Director-level AI researcher salary

The median posted base pay for director-level AI research jobs is $225K a year, from 71 open jobs at 58 companies. The middle half of the jobs is from $160K to $298K. One job in ten has posted pay above $354K.

Data of Nov 9, 2026. This is posted base pay, not total pay. It does not include stock or a bonus.

Median posted base pay: $225K
Middle half of the jobs: $160K to $298K
10th to 90th percentile: $128K to $354K
Open jobs with posted pay: 71
Companies: 58

AI researcher pay by level

Posted base pay for AI research jobs, by the level in the job title. This page is about the director-level level. A level needs 20 or more jobs with posted pay.

Intern24 jobs$151K$124K to $208K
Level not stated942 jobs$223K$170K to $275K
Senior214 jobs$193K$147K to $225K
Staff96 jobs$250K$214K to $288K
Principal35 jobs$235K$197K to $283K
Director+71 jobs$225K$160K to $298K

Each band goes from the 10th to the 90th percentile. The darker part is the middle half of the jobs. The line is the median. This is posted base pay, not total pay.

Pay bands by level, research. Posted base pay in US dollars for each year.
Level	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Jobs with pay
Intern	$80K	$124K	$151K	$208K	$264K	24
Level not stated	$108K	$170K	$223K	$275K	$353K	942
Senior	$104K	$147K	$193K	$225K	$284K	214
Staff	$186K	$214K	$250K	$288K	$328K	96
Principal	$167K	$197K	$235K	$283K	$366K	35
Director+	$128K	$160K	$225K	$298K	$354K	71

Director-level AI researcher pay by US region

The median posted base pay for director-level AI research jobs in each US region, compared with the median of all US jobs.

Other US cities25 jobs−4%$225K

The median posted base pay for director-level research in each US region, compared with the median of all US jobs ($235K). A job that lists two regions counts in each region. A region needs 20 or more jobs. This is posted base pay, not total pay.

Pay by region, director-level research. Posted base pay in US dollars for each year.
Region	Median posted base pay	Against the US median	Jobs with pay
Other US cities	$225K	−4%	25
All US jobs	$235K	0%	62

Open jobs

Other levels

Other job types

How we compute these numbers

We read each job from the job board of the company and check it every day. We use only open jobs that state a yearly pay range in US dollars. One job counts with the middle point of its posted range. The median is the middle value of these amounts: half of the jobs are above it and half are below it.

We do not use a range with a bottom below $15,000, a top above $1,000,000, or a top that is more than four times the bottom. A role page needs 20 or more open jobs with posted pay. In the bar chart, a company needs 5 or more jobs with posted pay.

The numbers are base pay as the company posted it. They are not the pay of a person, and they do not include stock, a bonus or benefits. For the stock and the bonus that people reported, see Reported pay.