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Computer Vision Applications Engineer.

Raleigh.

$129,000

median salary, 3% below the national average

$96,000 to $169,000. Last updated August 2026.

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Data points to own the conversation.

Orbyt estimates Computer Vision Applications Engineer pay in Raleigh at $129,000, within a range of $96,000 to $169,000. That is 3% below the national average. Raleigh sits at the heart of the Research Triangle, one of America's premier tech and life sciences corridors. 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.

25th Percentile

$96,000

per year

Median

$129,000

per year

75th Percentile

$169,000

per year

Where do you fall?

$96,000$169,000

Orbyt estimate for Computer Vision Applications Engineer in Raleigh, 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 $132,770 for Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) in the Raleigh-Cary, NC metropolitan area, based on 12,580 employed workers (May 2025 release).

10th percentile

$80,080

25th percentile

$103,480

Median

$132,770

75th percentile

$166,650

90th percentile

$185,110

Workers surveyed

12,580

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 Computer Vision Applications Engineer specifically. The Raleigh 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 15-1252

Salary by experience.

The gap between entry and lead level is typically $116,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.

Entry (0-2 yrs)

$84,000

to $103,000

Mid (3-5 yrs)

$110,000

to $135,000

Senior (6-9 yrs)

$142,000

to $168,000

Lead (10+ yrs)

$161,000

to $200,000

Total compensation.

Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $58,000 to the total package.

Base

$129,000

Equity

$35,000

Bonus

$15,000

Signing

$8,000

Estimated total: $187,000

How Raleigh compares.

Raleigh, NC

$129,000

Cost of living: 1% below average

National Average

$133,000

Raleigh is $4,000 below

Computer Vision Applications Engineer salary by city.

Computer Vision Applications Engineer salary comparison across 10 cities
CityMedianRangeCOLAdjusted
San Jose, CA$191,000$142,000 to $250,0001.38x$138,000
San Francisco, CA$180,000$134,000 to $235,0001.35x$133,000
Honolulu, HI$180,000$134,000 to $235,0001.30x$138,000
Washington DC, DC$170,000$126,000 to $222,0001.25x$136,000
New York, NY$163,000$122,000 to $214,0001.28x$127,000
Seattle, WA$162,000$120,000 to $211,0001.24x$131,000
San Diego, CA$162,000$120,000 to $212,0001.17x$138,000
Newark, NJ$162,000$120,000 to $211,0001.18x$137,000
Los Angeles, CA$159,000$118,000 to $207,0001.18x$135,000
Raleigh, NC$129,000$96,000 to $169,0000.99x$130,000

See all 81 cities for Computer Vision Applications Engineer →

Salary by role in Raleigh.

Salary comparison by role in Raleigh
RoleMedianRange
CTO$291,000$227,000 to $378,000
General Counsel$283,000$220,000 to $368,000
CEO$275,000$200,000 to $380,000
Computer Vision Applications Engineer$129,000$96,000 to $169,000
Machine Learning Engineer$129,000$96,000 to $169,000
RAG Engineer$129,000$96,000 to $169,000
Full Stack Developer$129,000$100,000 to $164,000
Backend Developer$129,000$100,000 to $164,000

What you should know.

If you are interviewing for Computer Vision Applications Engineer roles in Raleigh, here is what you are walking into. Raleigh sits at the heart of the Research Triangle, one of America's premier tech and life sciences corridors. Cisco, Red Hat, Epic Games, and numerous biotech firms drive strong demand for engineering, research, and product roles. The combination of top tier universities and moderate living costs creates an exceptionally favorable salary to expense ratio. Compensation reflects practical expertise in deploying computer vision from research to production. Engineers who can optimize models for edge deployment, build real-time processing pipelines, and integrate CV into domain-specific workflows earn premiums. Experience with specific applications (industrial inspection, medical imaging, retail analytics) adds domain-specific value.

Junior CV application engineers start at $95,000 to $115,000. Mid-level engineers building production CV systems reach $135,000 to $165,000. Senior engineers designing multi-camera analytics platforms earn $170,000 to $210,000. Directors of computer vision at applied AI companies can reach $230,000 to $280,000. In Raleigh, 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 CV startups adds $20,000 to $70,000 annually. Bonuses of 10% to 15% are standard. Hardware allowances for high-performance workstations with GPUs are common. Conference travel and publication incentives support career development. And on the tax side: north Carolina's flat 4.5% income tax keeps the burden low. Raleigh has no city income tax, and the Triangle's affordable housing amplifies your take home purchasing power. When someone quotes you $129,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.

On negotiation: Cite Research Triangle talent competition in your negotiation. Employers here compete directly with each other and with remote offers, creating favorable leverage for candidates. The range for Computer Vision Applications Engineers in Raleigh runs from $96,000 to $169,000. 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

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$

25th

$96,000

Median

$129,000

75th

$169,000

Considering a related role?

Common questions.

Research scientists develop new algorithms and architectures, publishing at venues like CVPR and ICCV. Applications engineers take existing and custom models and deploy them in production environments with real-world constraints: varying lighting, hardware limitations, latency requirements, and integration with business systems. Applications engineers focus on reliability, efficiency, and domain adaptation.

Industrial quality inspection and autonomous vehicles remain the largest markets. Medical imaging AI is growing rapidly with increasing FDA clearances. Retail analytics (shopper behavior, inventory management) is accelerating post-pandemic. Augmented reality applications are emerging with new hardware platforms. Document understanding (OCR, layout analysis) is expanding with LLM integration.

Raleigh's cost of living is near the national average. Raleigh sits at the heart of the Research Triangle, one of America's premier tech and life sciences corridors. Calculate your actual take home pay after housing, taxes, and transportation before deciding. A $129,000 salary here buys a different lifestyle than the same number in another market.

Many Raleigh employers are shifting toward skills based hiring for Computer Vision Applications Engineer positions. While a degree can accelerate your path to the median salary of $129,000, demonstrated experience, certifications, and a strong portfolio carry significant weight. Candidates without degrees may start closer to $96,000 but can reach the upper end of that range with three to five years of proven results.

Raleigh sits at the heart of the Research Triangle, one of America's premier tech and life sciences corridors. Cisco, Red Hat, Epic Games, and numerous biotech firms drive strong demand for engineering, research, and product roles. For Computer Vision Applications Engineers specifically, compensation reflects practical expertise in deploying computer vision from research to production, which signals sustained demand. The current compensation range of $96,000 to $169,000 reflects a market that is competing for talent.

Computer Vision Applications Engineer hiring in Raleigh typically involves three to five rounds: a recruiter screen, a technical or skills assessment, one or two team interviews, and a final conversation with leadership. Companies in Raleigh's Technology sector may add domain specific evaluations. The process usually takes two to four weeks. Prepare by researching the company and practicing with Orbyt's Interview Prep tool.

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"Computer Vision Applications Engineer Salary in Raleigh, NC." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/computer-vision-applications-engineer/raleigh

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