AI Engineering salary in San Francisco
Employer-stated pay · updated Oct 23, 2026
AI Engineering pay in San Francisco is measured from 100 postings where the employer stated pay. The best-evidenced figure is senior, where 53 postings put the middle half between $205,000 and $277,500, with a median of $232,500.
Pay rises with seniority here: the medians run mid-level $215,000 and senior $232,500. Moving from mid-level to senior is worth roughly 8% more.
Against the 13 other measured markets for AI engineering at senior, this sits below 1 of them; Mountain View leads at $237,500.
4 AI engineering roles are open in San Francisco right now, 1 listing pay.
| Level | Market range | Median | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid | $183,750 – $246,500 | $215,000 | 47 |
| Senior | $205,000 – $277,500 | $232,500 | 53 |
Entry is junior titles. Mid is mid-level and manager titles. Senior is senior titles. Lead is director, VP and above.
Ranges span the 25th to 75th percentile of employer-stated base pay for the level. Median is the 50th percentile. Sample is the number of postings measured.
Open AI engineering roles in San Francisco · 1 with stated pay
Pay marked e is our estimate. Everything else is the employer's own figure.
Applied AI Engineer WorkOS · Remote · US $175,000–$275,000 7mo ago 
Senior Software Engineer (Backend) - AI/ML ClickHouse · Remote · US $205,000–$277,500e 3mo ago Senior Software Engineer - Integrations - AI/ML ClickHouse · Remote · Canada CA$128,600–CA$189,675e 3mo ago Odos - AI Engineer – Portfolio Recommendation Agents deCircle · Remote · US $183,750–$246,500e 12mo ago