AI Financial Engineer.
Los Angeles.
$250,000
median salary, 19% above the national average
$185,000 to $322,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
AI Financial Engineer pay in Los Angeles ranges from $185,000 to $322,000 in 2026. The median is $250,000, 19% above the national average. Los Angeles blends a thriving entertainment industry with a growing tech and startup ecosystem, often called Silicon Beach. Every dollar in that range is negotiable if you come prepared. 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 Financial Engineer in Los Angeles, 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 $102,260 for Financial and Investment Analysts (SOC 13-2051) in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metropolitan area, based on 19,600 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$67,500
25th percentile
$82,990
Median
$102,260
75th percentile
$134,150
90th percentile
$181,190
Workers surveyed
19,600
Why this differs from the estimate above. The Orbyt estimate of $250,000 is 144% higher than this published figure. That is usually not an error in either number: BLS reports by occupation code, and Financial and Investment Analysts covers a different population than the AI Financial Engineer title as it is typically advertised. Both are shown, unreconciled, so you can judge which one describes the job you mean.
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Financial and Investment Analysts (SOC 13-2051) rather than AI Financial Engineer specifically. The Los Angeles 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 13-2051Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $225,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$163,000
to $200,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$213,000
to $263,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$275,000
to $325,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$313,000
to $388,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $123,000 to the total package.
Base
$250,000
Equity
$75,000
Bonus
$33,000
Signing
$15,000
Estimated total: $373,000
How Los Angeles compares.
Los Angeles, CA
$250,000
Cost of living: 18% above average
National Average
$210,000
Los Angeles is $40,000 above
AI Financial Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Los Angeles.
What you should know.
If you are interviewing for AI Financial Engineer roles in Los Angeles, here is what you are walking into. Los Angeles blends a thriving entertainment industry with a growing tech and startup ecosystem, often called Silicon Beach. The city's diverse economy spans aerospace, healthcare, fashion, and gaming. LA offers strong salaries that, while below San Francisco levels, pair with a broader lifestyle appeal and lower housing costs relative to the Bay Area. Pay depends on ability to apply ML models to quantitative finance problems like risk modeling, algorithmic trading, and fraud detection. Engineers combining deep finance domain expertise with advanced ML skills earn top-band compensation. Experience with real-time inference for trading systems and regulatory-compliant model development adds 20 to 30% to base salaries.
Junior quant ML engineers start at $120,000 to $150,000. AI financial engineers earn $155,000 to $210,000. Senior roles at top funds reach $250,000 to $350,000 base, and portfolio managers or heads of AI strategy at major firms command $500,000 to $1,000,000 or more in total compensation. In Los Angeles, those numbers run higher. The cost of living here is 18% above average, and employers adjust to compete.
Base salary is not the full picture. Performance bonuses at hedge funds and trading firms can range from 50 to 200% of base salary. Equity is less common in finance but deferred compensation plans are standard. Banks offer structured bonus pools tied to desk profitability. And on the tax side: california's 13.3% top state income tax rate applies to LA earners as well. There is no city income tax, but the high state rate makes take home pay lower than cities in no income tax states. When someone quotes you $250,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Highlight cross industry skills. LA employers value candidates who bridge entertainment and tech, so framing your experience across verticals can unlock higher offers. The range for AI Financial Engineers in Los Angeles runs from $185,000 to $322,000. 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 Healthcare AI Researcher in Los Angeles earns $248,000 (1% less)
- The highest-paying role in Los Angeles is CTO at $368,000
- See all ai finance roles tracked in Orbyt Intelligence
Common questions.
AI Financial Engineer salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Los Angeles.
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"AI Financial Engineer Salary in Los Angeles, CA." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/ai-financial-engineer/los-angeles
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