Aerospace AI Engineer.
San Francisco.
$180,000
median salary, 33% above the national average
$134,000 to $241,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
San Francisco is 35% more expensive than the national average. For Aerospace AI Engineers, that shakes out to a median of $180,000, with the full range spanning $134,000 to $241,000. Compensation reflects specialization depth, production deployment scale, and the maturity of the AI systems being built. Know the range before you walk in. 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 San Francisco, 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 $191,260 for Aerospace Engineers (SOC 17-2011) in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metropolitan area, based on 510 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$117,060
25th percentile
$147,970
Median
$191,260
75th percentile
$206,930
90th percentile
$273,230
Workers surveyed
510
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 San Francisco 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 $162,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$117,000
to $144,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$153,000
to $189,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$198,000
to $234,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$225,000
to $279,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $51,000 to the total package.
Base
$180,000
Equity
$29,000
Bonus
$18,000
Signing
$4,000
Estimated total: $231,000
How San Francisco compares.
San Francisco, CA
$180,000
Cost of living: 35% above average
National Average
$135,000
San Francisco is $45,000 above
Aerospace AI Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in San Francisco.
What you should know.
The Aerospace AI Engineer landscape in San Francisco is not what most salary sites will tell you. San Francisco is the epicenter of venture capital and startup innovation, consistently producing the highest tech salaries in the nation. The city's concentration of AI labs, SaaS companies, and fintech firms creates intense competition for talent. Despite remote work trends, SF still commands the steepest salary premiums for engineering and product roles. 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 San Francisco, those numbers run higher. The cost of living here is 35% above average, and employers adjust to compete.
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: california's top marginal state income tax rate is 13.3%, the highest in the U.S. San Francisco has no additional city income tax, but overall tax burden remains steep. When someone quotes you $180,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Leverage competing offers aggressively. SF employers expect candidates to shop around, and matching or beating a rival offer is standard practice here. The range for Aerospace AI Engineers in San Francisco runs from $134,000 to $241,000. 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 Machine Learning Engineer in San Francisco earns $181,000 (1% more)
- The highest-paying role in San Francisco is CTO at $401,000
- See all ai industrial roles tracked in Orbyt Intelligence
Common questions.
Aerospace AI Engineer salary in other cities.
Other salaries in San Francisco.
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Aerospace AI Engineer Salary in San Francisco, CA." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/aerospace-ai-engineer/san-francisco
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