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Principal Machine Learning Engineer salary: median $272,000 a year

Principal Machine Learning Engineer listings that state pay run from $213,500 to $317,000 for the middle half, based on 35 current job listings. 73 principal machine learning engineer roles are open now.

Principal Machine Learning Engineer pay range

From 35 open listings that state pay. Annual, in US dollars.

Lower quarter
$213,500
Median
$272,000
Upper quarter
$317,000

Do AI skills change principal machine learning engineer pay?

For Data & Analytics roles in general, as of November 9, 2026. This is the function’s figure, not one for principal machine learning engineer alone: one title rarely has enough listings on both sides.

Among Data & Analytics listings, those that ask for an AI skill advertise +43.6% (about $60.5k) compared with similar listings that do not, matched on level and industry.

Listings that ask for an AI skill
$207,500
median, from 2,325 paid listings
Listings that never mention AI
$135,000
median, from 343 paid listings

Advertised pay only: the midpoint of the range an employer posted, on live U.S. postings read from the full text. “Asks for an AI skill” means the posting names a specific AI skill; “no AI” means it never mentions AI. A difference in what is advertised is not a promise of what you would be paid, and it does not show that learning a skill causes a raise.

See the AI-skill pay table for every function · Check your own pay against these listings

More pay data: Data & Analytics pay by level, skills that pay more and pay by employer size.

Open principal machine learning engineer jobs

Verified against the employer’s own career site within the last week.

Showing the newest 15 of about 73 verified open jobs here. Search all jobs

All 73 principal machine learning engineer jobs

Data & Analytics jobs in the rankings

Rankings about data & analytics jobs

Data & Analytics jobs · Top Data & Analytics employers · All rankings

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Principal Machine Learning Engineer salary questions

How much does a principal machine learning engineer make?
Among 35 open principal machine learning engineer listings that state pay, the median is $272,000 a year, and half of listings fall between $213,500 and $317,000.
Where does this principal machine learning engineer pay data come from?
From current job listings on employers’ own career sites that state a pay range. Hourly pay is converted at 2,080 hours a year, and a listing’s midpoint is used. Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.
Which state pays principal machine learning engineers the most?
Of the states with enough listings, California has the highest median listed pay at $289,500.

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