is responsible for implementing, testing, and maintaining AI solutions. An AI engineer works with algorithms, artificial neural networks, and other tools in their field to bring about innovative solutions.
As an AI engineer, you would have a deep working knowledge of the AI space and various programming languages and statistics. Their skills and solutions help organizations increase efficiency, cut costs, increase profits, and make better business decisions.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineer Roles and Responsibilities
AI engineers work with cutting-edge technology like Machine learning, Neural Networks, Natural Language Processing, and more to bring creative solutions using AI technology.
Their roles and responsibilities include a wide range of tasks that involve data science, AI programming, algorithm design, and data analytics.
Let us look at some of the responsibilities of an AI engineer.
An AI engineer wears many hats in their job. They bridge the gap between theoretical and practical aspects of the field. One of the primary responsibilities of an AI Engineer is data preparation. They collect, clean, and preprocess data. They ensure that it is suitable for analysis and model development. Once data is ready, AI Engineers construct ML-based models to meet specific business needs.
Another responsibility of their role is experimentation and testing. It plays a pivotal role in an AI Engineer’s daily routine. They conduct rigorous experiments to assess the performance and efficacy of their machine learning models. They run iterative tests, refining them to achieve optimal results.
AI Engineers work closely with cross-functional teams. They must collaborate with different sectors, such as data management, information security, and electrical engineering. Since they need to integrate AI modules into existing systems and applications, there is a need for good coordination between different departments.
Other skills relevant to an AI Engineer include pattern matching, feature extraction, and pattern recognition. It allows them to extract meaningful insights from data. They also design AI solutions to automate tasks, enhance decision-making processes, and drive innovation across industries.
What are the Current AI Engineer Salaries?
Businesses are finding innovative applications of AI tech, creating a demand for efficient AI engineers to create solutions that cater to their needs. They are in high demand as they are responsible for creating, developing, and deploying AI solutions.
The national average annual salary of an AI engineer in the United States is around $1,34,030, according to Glassdoor.
However, it changes according to the location as well. For instance, it can be around $1,40,651 per year in California or up to $1,82,109 per year in San Francisco, CA. Different factors influence the range of pay one gets. It could be the location, industry, experience and even the educational qualifications of the candidate. For instance, those who enroll in an AI ML course could have a better chance of securing a better-paying job.
Factors that Impact an AI Software Engineer Salary
An AI engineer has become a cornerstone in AI-related development and implementation for organizations. Studies show increased demand, which brightens the prospects of those pursuing a career in this area.
However, the pay scale of an AI engineer depends on many factors. In this section, we will explore how they affect the pay and the range you can expect.
Experience
Experience gives you a monetary advantage in every job. In the United States, the average pay for an AI engineer comes in the range of $104K – $174K/yr.
A fresher can expect to take home around $92K – $153K/yr.
An experienced AI engineer with over 10-14 years of experience can easily earn around $145K – $240K/yr.
Location
Just like experience, where you are working also plays a critical role. If you work in a remote location with a low cost of living, the pay could be lower. However, the pay ranges can go up when working in tech hubs with constant demand and supply of talent.
As mentioned, you can earn around $144K – $234K/yr in a tech hub like San Francisco, US. But when it comes to an Asian country, it could be around $9.45K to $27K. So where you choose to work also makes a ton of difference.
Company
Different countries also offer different pay scales for AI engineers. It could be due to economic factors, industry demand, cost of living, and government policies. However, you can place your bets on some leading industries to pay handsomely.
Here are some of the average annual salaries of the top companies you can set your eyes on:
Google: $221,834
Amazon: $195,971
Apple: $194,962
Electronic Arts $190,272
IBM: $117,514
MITRE: $112,123
Industries
Similarly, industries also vary in their need for AI-based solutions, creating fluctuations in pay scale. Whether you are in a tech-forward industry or a more conventional one will decide the pay at the end of the day. If you are looking for high-paying jobs in this field, here are some industries you can look for.
Information Technology: $194,962 (This is almost 2% higher than other industries)
Media & Communication: $190,272
This is the standard rate, hence 0% lower than other industries
Government & Public Administration: $112,123
This is a considerably lower pay grade than other industries owing to the lower application of AI.
Skill Set
The skills you have are the biggest determiner of your AI engineer salary. The more experience you have, the more you are valuable to an organization. Here are the average salaries of different levels of experience of an AI engineer in the US.
- Beginner with 0-1 year experience: $92K – $153K
- Engineer with 7-9 years of experience: $128K – $211K
- Engineer with 15+ years of experience: $164K – $275K
Getting years of experience and different areas of booming interest can open up more opportunities for you in AI.
Top-Paying AI Jobs
An AI engineer is a relatively recent job role. Due to its novelty, you will find that several roles have overlapping skills. Here are some similar roles which you could try your hand at as well.
Machine learning: $122,990
Software engineer: $119,038
Software developer: $101,961
Data engineer: $103,412
Data scientist: $127,084
How Do You Attract a High AI Engineer Salary?
Getting a job is great, but getting one that pays you your worth is not easy. Know what you can contribute and what to expect in return. Here are some tips for you to earn a high-paying AI software engineer salary.
- Master’s Degree: While not mandatory, a master’s degree can boost credibility and earning potential. It is also a worthwhile investment in this realm.
- Skill Enhancement: Stay current with AI and machine learning developments. Continuously expand your skills in algorithms, modeling, and programming to tackle complex projects.
- Specialize: Consider focusing on a specific industry or domain to become an expert. Specialized knowledge can lead to premium salaries.
- Negotiation: Don’t shy away from salary negotiations. Be confident and well-prepared. Research salary benchmarks to make a compelling case for your worth.
- Certifications: Invest in AI courses and certifications to validate your expertise. Employers value certified AI engineers, potentially resulting in a higher AI engineer salary. Consider AI ML training for the added advantage.
Get Started on Your AI Engineer Career
AI has gained mainstream adoption and is here to stay. As a leading tech, the opportunities it presents are also vast. If you are passionate about being a part of innovations in the tech world, the AI engineer role is perfect. As you’ve seen from this guide, it opens doors to handsome pay and perks besides the job satisfaction of working in a thriving industry.
Ready to get started? A good AI ML bootcamp like ours can set you on the right track. It teaches you the core concepts and helps you build a solid base in AI and machine learning while covering highly relevant topics like generative AI and prompt engineering. Learn from global AI and ML experts online through live classes and benefit from a collaborative and interactive learning environment. This course also gives you practical experience with 25+ hands-on projects, and you can choose from three capstone projects.
Enroll and start your AI journey toward a high AI ML engineer salary today!
