New data shows Meta's highest-paid AI research engineer gets ₹3.76 crore salary, excluding bonuses and stock options
Meta's recent H-1B visa filings have pulled back the curtain on just how much the company is willing to pay to bring top AI minds on board. The highest-paid AI research engineers at Meta are getting base salaries up to $440,000, or about ₹ 3.76 crore. That's just the base, not counting the stock options, bonuses, or other perks that can sometimes make the total package balloon to double or even triple the headline figure.
It's not just the AI research engineers cashing in. Software engineers at Meta can go even higher, with base salaries reportedly reaching $480,000. Machine learning engineers, data science managers, and directors are all comfortably in the six-figure range. Even roles like product managers, designers, and UX researchers are seeing paychecks that would make most people's eyes pop. These filings don't show the full picture, though. The real money in tech often comes from restricted stock units and bonuses, especially for those working on AI projects, and those numbers aren't public.
Meta isn't the only player throwing big money at AI talent. Across Silicon Valley and beyond, the competition is heating up. Thinking Machines Lab, a new startup from former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, is reportedly offering base salaries up to $500,000 for technical staff, and they haven't even launched a product yet. That's the kind of climate AI engineers are walking into right now - one where companies are willing to pay top dollar, sometimes just for the chance to get ahead.
What's interesting is how quickly things have changed. A few years ago, these kinds of salaries would have sounded like science fiction. Now, they're almost expected for anyone with the right skills and experience. The demand for AI talent is only going up, and so are the paychecks.
Where this ends is anyone's guess. Maybe these sky-high salaries will become the new normal, or maybe the market will cool off once the next wave of tech comes along. For now, though, if you're working in AI, it's a good time to be checking your email.
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