Aerospace AI Engineer.
Denver.
$149,000
median salary, 10% above the national average
$110,000 to $198,000. Last updated August 2026.
Get the job.
Data points to own the conversation.
If you are evaluating an Aerospace AI Engineer offer in Denver, CO, here is the reality: $110,000 to $198,000, with $149,000 as the midpoint. 10% above the national average. Compensation reflects specialization depth, production deployment scale, and the maturity of the AI systems being built. Do not accept the first number. 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 Aerospace AI Engineer in Denver, 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 $156,190 for Aerospace Engineers (SOC 17-2011) in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metropolitan area, based on 2,010 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$98,090
25th percentile
$128,840
Median
$156,190
75th percentile
$168,580
90th percentile
$210,810
Workers surveyed
2,010
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Aerospace Engineers (SOC 17-2011) rather than Aerospace AI Engineer specifically. The Denver range 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 17-2011Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $134,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$97,000
to $119,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$127,000
to $156,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$164,000
to $194,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$186,000
to $231,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $42,000 to the total package.
Base
$149,000
Equity
$24,000
Bonus
$15,000
Signing
$3,000
Estimated total: $191,000
How Denver compares.
Denver, CO
$149,000
Cost of living: 8% above average
National Average
$135,000
Denver is $14,000 above
Aerospace AI Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Denver.
What you should know.
Here is what the Aerospace AI Engineer market actually looks like in Denver. Denver has emerged as a secondary tech hub with strong aerospace, telecom, and outdoor industry employers. The city attracts remote workers and relocating companies seeking lower costs than the coasts. Salaries have climbed steadily as national employers open satellite offices and compete for Denver's growing talent pool. Compensation reflects specialization depth, production deployment scale, and the maturity of the AI systems being built. Aerospace AI Engineers who have shipped models serving millions of users command the highest premiums. Employer type matters significantly: AI labs and foundation model companies pay 20% to 40% more than enterprises adopting AI for internal use.
Entry-level Aerospace AI Engineers start near $168,000. Mid-career professionals with three to five years of experience reach $215,000 to $280,000. Senior-level roles command $275,000 to $333,000. Management transitions to director-level positions offer $355,000 and above. In Denver, 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. Equity at top-tier companies adds 30% to 60% above base salary. Annual bonuses of 15% to 25% are standard. Signing bonuses of $25,000 to $75,000 are common when changing roles. Refresher equity grants vest annually. Relocation packages and executive benefits like financial planning are typical. And on the tax side: colorado has a flat 4.4% state income tax. Denver has no additional city income tax, making the overall tax burden lighter than most coastal metros. When someone quotes you $149,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Position yourself as a remote talent anchor. Many companies pay near coastal rates for Denver based employees to save on office costs while retaining top performers. The range for Aerospace AI Engineers in Denver runs from $110,000 to $198,000. 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?
- A Prompt Engineer in Denver earns $148,000 (1% less)
- The highest-paying role in Denver is CTO at $311,000
- See all ai industrial roles tracked in Orbyt Intelligence
Common questions.
Aerospace AI Engineer salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Denver.
Related salary pages
Jump to nearby roles and cities most relevant to Aerospace AI Engineers in Denver.
Related tools.
Do you work as an aerospace ai engineer in Denver?
Your individual figure is never published. Submissions appear only as aggregate percentiles, and nothing is shown for a role and city until at least five people have reported. It is stored against your account, which is what keeps the dataset clean.
Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Aerospace AI Engineer Salary in Denver, CO." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/aerospace-ai-engineer/denver
Want this data on your site? Embed the salary widget. One script tag, free forever.
Related tools