Artificial-intelligence talent remains one of the hottest (and scarcest) commodities in tech. Whether you’re negotiating your next role or drafting a compensation band, here’s a breakdown of today’s AI Engineer market.

1. What Does “AI Engineer” Cover?

Core focus: Designing, training, fine-tuning and shipping ML/AI systems (traditional ML, deep learning, generative models)
Typical titles: Machine-Learning Engineer, ML/AI Software Engineer, Applied Scientist, Prompt/Gen-AI Engineer
Key skills: Python · TensorFlow/PyTorch · Cloud ML stacks · Data engineering · MLOps · Prompt-engineering · LLM evaluation

2. Global Averages in 2025

(↗️ = base range, ⚖️ = total comp range, 📌 = notes)

United States (all companies)
↗️ $104 K–$145 K ⚖️ $185 K–$248 K
📌 Early career ≈ $80 K; seniors (7+ yrs) push $185 K base
Sources: BuiltIn · Coursera
Top-tier FAANG+
↗️ $205 K (L3) → $347 K (L5) ⚖️ $280 K median (Google); up to $400 K @ Scale AI
📌 Heavy stock + bonus multipliers
Source: Levels.fyi
United Kingdom
↗️ $74 K–$95 K ⚖️ $95 K–$135 K
📌 London carries a 15–20 % premium
Source: Mobilunity
Germany
↗️ €69 K (≈ $74 K) ⚖️ €80 K–€110 K
📌 Berlin & Munich lead
Source: DigitalDefynd
Eastern Europe (Serbia)
↗️ RSD 435 K/mo (≈ $47 K/yr) ⚖️ AI prompt engineers ≈ $38 K
📌 Near-shore demand keeps rising
Sources: Glassdoor · Jobicy
India
↗️ ₹1.1 M (≈ $13.5 K) ⚖️ Seniors ₹5 M+ (≈ $60 K)
📌 Wide variance across metros
Sources: Glassdoor · upGrad
Japan & South Korea
↗️ $20 K (junior) → $50 K (senior) average
📌 Smaller talent pools, rising pay
Source: Mobilunity

TL;DR:

U.S. seniors command $185 K+ base; FAANG & defence outfits eclipse $300 K TC
Europe lags by 25–40 %, while Eastern Europe & parts of Asia offer cost-adjusted bargains

3. Salary Drivers You Should Know

•Experience & seniority
< 1 yr ≈ $80 K vs. 7+ yrs ≈ $185 K (BuiltIn)
•Company tier & funding
Hyper-growth startups (Scale AI, Anthropic) → equity; Big Tech → RSUs
•Domain specialisation
Gen-AI & LLM optimisation roles → +10–25 %
•Geography & cost-of-living
SF/NYC ≈ +20 % vs. U.S. average; Bengaluru leads in India (PPP matters)
•Mission appeal
Defence-AI startups entice senior talent below FAANG cash with purpose (Reuters)

4. U.S. Progression Benchmarks

Entry (0–2 yrs):
Junior / Associate AI Engineer → Base $80 K–$120 K; TC $100 K–$150 K
Mid (3–5 yrs):
ML Engineer II / Senior → Base $135 K–$180 K; TC $180 K–$250 K
Senior (6–9 yrs):
Staff / Lead AI Engineer → Base $180 K–$230 K; TC $250 K–$350 K
Principal (10+ yrs):
Principal / Architect → Base $230 K+; TC $350 K–$500 K

(Ranges from Levels.fyi, Glassdoor, BuiltIn)

5. Ways to Maximise Your AI Engineer Salary

Deepen a niche: RLHF, LLM fine-tuning, AI-safety evaluation
Cultivate MLOps & cloud skills: End-to-end ownership pays
Leverage remote arbitrage: U.S. contracts + lower cost locale
Negotiate equity: Understand vesting, refreshers, liquidity
Stay visible: Publish, OSS contributions, conference talks

6. Outlook for 2026

↗️ Generative-AI moving from POCs to production → continued salary pressure
🛡️ Defence & healthcare verticals accelerating hiring in U.S. & EU
🤖 Code-gen tooling may flatten entry-level, but senior roles remain resilient

Key Takeaway

The AI Engineer salary curve keeps climbing—but unevenly. Geography, specialisation and mission matter as much as experience. Benchmark broadly, negotiate holistically, and invest in the skills that command the steepest premiums today.