AI Financial Engineer.
Raleigh.
$216,000
median salary, 3% above the national average
$160,000 to $278,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
Orbyt estimates AI Financial Engineer pay in Raleigh at $216,000, within a range of $160,000 to $278,000. That is 3% above the national average. Raleigh sits at the heart of the Research Triangle, one of America's premier tech and life sciences corridors. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for AI Financial Engineer in Raleigh, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $99,200 for Financial and Investment Analysts (SOC 13-2051) in the Raleigh-Cary, NC metropolitan area, based on 1,380 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$63,060
25th percentile
$75,230
Median
$99,200
75th percentile
$124,640
90th percentile
$160,710
Workers surveyed
1,380
Why this differs from the estimate above. The Orbyt estimate of $216,000 is 118% higher than this published figure. That is usually not an error in either number: BLS reports by occupation code, and Financial and Investment Analysts covers a different population than the AI Financial Engineer title as it is typically advertised. Both are shown, unreconciled, so you can judge which one describes the job you mean.
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Financial and Investment Analysts (SOC 13-2051) rather than AI Financial Engineer specifically. The Raleighrange at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 13-2051Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $195,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$140,000
to $173,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$184,000
to $227,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$238,000
to $281,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$270,000
to $335,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $106,000 to the total package.
Base
$216,000
Equity
$65,000
Bonus
$28,000
Signing
$13,000
Estimated total: $322,000
How Raleigh compares.
Raleigh, NC
$216,000
Cost of living: 1% below average
National Average
$210,000
Raleigh is $6,000 above
AI Financial Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Raleigh.
What you should know.
Before you negotiate an AI Financial Engineer offer in Raleigh, understand the terrain. Raleigh sits at the heart of the Research Triangle, one of America's premier tech and life sciences corridors. Cisco, Red Hat, Epic Games, and numerous biotech firms drive strong demand for engineering, research, and product roles. The combination of top tier universities and moderate living costs creates an exceptionally favorable salary to expense ratio. Pay depends on ability to apply ML models to quantitative finance problems like risk modeling, algorithmic trading, and fraud detection. Engineers combining deep finance domain expertise with advanced ML skills earn top-band compensation. Experience with real-time inference for trading systems and regulatory-compliant model development adds 20 to 30% to base salaries.
Junior quant ML engineers start at $120,000 to $150,000. AI financial engineers earn $155,000 to $210,000. Senior roles at top funds reach $250,000 to $350,000 base, and portfolio managers or heads of AI strategy at major firms command $500,000 to $1,000,000 or more in total compensation. In Raleigh, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
Base salary is not the full picture. Performance bonuses at hedge funds and trading firms can range from 50 to 200% of base salary. Equity is less common in finance but deferred compensation plans are standard. Banks offer structured bonus pools tied to desk profitability. And on the tax side: north Carolina's flat 4.5% income tax keeps the burden low. Raleigh has no city income tax, and the Triangle's affordable housing amplifies your take home purchasing power. When someone quotes you $216,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Cite Research Triangle talent competition in your negotiation. Employers here compete directly with each other and with remote offers, creating favorable leverage for candidates. The range for AI Financial Engineers in Raleigh runs from $160,000 to $278,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
Considering a related role?
- An AI Risk Analytics Engineer in Raleigh earns $215,000 (0% more)
- The highest-paying role in Raleigh is CTO at $291,000
- See all ai finance roles tracked in Orbyt Intelligence
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