Key Takeaways
- In keeping with federal filings, OpenAI pays a hefty price ticket for its expert employees.
- Analysis scientists on the AI firm command salaries from $245,000 to $685,000.
- The pay knowledge reveals that OpenAI staff are among the many best-compensated employees in Silicon Valley.
Federal filings reveal that OpenAI pays high greenback for expertise. The AI big compensates analysis scientists on its technical workers by over half 1,000,000 {dollars} in base wage, not together with inventory awards or bonuses.
The ChatGPT-maker doesn’t publicly disclose wage knowledge, however it’s required to submit federal filings with wage figures when hiring international employees. The ensuing knowledge, seen by Enterprise Insider, exhibits that OpenAI pays engineering roles within the mid-six figures, whereas analysis scientists command salaries from $245,000 to $685,000.
The federal filings consequence from OpenAI hiring staff on H-1B visas, or visas for international employees with specialised expertise. In September, the Trump administration imposed a $100,000 payment for each new H-1B visa utility filed within the U.S.
Regardless of this new payment, BI reported that OpenAI onboarded over 60 new H-1B employees from October to December 2025. Final yr, as a complete, the AI firm filed over 160 new H-1B purposes, per BI.
The pay knowledge reveals that OpenAI staff are among the many best-compensated employees in Silicon Valley — maybe resulting from aggressive pressures. Final yr, the corporate stated it was “recalibrating” pay in response to Meta poaching expertise from their firm.
Right here’s a snapshot of the bottom wage acquired by H-1B employees at OpenAI, not together with inventory awards or bonuses:
- Member of Intelligence & Investigations Employees: $320,000 to $382,500
- Member of Technical Employees (AI Methods Engineer): $245,000 to $460,000
- Member of Technical Employees (Analysis & AI Methods): $310,000 to $460,000
- Member of Technical Employees (Analysis Engineer): $210,000 to $460,000
- Member of Technical Employees (Analysis Scientist): $245,000 to $685,000
- Member of Technical Employees (Information Science): $255,000 to $490,000
- Member of Technical Employees ({Hardware} Engineer): $250,000 to $555,000
- Member of Technical Employees (Safety Engineer): $310,000 to $325,000
- Member of Technical Employees (Software program Developer): $325,000
- Member of Technical Employees (Software program Engineer): $170,000 to $490,000
- Member of Design Employees: $245,000 to $310,000
- Member of Product Employees (Product Administration): $210,000 to $325,000
- Member of Program Employees: $150,000 to $355,000
- Member of Finance Employees: $240,000 to $260,000
- Member of Assist and Group Employees: $180,000 to $235,000
OpenAI’s excessive stage of pay displays how aggressively the corporate continues to be competing for AI expertise, even because it talks publicly about mitigating headcount development. Earlier this yr, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated in a city corridor occasion that the startup would decelerate its hiring tempo as a result of he believed AI would enable the corporate “to take action far more with fewer individuals.”
OpenAI is, nevertheless, nonetheless increasing its workforce — and paying its 4,000 employees effectively. The Wall Road Journal reported final yr that OpenAI staff obtain a mean of $1.5 million in inventory awards every year, greater than any tech startup in latest historical past.
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Key Takeaways
- In keeping with federal filings, OpenAI pays a hefty price ticket for its expert employees.
- Analysis scientists on the AI firm command salaries from $245,000 to $685,000.
- The pay knowledge reveals that OpenAI staff are among the many best-compensated employees in Silicon Valley.
Federal filings reveal that OpenAI pays high greenback for expertise. The AI big compensates analysis scientists on its technical workers by over half 1,000,000 {dollars} in base wage, not together with inventory awards or bonuses.
The ChatGPT-maker doesn’t publicly disclose wage knowledge, however it’s required to submit federal filings with wage figures when hiring international employees. The ensuing knowledge, seen by Enterprise Insider, exhibits that OpenAI pays engineering roles within the mid-six figures, whereas analysis scientists command salaries from $245,000 to $685,000.
