STEM

AI/ML Engineer

Build and train computer systems that learn from data, like tools that recognize photos or understand speech

Open interactive guide

What does an AI/ML Engineer do?

AI and machine learning engineers work at tech companies, hospitals, car makers, and research labs. They prepare data, train models, and check that the results are useful and fair. Curious people who like math, coding, and testing ideas do well.

A day in the life

9:30 AMRead the notes on how last night's training run went
10:30 AMFix mislabeled photos in the data the model learns from
12:00 PMAdjust the settings and start a new training run
2:00 PMTest the model for mistakes and unfair results across groups
3:30 PMPackage the model as a service that apps can use
4:30 PMExplain to a product team what the model can and cannot do

What's great

  • Work on tools that reach millions of people
  • Mixes math, coding, and experiments
  • Many fields need these skills
  • A fast-moving field keeps work fresh

The hard parts

  • Training runs can fail after hours of waiting
  • Graduate-level math and coding are expected
  • Ideas from new papers go out of date fast
  • Bad data can quietly ruin results

What is an AI/ML Engineer's salary and outlook?

$81k – $203k
Salary Range
Master's degree
Typical Education
High demand / Rapid growth

Typical pay in this guide runs from about $81,000 to $202,500 a year, with a midpoint around $135,000. These are planning figures for students, not a job offer or an official wage.

CareerLens rates the outlook as High demand / Rapid growth.

For the official national outlook, see BLS Occupational Data.

How do you become an AI/ML Engineer?

A common path is Master's degree in computer science, AI, or data science. The ladder often runs from Junior Machine Learning Engineer to AI/ML Engineer, then Senior Machine Learning Engineer, and Head of AI. Other routes: Bachelor's plus strong projects, then a software engineer job; PhD for research roles; Move from data scientist to engineering; Graduate certificate in machine learning.

  • Bachelor's plus strong projects, then a software engineer job
  • PhD for research roles
  • Move from data scientist to engineering
  • Graduate certificate in machine learning

Career path

Entry level
Junior Machine Learning Engineer
Mid career
AI/ML Engineer
Senior
Senior Machine Learning Engineer
Executive
Head of AI

Will AI replace an AI/ML Engineer?

How much will AI change this job?

A lot

AI will change many everyday tasks in this job. The work shifts toward judgment, checking, and people.

AI tools will handle more coding, so your judgment matters more.

AI/ML engineers build smart systems, and now AI helps write and test some of that code. This means engineers spend more time deciding what to build, checking results, and fixing tricky problems. The job shifts from typing every line to guiding and reviewing smart tools.

AI can help with

  • Writing first drafts of code
  • Testing models and finding bugs faster
  • Summarizing data and research papers quickly

What stays human

  • Deciding what problem the AI should solve
  • Checking if AI results are fair and safe
  • Explaining tricky technical ideas to teammates and clients

Skills to build now

  • Learn basic coding with Python or Scratch
  • Practice math, especially algebra and statistics
  • Join a robotics or coding club at school

Based on public research from Anthropic and OpenAI, drafted with AI, checked automatically, and read by a person. How we know

This describes how the work may change. It is not a prediction that the job will disappear.