AI Penetration Tester Salary.
Across 81 U.S. cities.
$125,000
estimated national base salary
$87,000 to $165,000. Last updated September 2026.
Orbyt prices 14 titles at this same figure, including AI Security & Red Teaming Specialist, AI Red Teamer, and AI Threat Modeler. Orbyt does not hold title-level wage data that would separate them.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $129,180 for Information Security Analysts (SOC 15-1212) across the United States, based on 190,650 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$75,090
25th percentile
$97,810
Median
$129,180
75th percentile
$163,500
90th percentile
$199,850
Workers surveyed
190,650
What BLS published in each release
May 2024 release
$124,910
May 2025 release
$129,180
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 Information Security Analysts (SOC 15-1212) rather than AI Penetration Tester 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 15-1212Highest Paying
$170,000
San Francisco, CA
Best Purchasing Power
$130,000
Austin, TX
Lowest Paying
$94,000
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 15-1212. Full methodology.
Orbyt estimates the average AI Penetration Tester salary in the United States at $125,000 in 2026, within a range of $87,000 to $165,000. 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 14 titles at the same estimate. San Francisco is the highest of the 81 cities at $170,000, while Austin offers the best purchasing power after cost-of-living adjustments. Salary scales with the sophistication of AI-specific attacks performed and the criticality of systems tested.
AI Penetration Tester salary by city.
Skills that increase AI Penetration Tester pay.
The premiums below are Orbyt's modelled scenarios for AI Penetration Testers, not effects measured from job postings: each is a fixed percentage applied to the estimated base. At the top premium that works out to $17,500 a year.
≈ +$17,500 per year
≈ +$16,250 per year
≈ +$15,000 per year
≈ +$13,750 per year
≈ +$12,500 per year
≈ +$12,500 per year
≈ +$12,500 per year
≈ +$11,250 per year
What you should know.
Salary scales with the sophistication of AI-specific attacks performed and the criticality of systems tested. Testers who can execute model extraction, membership inference, and adversarial evasion attacks against production systems command premiums. Bug bounty track records and published AI vulnerability research significantly boost compensation.
Junior AI pen testers start at $110,000 to $130,000 executing structured test plans. Mid-level testers designing custom AI attack chains earn $150,000 to $172,000. Senior testers leading enterprise AI security assessments reach $200,000 to $228,000, with principal roles and team leads exceeding $260,000.
Bonuses of 15 to 25% are typical, with some organizations offering per-vulnerability bounties on top of base compensation. Equity is common at AI security companies, and top testers may earn significant additional income from external bug bounty programs.
Total compensation breakdown.
Salary by company size
Remote salary adjustment
Remote AI Penetration Testers typically earn $116,000 (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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Common questions about AI Penetration Tester pay.
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