Machine Learning & AI Engineer salary in Silicon Valley, CA

$277Kmedian salary
$236K–$310Kmiddle 50% of postings
157open jobs listing pay

The median posted salary for machine learning and AI engineer in Silicon Valley, CA is $277,000 a year, based on 157 open job postings that list pay. The middle half runs from $236,000 to $310,000, and the top 10% start at $351,000.

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Pay range

PercentileAnnual salary
10th (lowest tenth)$198,000
25th$236,000
Median$277,000
75th$310,000
90th (top tenth)$351,000

Employers who post a range ask, on average, for $226K at the low end and $324K at the high end.

$160K–$200K: 16 postings $200K–$240K: 35 postings $240K–$280K: 31 postings $280K–$320K: 41 postings $320K–$360K: 18 postings $360K–$400K: 8 postings
$160K$400K

By experience and work setting

MedianPostings
Entry level$161K3
Mid level$238K43
Senior and above$281K111

Levels come from job titles: "Senior", "Staff", "Lead", "Principal" and up count as senior; "Intern", "Junior" and "Entry level" as entry level.

Highest-paying employers

CompanyMedianPostings
Wayve$366K12
Perplexity$353K2
Roblox$320K10
SpaceXSI$310K4
Figure AI$300K8
Zoox$295K11
Nubank$288K2
Pinterest$261K11
Quince$252K3
DoorDash USA$251K15

Employers with at least two open machine learning and AI engineer postings that list pay.

How these numbers are calculated

Every figure comes from open job postings on MANY Hired that state pay in US dollars, imported from employers' own career pages and refreshed daily. For each posting we take the midpoint of its pay range, then report percentiles across postings. Postings without pay are left out; many US states (including California, Colorado, New York and Washington) require employers to list a range. These are advertised pay ranges, not reported earnings, and usually exclude bonus and equity. Updated October 29, 2026.