Model Vulnerability Analyst.
St. Louis.
$144,000
median salary, 10% below the national average
$108,000 to $189,000. Updated for 2026.
The numbers.
Everything you need to negotiate with confidence.
If you are evaluating a Model Vulnerability Analyst offer in St. Louis, MO, here is the reality: $108,000 to $189,000, with $144,000 as the midpoint. 10% below the national average. Compensation scales with the breadth of vulnerability classes analyzed and depth of model architecture knowledge. Do not accept the first number.
Salary range
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How St. Louis compares
St. Louis, MO
$144,000
Cost of living: 10% below average
National Average
$160,000
St. Louis is $16,000 below
What you should know
Here is what the Model Vulnerability Analyst market actually looks like in St. Louis. St. Louis offers one of the most affordable major metro areas in the country, with a strong base in healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing. The region's anchor employers include Boeing, Centene, and Washington University's medical campus. A growing biotech and plant sciences corridor centered on the Cortex Innovation District is attracting new investment and talent. Compensation scales with the breadth of vulnerability classes analyzed and depth of model architecture knowledge. Analysts who can identify weaknesses in transformer, diffusion, and reinforcement learning models earn premiums. Experience with automated vulnerability scanning for ML models and ability to communicate risk to non-technical stakeholders drives top salary offers.
Junior vulnerability analysts begin at $100,000 to $120,000 running standard model evaluations. Mid-level analysts conducting deep architecture analysis earn $140,000 to $160,000. Senior analysts leading vulnerability research programs reach $185,000 to $210,000, with principal researchers exceeding $240,000. In St. Louis, 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. Bonuses of 12 to 20% are standard, with some organizations offering discovery bonuses for novel vulnerability classes. Equity at AI security companies adds meaningful value, typically 15 to 25% of base salary in vesting grants. And on the tax side: missouri's top income tax rate is about 4.8%, and St. Louis City adds a 1% earnings tax. The low base cost of living means your after tax salary still stretches further than in most metros. When someone quotes you $144,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Emphasize your willingness to work in person at Cortex or the BJC campus. St. Louis employers offer higher packages for candidates who commit to the local innovation hubs. The range for Model Vulnerability Analysts in St. Louis runs from $108,000 to $189,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Top industries in St. Louis
Negotiating in St. Louis
Emphasize your willingness to work in person at Cortex or the BJC campus. St. Louis employers offer higher packages for candidates who commit to the local innovation hubs.