Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineer.
Chicago.
$224,000
median salary, 9% above the national average
$175,000 to $291,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
Chicago is 7% more expensive than the national average. For Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineers, that shakes out to a median of $224,000, with the full range spanning $175,000 to $291,000. The gap between theoretical knowledge and production deployment experience is the single largest salary differentiator. Know the range before you walk in. 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 Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineer in Chicago, 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 $86,500 for Operations Research Analysts (SOC 15-2031) in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area, based on 3,680 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$62,470
25th percentile
$76,280
Median
$86,500
75th percentile
$119,240
90th percentile
$148,600
Workers surveyed
3,680
Why this differs from the estimate above. The Orbyt estimate of $224,000 is 159% higher than this published figure. That is usually not an error in either number: BLS reports by occupation code, and Operations Research Analysts covers a different population than the Supply Chain AI Optimization 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 Operations Research Analysts (SOC 15-2031) rather than Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineer specifically. The Chicago 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 15-2031Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $201,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$146,000
to $179,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$190,000
to $235,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$246,000
to $291,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$280,000
to $347,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $49,000 to the total package.
Base
$224,000
Equity
$27,000
Bonus
$18,000
Signing
$4,000
Estimated total: $273,000
How Chicago compares.
Chicago, IL
$224,000
Cost of living: 7% above average
National Average
$205,000
Chicago is $19,000 above
Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Chicago.
What you should know.
The Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineer landscape in Chicago is not what most salary sites will tell you. Chicago's economy is anchored by finance, manufacturing, and a rapidly expanding tech sector. The city has become a major hub for fintech, enterprise SaaS, and e-commerce. With lower living costs than coastal cities and a deep talent pool from top universities, Chicago offers strong salary to cost of living ratios for professionals across industries. The gap between theoretical knowledge and production deployment experience is the single largest salary differentiator. Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineers who can optimize inference costs, reduce model latency, and handle scale reliably earn significantly more. Published research or open source contributions to widely adopted frameworks create additional leverage in negotiations.
Entry-level Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineers start near $160,000. Mid-career professionals with three to five years of experience reach $205,000 to $267,000. Senior-level roles command $262,000 to $318,000. Management transitions to director-level positions offer $338,000 and above. In Chicago, 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 top-tier companies adds 30% to 60% above base salary. Annual bonuses of 15% to 25% are standard. Signing bonuses of $25,000 to $75,000 are common when changing roles. Refresher equity grants vest annually. Relocation packages and executive benefits like financial planning are typical. And on the tax side: illinois has a flat 4.95% state income tax. Chicago does not levy a separate city income tax, making the overall burden moderate compared to coastal metros. When someone quotes you $224,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Reference the Bay Area or NYC salary band for your role, then negotiate a modest discount. Chicago employers routinely offer 85 to 90% of coastal pay. The range for Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineers in Chicago runs from $175,000 to $291,000. 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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Common questions.
Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineer salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Chicago.
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Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineer Salary in Chicago, IL." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/supply-chain-ai-optimization-engineer/chicago
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