Machine learning engineer salary in Seattle, WA
Employers in the Seattle metro offered machine learning engineers a median of $195,000 a year on approved H-1B applications. That is 9.3% above the US median for machine learning engineers, and 13.0% above offers to software engineers in Seattle.
Median offer
$195,000
US median offer: $178,350
The middle half
$163,322 – $220,000
25th to 75th percentile
After cost of living
$175,470
Seattle prices: 11.1% above US average
Open machine learning engineer jobs
83
In Seattle, from 38 companies
Pay range
The top 10% of machine learning engineer offers in Seattle were above $264,414 a year. The bottom 10% were below $141,589.
10th percentile $141,589, 25th $163,322, 75th $220,000, 90th $264,414.
10th percentile $113,000, 25th $142,105, 75th $220,000, 90th $264,514.
10th percentile $99,190, 25th $132,800, 75th $211,860, 90th $257,960.
Line: 10th to 90th percentile. Box: the middle half (25th to 75th). Dark mark: the median. Machine learning engineers: salaries offered on H-1B applications. All software engineers: salaries paid, from the BLS.
How far the pay goes in Seattle
Prices in Seattle are 11.1% above the US average, which makes the median offer worth $175,470 in US-average dollars. Housing costs 51.3% more than the US average.
Black line: US average = 100. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024.
Machine learning engineers and other engineering jobs in Seattle
Median salary offered on approved H-1B applications in the Seattle metro, for every engineering job type with at least 30 applications.
| Job | Applications | Median offer |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering managers | 762 | $216,600 |
| AI engineers | 76 | $206,679 |
| Machine learning engineers | 271 | $195,000 |
| Infrastructure engineers | 54 | $180,710 |
| Frontend engineers | 132 | $180,655 |
| Cloud engineers | 53 | $174,000 |
| Site reliability engineers | 92 | $173,300 |
| All software engineers | 13,312 | $172,600 |
| Data engineers | 630 | $156,451 |
| DevOps engineers | 58 | $145,000 |
| Support engineers | 135 | $120,000 |
All software engineers: every application filed under the BLS software developer job code, whatever its title. Backend and full-stack engineers: left out, since a plain "Software Engineer" title counts as both.
Experience level of these offers
From October 2025 to June 2026, the Department of Labor approved 271 H-1B applications for machine learning engineers in the Seattle metro, from 85 employers. Level IV offers were the most common.
Applications
271
Employers
85
Most experienced (Level IV)
32.5%
Applications by wage level
- Level I (entry): 29
- Level II: 73
- Level III: 70
- Level IV (most experienced): 88
- Not stated: 11
These are salaries offered on approved applications, not salaries paid. Each application lists only its main work site.
83 open machine learning engineer jobs in Seattle right now
From 38 companies. 5 were posted in the past week.
Machine learning engineer jobs nearby: Bellevue
What counts as a machine learning engineer
The BLS has no machine learning engineer category, so these figures come from job titles. An H-1B application or a job on hiredaemon counts as a machine learning engineer job when its title names machine learning work, such as "Machine Learning Engineer", "ML Engineer" or "MLOps Engineer". AI engineers are counted separately.
Sources and notes
- Machine learning engineer offers: US Department of Labor, H-1B application data, October 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. Approved H-1B applications whose job title names machine learning work and whose work site is in King, Pierce or Snohomish county.
- Software engineer pay: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (published May 15, 2026), Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro.
- Cost of living: US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
- Open jobs: counted on hiredaemon as this page loads.