H-1B Machine Learning Engineer Salary in San Francisco 2026

The median offered wage on certified H-1B filings for machine learning engineer roles in San Francisco, CA is $187,000, with a 25th–75th percentile range of $160,000$219,100. Based on 661 certified LCA filings (FY2021–FY2024).

661
Certified Filings
$187,000
Median Offered Wage
63.4%
Level III/IV Share

Offered Wage Distribution

25th percentile$160,000
Median$187,000
75th percentile$219,100
Average$193,613

Offered wages as certified on the LCA. Source: DOL LCA disclosure data, FY2021–FY2024 (661 certified filings).

Most Common Certified Job Titles

Job Title (as filed)FilingsMedian
Machine Learning Engineer142$170,243
Senior Machine Learning Engineer95$199,980
Staff Machine Learning Engineer26$226,600
Software Engineer, Machine Learning17$193,000
Machine Learning Engineer II16$170,186
Senior Software Engineer, Machine Learning14$225,850

Job titles exactly as certified on the LCA, ranked by filing volume.

Top Sponsoring Employers

EmployerFilingsMedian Wage
Cruise LLC64$219,550
Pinterest, Inc.34$170,186
DoorDash, Inc.22$176,000
Twitter, Inc.21$199,290
Twitter Inc.18$175,535
Affirm, Inc.18$197,000

Employers with at least 5 certified filings for this role and city, FY2021–FY2024.

DOL Wage Level Distribution

Every certified LCA records a DOL prevailing wage level from I to IV, reflecting the experience and complexity of the role. The table below shows how many machine learning engineer filings in San Francisco were certified at each level, real filing counts, not estimated wages per level. DOL wage levels are a Department of Labor classification and are unrelated to an employer's internal engineering levels.

DOL Wage LevelCertified FilingsShare
Level I375.7%
Level II19930.9%
Level III21433.2%
Level IV19530.2%

Based on 645 filings with a recorded wage level, FY2021–FY2024.

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Facts

Certified Filings
661
Median Wage
$187,000
National Median
$111,197
Data Vintage
FY2021–FY2024

Methodology

Figures on this page are computed directly from certified Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) in US Department of Labor disclosure data, 661 certified filings for machine learning engineer roles in San Francisco, CA (FY2021–FY2024). Wages shown are offered wages as certified on the LCA, not DOL prevailing-wage floors. Percentiles are computed across individual filings; no figures are modeled or estimated.