Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineer.
San Francisco.
$280,000
median salary, 37% above the national average
$218,000 to $364,000. Last updated August 2026.
Get the job.
Data points to own the conversation.
A Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineer in San Francisco earns a median of $280,000 in 2026. That is 37% above the national average. The range runs from $218,000 to $364,000, and where you land depends on your experience, your skills, and how well you negotiate. The gap between theoretical knowledge and production deployment experience is the single largest salary differentiator. 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 San Francisco, 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 $110,560 for Operations Research Analysts (SOC 15-2031) in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metropolitan area, based on 2,050 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$76,090
25th percentile
$90,950
Median
$110,560
75th percentile
$137,800
90th percentile
$176,850
Workers surveyed
2,050
Why this differs from the estimate above. The Orbyt estimate of $280,000 is 153% 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 San Francisco 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 $252,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$182,000
to $224,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$238,000
to $294,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$308,000
to $364,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$350,000
to $434,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $62,000 to the total package.
Base
$280,000
Equity
$34,000
Bonus
$22,000
Signing
$6,000
Estimated total: $342,000
How San Francisco compares.
San Francisco, CA
$280,000
Cost of living: 35% above average
National Average
$205,000
San Francisco is $75,000 above
Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in San Francisco.
What you should know.
Here is what the Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineer market actually looks like in San Francisco. San Francisco is the epicenter of venture capital and startup innovation, consistently producing the highest tech salaries in the nation. The city's concentration of AI labs, SaaS companies, and fintech firms creates intense competition for talent. Despite remote work trends, SF still commands the steepest salary premiums for engineering and product roles. 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 San Francisco, those numbers run higher. The cost of living here is 35% above average, and employers adjust to compete.
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: california's top marginal state income tax rate is 13.3%, the highest in the U.S. San Francisco has no additional city income tax, but overall tax burden remains steep. When someone quotes you $280,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Leverage competing offers aggressively. SF employers expect candidates to shop around, and matching or beating a rival offer is standard practice here. The range for Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineers in San Francisco runs from $218,000 to $364,000. 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.
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineer Salary in San Francisco, CA." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/supply-chain-ai-optimization-engineer/san-francisco
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