Key Takeaways
- In line with federal filings, OpenAI pays a hefty price ticket for its expert staff.
- Analysis scientists on the AI firm command salaries from $245,000 to $685,000.
- The pay knowledge reveals that OpenAI workers are among the many best-compensated staff 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 overseas staff. The ensuing knowledge, seen by Enterprise Insider, reveals 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 workers on H-1B visas, or visas for overseas staff with specialised abilities. In September, the Trump administration imposed a $100,000 charge for each new H-1B visa utility filed within the U.S.
Regardless of this new charge, BI reported that OpenAI onboarded over 60 new H-1B staff from October to December 2025. Final 12 months, as an entire, the AI firm filed over 160 new H-1B functions, per BI.
The pay knowledge reveals that OpenAI workers are among the many best-compensated staff in Silicon Valley — maybe as a consequence of aggressive pressures. Final 12 months, 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 obtained by H-1B staff at OpenAI, not together with inventory awards or bonuses:
- Member of Intelligence & Investigations Employees: $320,000 to $382,500
- Member of Technical Employees (AI Programs Engineer): $245,000 to $460,000
- Member of Technical Employees (Analysis & AI Programs): $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 Help and Neighborhood Employees: $180,000 to $235,000
OpenAI’s excessive degree of pay displays how aggressively the corporate continues to be competing for AI expertise, even because it talks publicly about mitigating headcount progress. Earlier this 12 months, 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 way more with fewer folks.”
OpenAI is, nonetheless, nonetheless increasing its workforce — and paying its 4,000 staff nicely. The Wall Road Journal reported final 12 months that OpenAI workers obtain a median of $1.5 million in inventory awards annually, greater than any tech startup in latest historical past.
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Key Takeaways
- In line with federal filings, OpenAI pays a hefty price ticket for its expert staff.
- Analysis scientists on the AI firm command salaries from $245,000 to $685,000.
- The pay knowledge reveals that OpenAI workers are among the many best-compensated staff 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 overseas staff. The ensuing knowledge, seen by Enterprise Insider, reveals that OpenAI pays engineering roles within the mid-six figures, whereas analysis scientists command salaries from $245,000 to $685,000.
