AI Engineer.
Austin.
$132,000
median salary, 1% below the national average
$98,000 to $172,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
The median AI Engineer salary in Austin is $132,000, 1% below the national average. Entry level starts near $98,000. Experienced professionals push past $172,000. Austin has transformed into one of America's fastest growing tech hubs, attracting relocations from Apple, Tesla, Oracle, and Samsung. That spread is your negotiation window. 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 AI Engineer in Austin, 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 $134,120 for Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metropolitan area, based on 31,960 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$96,110
25th percentile
$104,000
Median
$134,120
75th percentile
$168,730
90th percentile
$209,890
Workers surveyed
31,960
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) rather than AI Engineer specifically. The Austin 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 15-1252Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $119,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$86,000
to $106,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$112,000
to $139,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$145,000
to $172,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$165,000
to $205,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $55,000 to the total package.
Base
$132,000
Equity
$33,000
Bonus
$14,000
Signing
$8,000
Estimated total: $187,000
AI Engineer salary by company.
Total compensation estimates include base, equity, bonus, and signing. Ranges reflect mid to senior level. Derived from public H-1B LCA filings (DOL).
How Austin compares.
Austin, TX
$132,000
Cost of living: 3% above average
National Average
$133,000
Austin is $1,000 below
AI Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Austin.
What you should know.
Before you negotiate an AI Engineer offer in Austin, understand the terrain. Austin has transformed into one of America's fastest growing tech hubs, attracting relocations from Apple, Tesla, Oracle, and Samsung. The city's combination of no state income tax, a vibrant startup scene, and a strong university pipeline makes it highly competitive. Salaries have risen sharply over the past five years, narrowing the gap with coastal cities. Hands on experience building AI powered products, familiarity with foundation models (GPT, Claude, Gemini), and ability to integrate AI into production systems are the biggest salary drivers. Engineers who understand both model fine tuning and application architecture are rare and highly compensated. Industry domain (health, finance, defense) adds further premiums.
Junior AI engineers start at $120,000 to $150,000, reaching mid level at $155,000 to $200,000 in two to three years. Senior AI engineers earn $200,000 to $280,000. Staff AI engineers and technical leads at top labs can exceed $400,000 in total compensation. Moving into AI architecture or CTO roles extends the ceiling further. In Austin, 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 AI startups and labs can represent 30 to 50% of total compensation. Bonuses of 15 to 25% are typical. Signing bonuses of $30,000 to $100,000 are common at well funded companies. Benefits often include compute credits, research time, and conference travel budgets. And on the tax side: texas has no state income tax, which can mean 5 to 10% more take home pay compared to California roles. Property taxes are above average, however, running about 1.8% of home value. When someone quotes you $132,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Use the no income tax advantage as a negotiation lever. Ask employers to match 90% of a Bay Area offer and show that your net pay will actually be higher. The range for AI Engineers in Austin runs from $98,000 to $172,000. 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?
- An ML Engineer in Austin earns $133,000 (1% more)
- The highest-paying role in Austin is CTO at $318,000
- See all ai engineering roles tracked in Orbyt Intelligence
Common questions.
AI Engineer salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Austin.
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"AI Engineer Salary in Austin, TX." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/ai-engineer/austin
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