Salaries/AI/ML Engineer vs ML Research Engineer

AI/ML Engineer vs ML Research Engineer Salary

Side-by-side 2026 salary comparison across entry-level, mid-level, and senior pay for AI/ML Engineer and ML Research Engineer roles in the US.

Bottom line (mid-level, US median)

ML Research Engineers earn $38,000 (19% more) than AI/ML Engineers on average.

AI/ML Engineer vs ML Research Engineer by City

LocationAI/ML Engineer (Mid)ML Research Engineer (Mid)Difference
New York$211K$262K$-51K
Los Angeles$190K$236K$-46K
Chicago$173K$215K$-42K
Dallas$165K$205K$-40K
Houston$163K$203K$-40K
Washington D.C.$198K$246K$-48K
Philadelphia$168K$209K$-41K
Atlanta$165K$205K$-40K

Data & AI

AI/ML Engineer

Build, train, and deploy machine learning models and AI systems for production applications.

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Data & AI

ML Research Engineer

Bridge research and production: train novel models and ship them into real products.

See ML Research Engineer salaries in all cities →
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