AI Engineers Salary Trends: What to Expect in the Upcoming Years

Table of Contents

• How Much Do AI Engineers Make?
• What Factors Affect AI Engineer Salaries?
• Global Impact of AI on the Economy
• Jobs Related to AI Engineering
• Average AI Engineer Salary Predictions
• FAQ

The buzz around artificial intelligence continues to grow, from large corporations investing millions of dollars to small start-ups working to improve efficiencies with AI. By implementing AI solutions in daily operations, businesses can automate many repetitive tasks, but AI capabilities are increasingly important for staying competitive.

AI technology has shifted how we interact with each other, and its impact on the global economy is immense. The PwC Global AI Jobs Barometer report states that 100% of industries are increasing AI usage around the world.

Whether you’re a software engineer upskilling for AI or a business that needs to hire an AI engineer, it’s helpful to understand how much AI engineers earn in different locations and industries.

How Much Do AI Engineers Make?

When considering how to find developers for a startup, proper market research is a must.

The sampling of remote specialists across countries, industries, and seniority levels is intended to give businesses an understanding of the global market for AI engineers.

Note: This is a generalized overview of AI engineer salary expectations and should not be taken verbatim. Artificial intelligence is a fast-growing industry, and market conditions shift quickly. Facts and numbers should be independently confirmed.

Artificial Intelligence Engineer Salary Expectations Across Regions

Remote work adoption has extended opportunities for companies hiring AI specialists. It’s important to assess the regional market and the competition when considering remote global hires. AI skills may be assessed differently, and the economic situation of the region will have an impact on living wages.

We’ll primarily focus on the US, Asia, Europe, and LATAM markets.

USA

According to Glassdoor, an AI engineer’s salary in the USA ranges between $121K and $191K, with an average of $152K. If we look at a breakdown of big cities in different states, these are the most competitive:

Source: Glassdoor

Asia

The average AI engineer salary in Asia is less than in the USA in some areas and comparable in others. Here is an average breakdown per country:

Source: Economic Research Institute

Europe

In Europe, demand for AI engineers is exploding, leaving many European companies struggling to find candidates with the experience they require. Many specialists from Central and Eastern Europe have lower hourly rates than their US colleagues, but as the professional benchmarks are similar, that wage gap is shrinking rapidly.

Source: Glassdoor

LATAM

The AI landscape in Latin America is dynamic, with bigger cities attracting significant business investments and offering better opportunities for AI engineers. Location is an important salary differentiator here as there is great diversity in the level of development across LATAM countries.

Source: Economic Research Institute

A Closer Look at Industries

It’s clear that AI engineers are in demand around the world, but which industries are investing the most in AI?

Predictably, the biggest AI industry boom is within technology and software development. Top tech giants and specialized AI firms like Anthropic, OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Netflix, and Meta compete for the best talent available, and seven-figure packages for senior AI experts are becoming increasingly common.

The second industry investing heavily in AI is finance and banking. Along with transforming banking systems, AI is being used to advance cybersecurity, fraud detection, and risk management. JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and fintech startups are all big players in the space.

AI is also growing rapidly within the healthcare and pharmaceuticals industries. AI implementation is improving outcomes for drug discovery, medical image analysis, robotic-assisted surgery, and personalized treatments. Leading companies using artificial intelligence in healthcare and pharmaceuticals include Pfizer, Novartis, Sanofi, Eli Lilly, and Tempus AI.

And AI projects are also transforming the retail and e-commerce industry. AI projects in this sector are often focused on improving the customer experience. This includes the implementation of virtual assistants for customer support, dynamic search, inventory management, and deep user analytics. Amazon, Shopify, Walmart, and Nike are among the industry leaders in AI adoption.

AI Engineer Experience Expectations: Junior to Senior

Many developers are switching to AI and machine learning careers to meet market demand and advance their professional abilities.

When you hire AI engineers, use this experience breakdown to help determine a salary range.

• Junior: 0–3 years of experience. Juniors work under guidance and can manage simpler tasks, such as data cleansing or model training. A junior AI engineer starting salary serves as a baseline for your AI hiring budget.
• Mid-level: 3–5 years of experience. Mid-level specialists are more experienced in AI concepts and can work independently. An artificial intelligence engineer salary for mid-level positions is typically a 50%–75% increase over the junior level.
• Senior: More than 6 years of experience. Senior AI specialists deal with complex projects and are often involved in strategic planning. They can define the project scope and lead a team of junior and mid-level engineers. A senior AI engineer’s compensation is often 100%-150% higher than a junior salary.

What Factors Affect AI Engineer Salaries?

Salary ranges for hiring AI engineers can be significantly different depending on experience, location, and industry specialization.

• Location: A company’s business location is an important factor, but for businesses with remote models, the developer’s location becomes most important.
• Experience Level: Hiring a junior AI engineer may be more budget-friendly, but work complexity is the most important consideration. If senior-level experience is required but there are budget constraints, hiring an experienced AI engineer from another country is a good option.
• Industry: Before you hire ML engineers, assess the needs of your business. AI engineers with specific industry experience often cost more.
• Skills and Specializations: AI engineers with specialized skills or niche experience command higher salaries. Be clear whether your business requires any developer specializations before posting the role.
• Education: AI specialists who hold a degree and additional certifications are in a higher salary bracket. As with skills and specializations, assess your business to determine whether you require engineers with advanced education.

Global Impact of AI on the Economy

Artificial intelligence initiatives are disrupting and transforming the global economy through massive capital investments and increased labor productivity.

Jobs

According to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) study, AI implementation will impact more than 40% of jobs, primarily by reshaping or augmenting their daily tasks. Roles will shift, but most jobs won’t disappear, though the impact of AI varies significantly across industries and specializations.

The National Bureau of Economic Research found that AI increases productivity in lower-skilled roles by 34%.

Transition Between Jobs

Many AI engineers have responded quickly to the evolving market by expanding their toolkits and focusing on how to build robust, scalable AI systems. Younger specialists are most likely to transition between roles and industries for more career growth opportunities.

Inequality Levels

Developing economies have historically held a competitive advantage in the labor market for companies requiring low-cost labor for routine tasks. An IMF report shows AI automation poses a threat to emerging markets, potentially flattening wage disparity and reducing their competitive edge. International organizations are focusing on deliberate inclusion policies to mitigate these effects.

Revenue Growth

NVIDIA’s annual “State of AI” report shows AI adoption across industries and reports on the cost reductions businesses have experienced after implementing AI in their organizations. 88% of respondents said AI has increased annual revenue in some or all parts of their business. One-third of that group reported that their revenue increase has been significant (greater than 10%). This is one of the main indicators that companies will continue adopting AI in the coming years.

Jobs Related to AI Engineering

The responsibilities of an AI engineer often overlap with those of other specializations. The closest related positions include ML Engineer, Data Engineer, and Data Scientists. These roles share common tasks within the design, development, and implementation of machine learning algorithms.

Additional job titles that may be a fit for your project requirements include Robotics Engineer, NLP Engineer, and Research Scientist.

It’s important to highlight that an AI specialist’s average compensation is slightly higher than that of their non-AI counterparts, even for junior engineers.

Average AI Engineer Salary Predictions

The current demand for AI specialists is higher than the number of specialists available in the global market, which greatly impacts salary negotiations. Salaries are predicted to grow significantly across all regions in the years ahead, with premiums for developers with niche skills.

FAQ

Is it worth building AI engineering teams in-house, or is it better to hire a recruitment team to find specialists?

It depends on the size of your organization and the need for specialists. Staffing agencies and those offering recruiting services have more tools and experience to quickly find and vet qualified AI engineers.

Will AI engineer salaries continue to rise?

Experts predict that AI salaries will continue to grow due to rising demand across industries and the limited talent pool. Competition in the AI sector and significant industry investments in AI are contributing to the higher demand.