AI DevOps Engineer Salary.
Across 83 U.S. cities.
$175,000
national median salary
$135,000 to $225,000. Last updated April 2026.
Highest Paying
$237,000
San Jose, CA
Best Purchasing Power
$183,000
Des Moines, IA
Lowest Paying
$137,000
Charleston, WV
Salary data sourced from SEC filings, H-1B Labor Condition Applications (DOL), Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and aggregated job postings across 50+ platforms. Ranges reflect 25th to 75th percentile for full-time positions. Cost-of-living adjustments use Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (2025 index). Last updated April 2026.
The average AI DevOps Engineer salary in the United States is $175,000 in 2026, with the full range spanning $135,000 at the 25th percentile to $225,000 at the 75th. San Jose pays the most at $237,000, while Des Moines offers the best purchasing power after cost-of-living adjustments. Pay depends on expertise managing GPU clusters, ML pipeline CI/CD, and model deployment automation.
AI DevOps Engineer salary by city
Skills that increase AI DevOps Engineer pay
The skills below command measurable salary premiums for AI DevOps Engineers based on job posting data. Learning the top skill here could add $24,500 to your annual compensation.
≈ +$24,500 per year
≈ +$22,750 per year
≈ +$21,000 per year
≈ +$19,250 per year
≈ +$17,500 per year
≈ +$17,500 per year
≈ +$17,500 per year
≈ +$15,750 per year
What you should know
Pay depends on expertise managing GPU clusters, ML pipeline CI/CD, and model deployment automation. Engineers who can optimize inference serving costs while maintaining latency SLAs are especially valued. Experience with container orchestration for heterogeneous compute environments adds 10 to 15% to base compensation.
Junior MLOps engineers start at $95,000 to $120,000. AI DevOps engineers earn $135,000 to $175,000. Senior roles reach $190,000 to $240,000, and principal AI infrastructure engineers at large companies command $260,000 to $340,000 in total compensation.
Annual bonuses range from 10 to 15% of base salary. Equity is standard at AI-focused companies, typically valued at $20,000 to $60,000 per year. On-call compensation or additional stipends may apply for production ML systems.