How much do Apple and Google engineers earn?

Technology engineers at leading corporations such as Apple, Meta, Google, Amazon often earn hundreds of thousands of USD per year, especially AI engineers.

After a period of strong growth, a series of leading technology companies are facing pressure to tighten spending. Many of them, such as Meta, Google or Amazon, have laid off tens of thousands of employees in a short time, despite having been recruiting heavily before.

Yet engineers, especially those working in AI, are still highly paid in Big Tech. This is partly due to the AI boom that has been brewing recently. Payroll data from the aggregator platform Levels.fyi and collected by Business Insider shows that they are still receiving generous bonuses.

Human model in front of a wallpaper with the logos of Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon. Photo: Reuters

Google

Level three engineers—Google’s lowest level for engineers—can earn between $130,000 and $280,000 a year. For senior engineers, that number can reach $300,000, or as much as $700,000 or more in cash and company stock.

An AI engineer at Google earns an average of $254,700, but a good one can earn up to $535,000 a year. One Google employee said he currently earns a base salary of $265,000, plus $270,000 in performance-based stock options.

Google froze hiring earlier this year after laying off 12,000 people. However, the company said it is continuing to hire engineers in some key areas.

Microsoft

The US software company pays a senior engineer (over 8 years of experience) up to $400,000. For a new engineer, the salary ranges from $130,000 to $250,000, with a bonus of about $200,000 depending on the target achieved.

Microsoft is now front and center in the AI race after a multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI, where the company continues to employ hundreds of engineers, even as it cuts back elsewhere.

Apple

Engineers who join Apple start at level three on the seniority ladder. They make around $160,000 a year, but can earn an additional bonus of $200,000 to $250,000 if they hit certain goals.

Meanwhile, level four and level five engineers with more years of experience can earn between $330,000 and $500,000 a year. They will receive a base salary of $200,000 plus stock options, often worth more than $100,000.

With AI, Apple pays more. A level four machine learning engineer can expect to make $505,000, including $235,000 in cash and $270,000 in stock and bonuses.

Meta

Meta's software engineering team starts at level three (entry level), and goes all the way up to level eight (for the most senior and seasoned engineer). A new hire will earn around $170,000 per year.

At level four, however, Meta engineers have more to offer. In addition to the aforementioned salary, they can also receive $80,000 in restricted stock and an annual target bonus of $15,000.

Meanwhile, lower-level engineers can earn $500,000, especially if they’re involved in machine learning. Level 7 and 8 engineers with several years of experience can earn $1.5 million to $2 million, but only a tiny fraction reach that level.

Amazon

Amazon employees’ compensation depends heavily on stock awards. For example, engineers specializing in machine learning and AI can earn a maximum of about $300,000 a year, including $200,000 in cash and $120,000 in stock.

According to an Amazon employee working on the Alexa virtual assistant, entry-level engineers (usually recent college graduates) start at level four, earning about $180,000 in total. PhD holders earn $250,000 to $300,000. Top engineers earn $350,000 to $500,000.

Nvidia

Graphics chipmaker Nvidia is riding the AI boom, with a market cap of nearly $1 trillion. But even before the AI boom, the company still pays its engineers well above the industry average, with a base salary of $200,000 a year. Meanwhile, Nvidia software engineers specializing in AI and machine learning can earn an average of $285,000.

According to Salary.com statistics as of May 25, technology engineers in the US have an average salary of 77,433 USD a year.

According to Bao Lam (VNE)

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