Salaries

AI Operations Research Engineer Salary.

Across 81 U.S. cities.

$91,000

estimated national base salary

$63,000 to $129,000. Last updated September 2026.

Orbyt prices 3 titles at this same figure: AI Capacity Planner, AI Supply Chain Optimization Engineer, and AI Operations Research Engineer. Orbyt does not hold title-level wage data that would separate them.

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Government benchmark for this occupation

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $88,940 for Operations Research Analysts (SOC 15-2031) across the United States, based on 108,510 employed workers (May 2025 release).

10th percentile

$57,060

25th percentile

$68,360

Median

$88,940

75th percentile

$125,990

90th percentile

$159,910

Workers surveyed

108,510

What BLS published in each release

May 2024 release

$91,290

May 2025 release

$88,940

These are two separate published estimates, not a time series. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not encourage the use of OEWS data for time-series analysis. Differences between releases reflect changes in occupational classification, survey methodology, and the three-year pooled sample as well as any change in pay, so the two figures should not be read as a rate of wage growth.

BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Operations Research Analysts (SOC 15-2031) rather than AI Operations Research Engineer specifically. The national 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 15-2031

Highest Paying

$123,000

San Francisco, CA

Best Purchasing Power

$95,000

Jersey City, NJ

Lowest Paying

$71,000

Charleston, WV

The salary figures on this page are computed estimates, not observed wages. Each one is a national role baseline scaled by a Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity cost-of-living multiplier (2025 index) and rounded to the nearest $1,000. No published wage percentile is consulted and no wage survey response enters the calculation, so an Orbyt estimate must not be cited as a Bureau of Labor Statistics figure or as measured pay. The published wage data Orbyt holds is Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and Department of Labor H-1B Labor Condition Application filings, which record a filed minimum visa base wage rather than market pay. Where BLS publishes a wage for the occupation a role maps to, it is shown on that role's page as a separate benchmark, labelled with its occupation code, metro area and the number of employed workers it covers. Last updated September 2026. This role maps to BLS occupation code 15-2031. Full methodology.

Orbyt estimates the average AI Operations Research Engineer salary in the United States at $91,000 in 2026, within a range of $63,000 to $129,000. 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. This figure is not specific to this title: Orbyt prices 3 titles at the same estimate. San Francisco is the highest of the 81 cities at $123,000, while Jersey City offers the best purchasing power after cost-of-living adjustments. Compensation reflects the combination of optimization expertise and ML engineering.

AI Operations Research Engineer salary by city.

Salary comparison across 81 cities
CityMedianRangeCOLAdjustedRank
San Francisco, CA$123,000$85,000 to $174,0001.35x$91,000#3222 of 3445
San Jose, CA$121,000$83,000 to $171,0001.38x$88,000#3242 of 3445
Washington DC, DC$116,000$80,000 to $164,0001.25x$93,000#3214 of 3445
Seattle, WA$115,000$80,000 to $163,0001.24x$93,000#3204 of 3445
Honolulu, HI$114,000$79,000 to $161,0001.30x$88,000#3243 of 3445
Jersey City, NJ$114,000$79,000 to $161,0001.20x$95,000#3188 of 3445
New York, NY$113,000$78,000 to $160,0001.28x$88,000#3240 of 3445
Boston, MA$113,000$78,000 to $161,0001.22x$93,000#3223 of 3445
Arlington, VA$108,000$75,000 to $153,0001.22x$89,000#3232 of 3445
Los Angeles, CA$107,000$74,000 to $152,0001.18x$91,000#3230 of 3445
Anchorage, AK$106,000$73,000 to $150,0001.13x$94,000#3198 of 3445
Boulder, CO$106,000$73,000 to $150,0001.15x$92,000#3213 of 3445
Newark, NJ$105,000$73,000 to $149,0001.18x$89,000#3238 of 3445
Sacramento, CA$104,000$72,000 to $148,0001.10x$95,000#3196 of 3445
Miami, FL$103,000$71,000 to $146,0001.12x$92,000#3219 of 3445
San Diego, CA$102,000$71,000 to $145,0001.17x$87,000#3246 of 3445
Princeton, NJ$102,000$70,000 to $144,0001.15x$89,000#3234 of 3445
Denver, CO$101,000$70,000 to $143,0001.08x$94,000#3205 of 3445
Philadelphia, PA$101,000$70,000 to $143,0001.09x$93,000#3213 of 3445
Chicago, IL$99,000$69,000 to $141,0001.07x$93,000#3211 of 3445
Portland, OR$99,000$69,000 to $140,0001.10x$90,000#3231 of 3445
Portland, ME$99,000$69,000 to $141,0001.05x$94,000#3192 of 3445
Hartford, CT$98,000$68,000 to $139,0001.08x$91,000#3219 of 3445
Austin, TX$95,000$66,000 to $134,0001.03x$92,000#3223 of 3445
Atlanta, GA$95,000$66,000 to $134,0001.02x$93,000#3199 of 3445
Baltimore, MD$95,000$66,000 to $135,0001.08x$88,000#3239 of 3445
Manchester, NH$95,000$65,000 to $134,0001.06x$90,000#3237 of 3445
Richmond, VA$95,000$66,000 to $134,0001.01x$94,000#3202 of 3445
Burlington, VT$95,000$66,000 to $135,0001.06x$90,000#3232 of 3445
Ann Arbor, MI$95,000$66,000 to $134,0001.02x$93,000#3205 of 3445
Dallas, TX$94,000$65,000 to $133,0001.01x$93,000#3213 of 3445
Minneapolis, MN$94,000$65,000 to $133,0001.05x$90,000#3240 of 3445
Providence, RI$93,000$64,000 to $131,0001.04x$89,000#3239 of 3445
Virginia Beach, VA$92,000$64,000 to $130,0000.98x$94,000#3198 of 3445
Reno, NV$91,000$63,000 to $129,0000.96x$95,000#3186 of 3445
Houston, TX$90,000$62,000 to $128,0000.97x$93,000#3200 of 3445
Nashville, TN$90,000$62,000 to $128,0001.00x$90,000#3232 of 3445
Charlotte, NC$89,000$62,000 to $126,0000.97x$92,000#3221 of 3445
Wilmington, DE$89,000$62,000 to $126,0001.02x$87,000#3247 of 3445
Raleigh, NC$88,000$61,000 to $125,0000.99x$89,000#3237 of 3445
Las Vegas, NV$87,000$60,000 to $124,0000.96x$91,000#3230 of 3445
Charleston, SC$87,000$61,000 to $124,0000.98x$89,000#3238 of 3445
Salt Lake City, UT$86,000$59,000 to $121,0000.98x$88,000#3244 of 3445
Tampa, FL$86,000$59,000 to $121,0000.96x$90,000#3234 of 3445
Albany, NY$86,000$60,000 to $123,0000.96x$90,000#3240 of 3445
Phoenix, AZ$85,000$59,000 to $120,0000.96x$89,000#3240 of 3445
Columbus, OH$85,000$59,000 to $121,0000.93x$91,000#3219 of 3445
Milwaukee, WI$85,000$59,000 to $121,0000.91x$93,000#3198 of 3445
Orlando, FL$85,000$59,000 to $120,0000.95x$89,000#3227 of 3445
Madison, WI$85,000$59,000 to $120,0000.95x$89,000#3236 of 3445
North Charleston, SC$85,000$59,000 to $120,0000.94x$90,000#3228 of 3445
Detroit, MI$84,000$58,000 to $118,0000.90x$93,000#3203 of 3445
Boise, ID$84,000$58,000 to $119,0000.95x$88,000#3241 of 3445
Louisville, KY$83,000$58,000 to $118,0000.88x$94,000#3195 of 3445
New Orleans, LA$83,000$57,000 to $117,0000.92x$90,000#3229 of 3445
Columbia, SC$83,000$57,000 to $117,0000.90x$92,000#3216 of 3445
Kansas City, MO$82,000$57,000 to $116,0000.93x$88,000#3240 of 3445
Omaha, NE$82,000$57,000 to $117,0000.88x$93,000#3203 of 3445
Cheyenne, WY$82,000$56,000 to $116,0000.87x$94,000#3193 of 3445
San Antonio, TX$82,000$57,000 to $116,0000.91x$90,000#3231 of 3445
Pittsburgh, PA$81,000$56,000 to $115,0000.92x$88,000#3242 of 3445
Des Moines, IA$81,000$56,000 to $114,0000.86x$94,000#3195 of 3445
Columbus, OH$81,000$56,000 to $115,0000.93x$87,000#3243 of 3445
Spokane, WA$81,000$56,000 to $115,0000.92x$88,000#3240 of 3445
Des Moines, IA$81,000$56,000 to $114,0000.86x$94,000#3193 of 3445
Fargo, ND$80,000$55,000 to $113,0000.85x$94,000#3194 of 3445
Knoxville, TN$80,000$56,000 to $114,0000.89x$90,000#3228 of 3445
Indianapolis, IN$79,000$55,000 to $113,0000.91x$87,000#3244 of 3445
St. Louis, MO$79,000$55,000 to $113,0000.90x$88,000#3240 of 3445
Sioux Falls, SD$79,000$55,000 to $112,0000.85x$93,000#3211 of 3445
Cincinnati, OH$79,000$54,000 to $111,0000.90x$88,000#3244 of 3445
Lexington, KY$79,000$55,000 to $112,0000.86x$92,000#3220 of 3445
Baton Rouge, LA$79,000$55,000 to $112,0000.88x$90,000#3233 of 3445
Albuquerque, NM$78,000$54,000 to $110,0000.88x$89,000#3241 of 3445
Oklahoma City, OK$77,000$53,000 to $109,0000.84x$92,000#3216 of 3445
Tulsa, OK$77,000$53,000 to $109,0000.83x$93,000#3208 of 3445
Birmingham, AL$76,000$53,000 to $108,0000.84x$90,000#3229 of 3445
Jackson, MS$75,000$52,000 to $106,0000.79x$95,000#3184 of 3445
Little Rock, AR$74,000$51,000 to $105,0000.82x$90,000#3231 of 3445
Wichita, KS$74,000$51,000 to $105,0000.82x$90,000#3235 of 3445
Charleston, WV$71,000$49,000 to $101,0000.78x$91,000#3227 of 3445

Skills that increase AI Operations Research Engineer pay.

The premiums below are Orbyt's modelled scenarios for AI Operations Research Engineers, not effects measured from job postings: each is a fixed percentage applied to the estimated base. At the top premium that works out to $12,740 a year.

LLM Fine-Tuning+14%

≈ +$12,740 per year

Reinforcement Learning+13%

≈ +$11,830 per year

CUDA+12%

≈ +$10,920 per year

RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)+11%

≈ +$10,010 per year

Transformers+10%

≈ +$9,100 per year

Rust+10%

≈ +$9,100 per year

Vector Databases+10%

≈ +$9,100 per year

PyTorch+9%

≈ +$8,190 per year

What you should know.

Compensation reflects the combination of optimization expertise and ML engineering. Engineers who can solve complex scheduling, routing, and resource allocation problems using hybrid AI/OR approaches earn premiums. Experience integrating ML-based prediction with mathematical optimization for real-time decision-making is the most valued skill combination.

Junior OR engineers start at $100,000 to $120,000. Mid-level engineers building production optimization systems reach $140,000 to $168,000. Senior engineers designing enterprise optimization platforms earn $178,000 to $220,000. Directors of optimization at logistics or tech companies can reach $240,000 to $300,000.

Performance bonuses of 12% to 20% tied to optimization outcome improvements are common. Equity at logistics and operations AI companies adds $20,000 to $60,000 annually. Benefits include computing resource access and INFORMS or similar professional society memberships.

Total compensation breakdown.

Base Salary
$91,000
Equity / Year
$38,000
Annual Bonus
15%
$14,000
Signing Bonus
$15,000
Total Comp
$143,000

Salary by company size

Startup
< 50 employees
$82,000
Growth
50-500 employees
$86,000
Scale-up
500-5K employees
$91,000
Public
5K+ employees
$109,000

Remote salary adjustment

Remote AI Operations Research Engineers typically earn $85,000 (7% less than on-site). This reflects location-adjusted pay policies at companies using geographic salary bands. Some companies pay flat national rates regardless of location.

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Related.

Common questions about AI Operations Research Engineer pay.

Orbyt estimates the national median AI Operations Research Engineer salary at $91,000 in 2026, within a range of $63,000 to $129,000. This is a computed estimate, not a measured wage. Where you land depends on your experience, skills, the company's size, and your location.

Entry level AI Operations Research Engineers (0 to 2 years) typically earn $59,000 to $73,000. Mid level (3 to 5 years) run $77,000 to $96,000. Senior (6 to 9 years) reach $100,000 to $118,000, and lead level (10 plus years) $114,000 to $141,000.

Anchor your ask near the top of the range at $129,000 so you have room to settle around the $91,000 median. Bring specific data about your impact, and never accept the first number without a conversation.

Junior OR engineers start at $100,000 to $120,000. Mid-level engineers building production optimization systems reach $140,000 to $168,000. Senior engineers designing enterprise optimization platforms earn $178,000 to $220,000. Directors of optimization at logistics or tech companies can reach $240,000 to $300,000.

Compensation reflects the combination of optimization expertise and ML engineering. Engineers who can solve complex scheduling, routing, and resource allocation problems using hybrid AI/OR approaches earn premiums. Experience integrating ML-based prediction with mathematical optimization for real-time decision-making is the most valued skill combination.

Performance bonuses of 12% to 20% tied to optimization outcome improvements are common. Equity at logistics and operations AI companies adds $20,000 to $60,000 annually. Benefits include computing resource access and INFORMS or similar professional society memberships.

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