ML Pipeline Engineer Salary.
Across 30 U.S. cities.
$168,000
national median salary
$128,000 to $220,000. Last updated April 2026.
Highest Paying
$232,000
San Jose, CA
Best Purchasing Power
$175,000
Boston, MA
Lowest Paying
$127,000
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 ML Pipeline Engineer salary in the United States is $168,000 in 2026, with the full range spanning $128,000 at the 25th percentile to $220,000 at the 75th. San Jose pays the most at $232,000, while Boston offers the best purchasing power after cost-of-living adjustments. Compensation scales with pipeline complexity, data volume handled, and the number of production models supported.
ML Pipeline Engineer salary by city
What you should know
Compensation scales with pipeline complexity, data volume handled, and the number of production models supported. Engineers building end-to-end orchestration for training, validation, and deployment earn top salaries. Expertise in tools like Kubeflow, Airflow, or Vertex AI Pipelines and feature store integration drives premium offers.
Junior ML pipeline engineers earn $108,000 to $128,000 building components of existing pipelines. Mid-level roles designing full pipeline architectures pay $148,000 to $168,000. Senior engineers leading platform teams reach $195,000 to $220,000, with staff engineers exceeding $250,000.
Total compensation packages include 12 to 20% bonuses at established companies. Startups frequently offer equity worth 15 to 30% of base salary, with accelerated vesting for high-impact pipeline infrastructure roles.