Machine Learning Engineer salaries and job demand
Last updated
Machine Learning Engineer roles typically advertise around US$202,425 a year. Here's the current salary range, hiring demand, and the skills employers ask for most.
What do Machine Learning Engineer roles pay in 2026?
As of September 2026, the typical advertised salary is US$202,425 a year, with most postings between US$167,875 and US$240,500.
| 25th percentile | US$167,875 |
|---|---|
| Median (50th percentile) | US$202,425 |
| 75th percentile | US$240,500 |
Advertised base salary, from 162 job postings with pay data, as of September 2026.
Disclosed base wage (H-1B/LCA)
Employers disclose a median base wage of US$190,480 on H-1B/LCA visa filings for this role, between US$150,000 and US$230,000, against the US$202,425 median advertised above.
| 25th percentile | US$150,000 |
|---|---|
| Median (50th percentile) | US$190,480 |
| 75th percentile | US$230,000 |
Disclosed base wage, from 4,857 H-1B/LCA filings, U.S. DOL OFLC, as of Q4 2025.
| Period | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | US$166,500 | US$200,000 | US$229,130 |
| Q4 2024 | US$172,898 | US$205,000 | US$234,171 |
| Q1 2025 | US$163,000 | US$190,232 | US$225,533 |
| Q2 2025 | US$130,000 | US$170,000 | US$212,949 |
| Q3 2025 | US$157,071 | US$202,821 | US$239,777 |
| Q4 2025 | US$177,608 | US$207,723 | US$245,179 |
How strong is hiring demand for Machine Learning Engineer roles in 2026?
Tarmac tracked 964 postings in August 2026, the most recent month we tracked from start to finish.
We need 3 complete months of tracking before we publish a month-by-month series. Months we only partly covered are left out rather than shown as low demand.
Skills employers ask for
- python1982
- ai-engineering1945
- databases-sql1257
- aws1158
- system-design1103
- docker415
- kubernetes375
- machine-learning362
- mlops345
- ci-cd-pipelines254
- pytorch245
- http-apis236
Postings for this role that named each skill, out of the postings we could parse. Bars run to 1982, the most-asked skill here.
Which skills to study first
These skills matter most for this role, scored together on how often employers ask for them, what they pay, and how often people pass them when they practise.
| Skill | Market demand | Median pay | Pass rate | Leverage | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Python | 60% of postings | US$170,000+28% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Databases & SQL | 55% of postings | US$167,031+26% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| AWS | 51% of postings | US$171,000+28% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| System Design | 32% of postings | US$183,021+38% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| HTTP & APIs | 30% of postings | US$166,000+25% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| AI Engineering | 27% of postings | US$182,500+37% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Docker | 23% of postings | £80,000+10% | Not enough data yet | — | — |
| CI-CD Pipelines | 23% of postings | £78,625+8% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Kubernetes | 19% of postings | US$175,500+32% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Machine Learning | 3% of postings | US$147,925+11% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| MLOps | 1% of postings | US$190,000+43% | Not enough data yet | — | — |
| PyTorch | 0% of postings | £100,000+38% | Not enough data yet | — | — |
Pass rate is the share of correct answers among people who practised that skill on Tarmac, a self-selected group rather than every developer, so read it as relative difficulty, not a universal stat. It comes from how people actually scored, not what anyone claimed, and a dash in that column means not enough people have practised the skill here yet. Leverage scores demand, pay, and difficulty together (out of 100); a higher score means a skill is both worth learning and worth your study time.
What it takes
The entry bar and required skills employers ask for, among extracted postings. This excludes postings we couldn't confidently parse, so the figures below skew toward roles with clearer, fuller job descriptions. Every bar below runs 0 to 60% of postings: solid is required, outlined is preferred, dashed is the posting's own words.
Australia
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
Required
Preferred
- Years asked down 4 years over the last 4 weeks.
- AI Engineering now required in 25% of postings, was 17% 4 weeks ago.
- Python required in only 58% of postings, was 100% 4 weeks ago.
- AWS required in only 25% of postings, was 50% 4 weeks ago.
- HTTP & APIs required in only 8% of postings, was 17% 4 weeks ago.
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- Databases & SQL required in only 13% of postings, was 40% 4 weeks ago.
- Python required in only 75% of postings, was 100% 4 weeks ago.
- AWS required in only 38% of postings, was 60% 4 weeks ago.
Not enough postings state a years-of-experience figure for Mid-level yet.
United States
Required
In the postings’ own words
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- Years asked up 1 year over the last 4 weeks.
- Kubernetes required in only 7% of postings, was 35% 4 weeks ago.
- Google Cloud Platform required in only 13% of postings, was 29% 4 weeks ago.
- HTTP & APIs required in only 13% of postings, was 24% 4 weeks ago.
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- Years asked up 7.5 years over the last 4 weeks.
- Python now required in 80% of postings, was 17% 4 weeks ago.
- AWS now required in 30% of postings, was 17% 4 weeks ago.
- Machine Learning required in only 60% of postings, was 67% 4 weeks ago.
- Microsoft Azure required in only 10% of postings, was 17% 4 weeks ago.
Not enough postings state a years-of-experience figure for Mid-level yet.
United Kingdom
Required
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- Python now required in 87% of postings, was 69% 5 weeks ago.
- AWS now required in 20% of postings, was 8% 5 weeks ago.
Required
- Python required in only 20% of postings, was 57% 5 weeks ago.
- AI Engineering required in only 10% of postings, was 29% 5 weeks ago.
Practice interview questions
Jobs data powered by Adzuna.
Disclosed wage data from the U.S. Department of Labor, OFLC.
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