Salaries in Seattle.

3,445 roles. One city.

Cost-of-living index: 1.24x national average. Last updated June 2026.

3,445 roles tracked

Get your playbook.

Highest Paying

$443,000

Principal Quantitative Researcher

Median of All Roles

$193,000

Lead Revenue Operations Manager

Entry Level

$40,000

Hotel Clerk / Front Desk

Salary data sourced from Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, H-1B Labor Condition Applications (DOL), state pay-transparency job postings, and community submissions. 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 June 2026.

Seattle, WA has a cost-of-living index of 1.24x the national average. The highest-paying role is Principal Quantitative Researcher at $443,000, while the median across all 3,445 roles is $193,000. Seattle is home to Amazon, Microsoft, and a dense cluster of cloud computing, gaming, and AI companies.

About the Seattle market

Seattle is home to Amazon, Microsoft, and a dense cluster of cloud computing, gaming, and AI companies. The presence of major tech headquarters drives some of the highest engineering salaries outside the Bay Area. Seattle's job market is particularly strong for cloud infrastructure, machine learning, and enterprise software roles.

Cloud ComputingE-CommerceAerospaceGamingArtificial Intelligence

Top 50 salaries in Seattle

#	Role	Median	Range
1	Principal Quantitative Researcher	$443,000	$345,000 – $575,000
2	Principal AI Research Scientist	$434,000	$339,000 – $564,000
3	Technical Fellow	$425,000	$332,000 – $553,000
4	Principal AI Safety Engineer	$418,000	$326,000 – $543,000
5	Principal AI Compiler Engineer	$406,000	$317,000 – $529,000
6	SVP of Technology	$402,000	$314,000 – $524,000
7	Distinguished Engineer	$401,000	$304,000 – $510,000
8	Senior VP of Product	$401,000	$313,000 – $521,000
9	Chief Security Officer	$401,000	$312,000 – $521,000
10	Principal AI Agent Architect	$398,000	$311,000 – $517,000
11	Senior VP of Security	$396,000	$310,000 – $515,000
12	SVP of Product	$396,000	$309,000 – $515,000
13	Principal Cryptographer	$395,000	$308,000 – $513,000
14	Principal Deep Learning Engineer	$391,000	$305,000 – $508,000
15	Principal AI Agent Engineer	$391,000	$305,000 – $508,000
16	Principal Quantitative Developer	$387,000	$302,000 – $503,000
17	SVP of Sales	$387,000	$302,000 – $503,000
18	Principal LLM Engineer	$384,000	$299,000 – $499,000
19	Chief Science Officer	$384,000	$300,000 – $500,000
20	L7 Software Engineer	$384,000	$300,000 – $500,000
21	Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer	$383,000	$299,000 – $498,000
22	Chief Architect	$383,000	$299,000 – $498,000
23	Principal Computer Vision Engineer	$381,000	$296,000 – $494,000
24	Principal Kernel Engineer	$381,000	$296,000 – $494,000
25	SVP of Data	$380,000	$297,000 – $495,000
26	Chief Machine Learning Officer	$379,000	$296,000 – $493,000
27	SVP of Strategy	$379,000	$296,000 – $493,000
28	Chief AI Officer	$377,000	$279,000 – $486,000
29	Principal AI Engineer	$377,000	$293,000 – $489,000
30	Chief Commercial Officer	$377,000	$294,000 – $490,000
31	VP of AI Research	$374,000	$291,000 – $486,000
32	Chief Transformation Officer	$374,000	$291,000 – $486,000
33	SVP of Marketing	$374,000	$291,000 – $486,000
34	Staff AI Research Scientist	$373,000	$291,000 – $485,000
35	SVP of Engineering	$373,000	$291,000 – $485,000
36	Principal Quantitative Analyst	$373,000	$290,000 – $484,000
37	Staff Quantitative Researcher	$373,000	$291,000 – $485,000
38	Chief Design Officer	$373,000	$291,000 – $486,000
39	Chief Strategy Officer	$373,000	$291,000 – $485,000
40	Principal Applied Scientist	$372,000	$290,000 – $484,000
41	Senior Head of Product	$372,000	$291,000 – $484,000
42	Staff AI Safety Engineer	$370,000	$289,000 – $481,000
43	Chief Risk Officer	$370,000	$289,000 – $482,000
44	Principal Machine Learning Engineer	$369,000	$287,000 – $479,000
45	Principal AI Infrastructure Engineer	$369,000	$287,000 – $479,000
46	Chief Legal Officer	$368,000	$287,000 – $479,000
47	SVP of Design	$368,000	$286,000 – $478,000
48	SVP of Business Development	$368,000	$286,000 – $478,000
49	Staff AI Agent Architect	$367,000	$286,000 – $476,000
50	SVP of Finance	$367,000	$286,000 – $477,000

Tax considerations

Washington State has no personal income tax, which significantly boosts take home pay. However, state and local sales taxes are among the highest in the country at roughly 10.25%.

Negotiating in Seattle

Remind employers that no state income tax makes your effective compensation higher. You can accept a slightly lower gross salary and still take home more than in California.

Other cities

New York San Francisco Los Angeles Chicago Austin Boston Denver Dallas Atlanta Miami Houston Philadelphia

All Roles Interview Prep Resume Score Job Search Guide

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Orbyt gives you the salary data, interview prep, and pipeline tools to negotiate from a position of strength.

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Salaries in Seattle.

3,445 roles. One city.

Cost-of-living index: 1.24x national average. Last updated June 2026.

3,445 roles tracked

Get your playbook.

Highest Paying

$443,000

Principal Quantitative Researcher

Median of All Roles

$193,000

Lead Revenue Operations Manager

Entry Level

$40,000

Hotel Clerk / Front Desk

About the Seattle market

Cloud ComputingE-CommerceAerospaceGamingArtificial Intelligence

Top 50 salaries in Seattle

#	Role	Median	Range
1	Principal Quantitative Researcher	$443,000	$345,000 – $575,000
2	Principal AI Research Scientist	$434,000	$339,000 – $564,000
3	Technical Fellow	$425,000	$332,000 – $553,000
4	Principal AI Safety Engineer	$418,000	$326,000 – $543,000
5	Principal AI Compiler Engineer	$406,000	$317,000 – $529,000
6	SVP of Technology	$402,000	$314,000 – $524,000
7	Distinguished Engineer	$401,000	$304,000 – $510,000
8	Senior VP of Product	$401,000	$313,000 – $521,000
9	Chief Security Officer	$401,000	$312,000 – $521,000
10	Principal AI Agent Architect	$398,000	$311,000 – $517,000
11	Senior VP of Security	$396,000	$310,000 – $515,000
12	SVP of Product	$396,000	$309,000 – $515,000
13	Principal Cryptographer	$395,000	$308,000 – $513,000
14	Principal Deep Learning Engineer	$391,000	$305,000 – $508,000
15	Principal AI Agent Engineer	$391,000	$305,000 – $508,000
16	Principal Quantitative Developer	$387,000	$302,000 – $503,000
17	SVP of Sales	$387,000	$302,000 – $503,000
18	Principal LLM Engineer	$384,000	$299,000 – $499,000
19	Chief Science Officer	$384,000	$300,000 – $500,000
20	L7 Software Engineer	$384,000	$300,000 – $500,000
21	Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer	$383,000	$299,000 – $498,000
22	Chief Architect	$383,000	$299,000 – $498,000
23	Principal Computer Vision Engineer	$381,000	$296,000 – $494,000
24	Principal Kernel Engineer	$381,000	$296,000 – $494,000
25	SVP of Data	$380,000	$297,000 – $495,000
26	Chief Machine Learning Officer	$379,000	$296,000 – $493,000
27	SVP of Strategy	$379,000	$296,000 – $493,000
28	Chief AI Officer	$377,000	$279,000 – $486,000
29	Principal AI Engineer	$377,000	$293,000 – $489,000
30	Chief Commercial Officer	$377,000	$294,000 – $490,000
31	VP of AI Research	$374,000	$291,000 – $486,000
32	Chief Transformation Officer	$374,000	$291,000 – $486,000
33	SVP of Marketing	$374,000	$291,000 – $486,000
34	Staff AI Research Scientist	$373,000	$291,000 – $485,000
35	SVP of Engineering	$373,000	$291,000 – $485,000
36	Principal Quantitative Analyst	$373,000	$290,000 – $484,000
37	Staff Quantitative Researcher	$373,000	$291,000 – $485,000
38	Chief Design Officer	$373,000	$291,000 – $486,000
39	Chief Strategy Officer	$373,000	$291,000 – $485,000
40	Principal Applied Scientist	$372,000	$290,000 – $484,000
41	Senior Head of Product	$372,000	$291,000 – $484,000
42	Staff AI Safety Engineer	$370,000	$289,000 – $481,000
43	Chief Risk Officer	$370,000	$289,000 – $482,000
44	Principal Machine Learning Engineer	$369,000	$287,000 – $479,000
45	Principal AI Infrastructure Engineer	$369,000	$287,000 – $479,000
46	Chief Legal Officer	$368,000	$287,000 – $479,000
47	SVP of Design	$368,000	$286,000 – $478,000
48	SVP of Business Development	$368,000	$286,000 – $478,000
49	Staff AI Agent Architect	$367,000	$286,000 – $476,000
50	SVP of Finance	$367,000	$286,000 – $477,000

Tax considerations

Washington State has no personal income tax, which significantly boosts take home pay. However, state and local sales taxes are among the highest in the country at roughly 10.25%.

Negotiating in Seattle

Remind employers that no state income tax makes your effective compensation higher. You can accept a slightly lower gross salary and still take home more than in California.

Other cities

New York San Francisco Los Angeles Chicago Austin Boston Denver Dallas Atlanta Miami Houston Philadelphia

All Roles Interview Prep Resume Score Job Search Guide

Know the number. Get the offer.

Orbyt gives you the salary data, interview prep, and pipeline tools to negotiate from a position of strength.

Start

Salaries in Seattle.

About the Seattle market

Top 50 salaries in Seattle

Tax considerations

Negotiating in Seattle

Other cities

Related

Know the number. Get the offer.

Salaries in Seattle.

About the Seattle market

Top 50 salaries in Seattle

Tax considerations

Negotiating in Seattle

Other cities

Related

Know the number. Get the offer.