Deep Learning Engineer Salary.
Across 30 U.S. cities.
$200,000
national median salary
$155,000 to $255,000. Last updated April 2026.
Highest Paying
$284,000
San Jose, CA
Best Purchasing Power
$208,000
New York, NY
Lowest Paying
$157,000
Wichita, KS
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 Deep Learning Engineer salary in the United States is $200,000 in 2026, with the full range spanning $155,000 at the 25th percentile to $255,000 at the 75th. San Jose pays the most at $284,000, while New York offers the best purchasing power after cost-of-living adjustments. Pay hinges on expertise with transformer architectures, large-scale training pipelines, and GPU optimization.
Deep Learning Engineer salary by city
What you should know
Pay hinges on expertise with transformer architectures, large-scale training pipelines, and GPU optimization. Engineers who have shipped production models at scale earn top-band salaries. Publications at NeurIPS or ICML and familiarity with distributed training frameworks like DeepSpeed further boost compensation.
Junior deep learning roles start at $120,000 to $145,000. Mid-level engineers earn $155,000 to $200,000. Senior and staff-level positions reach $220,000 to $300,000 base, with principal engineers at top labs exceeding $400,000 in total compensation.
Equity is a major component at AI-focused companies, often representing 30 to 50% of total compensation. Annual bonuses range from 10 to 20% of base, with signing bonuses of $30,000 to $75,000 common for experienced hires.