Salario de Ingeniero de IA / ML en Maryland (2026)
El salario promedio de un Ingeniero de IA / ML en Maryland es de $180,000/año. Después de impuestos, tu sueldo neto estimado es de $126,272/año ($10,523/mes).
Desglose del Sueldo Neto
| Categoría | Cantidad |
|---|---|
Sueldo Neto Anual | $126,272 |
Sueldo Neto Mensual | $10,523 |
Sueldo Neto Quincenal | $4,857 |
Sueldo Neto por Hora basado en 2,080 hrs/año | $61/hr |
Impuesto Federal | $31,934 |
Impuesto Estatal | $8,025 |
Impuestos FICA | $13,770 |
Tasa Efectiva de Impuesto impuestos totales ÷ salario bruto | 29.85% |
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Leer la guíaRangos de Salario de Ingeniero de IA / ML en Maryland
No todas las Ingeniero de IA / MLs ganan lo mismo — ni de cerca
Maryland AI/ML compensation anchors on three distinct ecosystems: federal research density (NIH biomedical AI, Johns Hopkins APL cleared AI/cyber, Army Research Lab, NIST), the Bethesda / Montgomery County corporate-and-cleared tier (Lockheed Martin HQ, NIH research-collaboration ecosystem, growing Frederick biotech-AI), and the NSA / Fort Meade cyber-AI cluster (cleared cyber-AI, signals intelligence ML, defensive cyber-AI). Comp ranges for the MD market in 2026:
Junior MLE / Applied Scientist (entry, cleared-eligible)
$155K base + $50K-$80K RSU/yr
0-2 yrs · Hopkins / UMD / UMBC PhD pipeline · TC $200K-$255K
Mid-Level MLE (cleared / NIH / corporate)
$185K base + $100K-$180K RSU/yr
3-6 yrs · TC $295K-$415K
Senior MLE (Hopkins APL / Lockheed / Capital One MD-side)
$235K base + $170K-$285K RSU/yr
7-12 yrs · TC $415K-$540K with cleared premium
Staff / Principal MLE (Hopkins APL / NIH senior research)
$300K base + $310K-$520K RSU/yr
12+ yrs · TC $620K-$830K with cleared TS/SCI premium
Johns Hopkins APL Senior Researcher (cleared)
$210K-$310K base + 8-15% bonus + APL retirement
TS/SCI cleared · publication-friendly · APL pension + 403(b)
NIH AI/ML Researcher (biomedical AI, computational bio)
$175K-$265K base + federal benefits
GS-13/14/15 · biomedical AI, drug discovery, CV for medical imaging
NSA / Fort Meade Cleared Cyber-AI MLE
$195K-$310K base + 8-18% bonus + cleared premium
TS/SCI required · signals intelligence ML, defensive cyber-AI · cleared contractor or direct
Lockheed Martin Bethesda HQ Senior MLE
$185K-$275K base + 12-18% bonus + RSU
Defense-AI senior tier · cleared programs · Bethesda HQ adjacent to NIH
Frederick Biotech AI / NCI / NIAID
$160K-$235K base + federal benefits
Frederick MD biotech cluster · NCI, NIAID, Leidos Biomedical Research
Vale la pena saber: Maryland's structural AI/ML advantage is federal-research density. NIH (Bethesda — National Institutes of Health, 27 institutes, biomedical AI / computational biology / drug discovery / medical imaging AI), Johns Hopkins APL (Laurel — Applied Physics Laboratory, FFRDC, cleared AI/cyber/national-security research), NSA / Fort Meade (cyber-AI signals intelligence cluster), Army Research Lab Adelphi, NIST (Gaithersburg — AI/ML measurement and standards). Plus Lockheed Martin Bethesda HQ. Senior cleared MLE TC at Hopkins APL or Lockheed Bethesda is $415K-$700K with TS/SCI premium. NIH research positions pay GS-13/14/15 ($165K-$260K base) but with federal pension + and publication-friendly research environment that's distinct from any commercial AI/ML role.
The Maryland AI/ML market: NIH biomedical AI + Hopkins APL cleared + NSA Fort Meade + Lockheed Bethesda
8.95%
MD effective top rate (5.75% state + 3.2% Montgomery County) — highest US local-income tax
Hopkins APL
FFRDC, 7K+ technical staff, ~50% cleared, publication-friendly · TC $415K-$700K cleared senior+
NIH 27 institutes
Biomedical AI / drug discovery / computational biology / medical imaging cluster
Maryland's AI/ML market is functionally three overlapping clusters. Federal research density — NIH Bethesda (27 institutes, biomedical AI / computational biology / drug discovery / medical imaging), Johns Hopkins APL Laurel (FFRDC, cleared AI/cyber/national-security, ~7K employees, ~50% with security clearances), NSA / Fort Meade (cyber-AI signals intelligence cluster, cleared positions), Army Research Lab Adelphi, NIST Gaithersburg. Bethesda / Montgomery County corporate — Lockheed Martin HQ Bethesda (defense AI, cleared programs), Marriott HQ Bethesda (hospitality AI), Choice Hotels HQ Rockville. Frederick biotech-AI cluster — NCI (National Cancer Institute), NIAID (Allergy & Infectious Diseases), Leidos Biomedical Research (Frederick).
MD AI/ML compensation at Hopkins APL or Lockheed Bethesda senior tier is $415K-$540K — competitive with NoVA cleared-contractor tier but with the meaningful MD tax friction. Compared to a NoVA equivalent at same gross: MD pays 5.75% state + 3.2% Montgomery County piggyback = 8.95% combined; NoVA pays 5.75% with no local. On a $500K senior MLE TC, MD pays $44.8K state+local while VA pays $28.8K — a $16K/year MD friction that compounds over 15-25 year career to $240K-$400K cumulative.
-exempt salaried, so the 2025 no-tax-on-overtime federal deduction generally doesn't apply to AI/ML comp — see /no-tax-on-overtime for the contractor edge case. The MD-specific tax structure isn't OT-driven — it's the Montgomery County 3.2% piggyback that makes effective top rate 8.95%, the structural NoVA-residence-vs-MD-residence trade-off for DC-corridor AI/ML, and the NIH publication-friendly research environment that's distinct from commercial AI work.
Johns Hopkins APL is the genuinely unique MD structural advantage. APL is an FFRDC (federally-funded research and development center) operated by Johns Hopkins University, employing 7K+ technical staff with ~50% holding security clearances. Senior MLE at APL is $210K-$310K base + 8-15% bonus + APL retirement (combination of pension + match). Plus the publication-friendly research environment is distinct — APL researchers regularly publish in academic venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR) at a frequency that's rare for cleared work. The post-APL pivot to commercial AI / FAANG / Anthropic NYC is also structural — APL alumni are well-represented at frontier labs.
NIH biomedical AI is the second structural advantage. 27 institutes (NCI, NHLBI, NIAID, NIDDK, NIMH, NEI, NICHD, etc.) anchor a federal AI research cluster focused on drug discovery ML, computational biology, medical imaging AI (radiology, pathology), real-world-evidence ML from electronic health records, and clinical-trial design. NIH GS-13/14/15 base ($165K-$260K) is below commercial AI tier, but federal pension (FERS) + match + publication-friendly research environment + the structural pivot to commercial pharma AI (J&J Janssen, Merck, BMS) at $300K-$450K is genuinely a structural MD-specific career path.
Maryland as a place to live — the honest take for AI/ML engineers
Maryland AI/ML housing math is dominated by Montgomery County (Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac, Rockville, Silver Spring, Gaithersburg) and Howard County (Columbia, Ellicott City). Hopkins APL engineers settle Howard County (Columbia, Laurel, Ellicott City — APL Laurel campus adjacent). NIH engineers settle Bethesda / Chevy Chase / Rockville. NSA Fort Meade engineers settle Howard County or Anne Arundel (Severn, Hanover, Glen Burnie). Median workforce home prices: Bethesda SFH $1.1M-$2.5M, Chevy Chase SFH $1.4M-$3M+, Potomac SFH $1.2M-$3M, Rockville SFH $700K-$1.3M, Silver Spring SFH $600K-$1.1M, Columbia SFH $600K-$1.1M, Ellicott City SFH $700K-$1.3M.
Most NIH-cluster MD engineers settle Bethesda / Chevy Chase / Rockville (Montgomery County, top schools, NIH commute). Hopkins APL engineers settle Columbia / Ellicott City / Laurel (Howard County, top schools, APL campus adjacent). NSA cluster settles Severn / Hanover / Crofton (Anne Arundel County, lower COL). The cross-Potomac NoVA-residency trade is real — many DC-corridor AI/ML engineers settle Arlington / McLean VA instead of Bethesda MD specifically because of the Montgomery County 3.2% piggyback friction. At senior MLE TC $415K-$540K, the $16K/year MD-vs-VA difference is meaningful.
MD has both city and county income tax piggybacks — Montgomery County 3.2% is highest, but Howard County 3.2%, Anne Arundel 2.81%, Frederick 2.96%, Baltimore County 3.2%, and Baltimore City 3.2% all add to the state 5.75%. There's no zero-piggyback county in MD. Plus the Baltimore City separate tier — Baltimore-residing AI/ML engineers face Baltimore City 3.2% on top of state 5.75% = 8.95% combined. The MD piggyback structure is the structural friction that compounds over a career.
Side-job culture is moderate — the federal-research environment at NIH / NIST / Army Research Lab / Hopkins APL has limited room for outside-employment 1099 work due to conflict-of-interest rules + cleared-position restrictions. Commercial MD AI/ML at Lockheed Bethesda or Marriott AI typically has more conventional FAANG-equivalent side-employment policies. Section 1202 realizes federally with MD 5.75% applying — better than CA's 13.3% non-conformity bite, worse than FL/TX/WA 0%. For early-hire pre-IPO MLEs at Frederick biotech-AI startups or Hopkins APL spinouts, relocation pre-liquidity is a real consideration.
How Maryland taxes AI/ML compensation (5.75% state + 3.2% county piggyback = 8.95% effective top)
MD progressive state tax tops out at 5.75% (with the top bracket effectively kicking in around $250K / $300K single — meaningful threshold). Plus the Montgomery County 3.2% piggyback is layered on top — Montgomery, Howard, Baltimore County, and Baltimore City all charge 3.2%; Anne Arundel 2.81%; Frederick 2.96%. For Bethesda / Chevy Chase / Potomac / Rockville residents, the effective combined state+local rate is 8.95% — highest local-income-tax piggyback in the US. On a $415K mid-senior MLE TC, MD state+local tax is roughly $37,100. At $540K senior tier, ~$48,300. At $830K staff tier, ~$74,300.
The structural MD-vs-VA trade-off is the single most consequential tax decision for DC-corridor AI/ML engineers. Same gross comp at MD residence pays $16K-$30K/year more in state+local tax than at VA residence (which has 5.75% state with no local piggyback). For senior+ tier engineers planning 15-25 year DC-corridor careers, this is $240K-$750K cumulative tax friction. The Bethesda housing-quality + NIH-research-density advantages have to be weighed against this structural cost.
vest is treated as ordinary income for federal + MD state + Montgomery County tax at fair-market-value on the vest date. At Hopkins APL or Lockheed Bethesda senior tier, $170K-$285K of annual RSU vest hits at marginal ~32% federal + 5.75% MD + 3.2% county + 1.45% Medicare = ~42% combined. Employer typically withholds 22% (or 37% for supplemental wages over $1M/year), leaving an April-15 underwithholding bill — make estimated quarterly payments or W-4 step 4(c) supplemental withholding.
Section 1202 realizes federally with MD 5.75% + county 3.2% applying. On a $10M federal-excluded QSBS gain, MD state+local tax is roughly $895K — better than CA's $1.3M non-conformity bite, but materially worse than VA 5.75% / FL/TX/WA 0%. For early-hire pre-IPO MLEs at Frederick biotech-AI startups (rare but growing) or Hopkins APL spinouts, relocation to FL/TX/WA pre-liquidity is a structural play for $5M+ exposure.
() at Lockheed Bethesda / commercial corporate — same federal mechanics. $40K-$47.5K of after-tax → in-plan Roth conversion. Federal NIH 403(b) does not include after-tax / MBR option — federal-employee retirement is FERS pension + Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) + 403(b) match without MBR. Hopkins APL retirement is a hybrid private structure with MBR availability.
- →Consider VA residence (Arlington / McLean / Vienna / Reston) over MD residence for DC-corridor commute — saves $16K-$30K/year on state+local at senior MLE TC versus Montgomery County residence.
- →Max + at Lockheed / commercial corporate. $24,500 employee + $47,500 after-tax → in-plan Roth conversion. MD 5.75%+county 3.2% applies but the math still favors maxing.
- →Federal NIH / NIST / ARL — max (federal Thrift Savings Plan, $24,500 limit) and match. Federal pension (FERS) + TSP + 403(b) = strong total retirement package despite no availability.
- →Quarterly estimated tax to avoid April-15 underpayment penalty on vest income (employer withholds 22% but marginal is 42%+ at MD senior tier with county piggyback).
- →Section 1202 qualification at early-hire pre-IPO equity (Hopkins APL spinouts, Frederick biotech-AI) — MD 5.75%+3.2% bite is material; consider FL/TX/WA relocation pre-liquidity for $5M+ exposure.
- →Backdoor Roth IRA $7K/year — solve pro-rata rule via reverse-rollover into before conversion. max if eligible — MD conforms federally.
- →Plan post-APL or post-NIH pivot to commercial AI from year 7+ — APL alumni are well-represented at Anthropic, Frontier labs, Capital One AI; NIH biomedical-AI alumni pivot to J&J Janssen / Merck / BMS pharma AI at $300K-$450K base + 18-28% bonus.
Three MD AI/ML submarkets — NIH biomedical AI, Hopkins APL cleared, NSA Fort Meade cyber-AI
Maryland is functionally three AI/ML submarkets. NIH biomedical AI (Bethesda + Frederick). Hopkins APL cleared AI/cyber (Laurel — FFRDC). NSA / Fort Meade cyber-AI (cleared signals intelligence cluster).
NIH Bethesda + Frederick biotech (biomedical AI cluster)
MLE base $175K-$265K (federal GS-13/14/15) + federal benefits · Lockheed senior $415K-$540KNIH Bethesda (27 institutes, 18K+ employees including biomedical AI / computational biology / drug discovery / medical imaging AI). Lockheed Martin Bethesda HQ (defense AI senior tier $415K-$540K). NCI Frederick + NIAID + Leidos Biomedical Research Frederick (biotech-AI cluster). Plus growing pharma-AI satellite presence (J&J BARDA contractor work, Merck / BMS Maryland presence). Workforce housing in Bethesda / Chevy Chase / Potomac / Rockville ($700K-$3M+ SFH).
Bethesda is the NIH cluster anchor + Lockheed HQ. Federal NIH research positions pay GS-13/14/15 ($165K-$260K base) with FERS pension + + match. The structural pivot from NIH to commercial pharma AI (J&J Janssen, Merck, BMS) at $300K-$450K is a MD-specific career path.
Hopkins APL Laurel (FFRDC, cleared AI/cyber, publication-friendly)
Senior MLE base $210K-$310K + 8-15% bonus + APL retirement · Cleared TS/SCI premium $40-60KJohns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (Laurel, MD — FFRDC, ~7K technical staff, ~50% with security clearances, ~50/50 split between cleared national-security AI work and unclassified academic-style research). Publication-friendly cleared research environment is unique. Workforce housing in Columbia / Ellicott City / Laurel / Howard County ($600K-$1.3M SFH).
Hopkins APL is the genuinely unique MD AI/ML structural advantage. Cleared AI research at FFRDC carries publication freedom + clearance premium + post-APL pivot to commercial AI / Anthropic / FAANG. APL alumni are well-represented at frontier labs.
NSA / Fort Meade (cleared cyber-AI signals intelligence cluster)
Cleared senior MLE base $195K-$310K + 8-18% bonus + cleared premium · TC $300K-$520KNSA / Fort Meade (Anne Arundel County) anchors the cleared cyber-AI signals intelligence cluster. Cleared cyber-AI / defensive-AI / signals-intelligence-ML positions at NSA direct-hire (federal GS-14/15) or cleared contractors (Booz Allen, CACI, Leidos, Northrop Grumman, ManTech) supporting NSA missions. Workforce housing in Severn / Hanover / Crofton / Glen Burnie / Howard County ($500K-$1M SFH).
NSA / Fort Meade is the cyber-AI specialist tier — cleared signals intelligence ML, defensive cyber-AI, SIGINT analytics. Cleared contractor MLE at Fort Meade tier is genuinely competitive on absolute dollars with Hopkins APL but with stricter publication restrictions.
The Maryland AI/ML career arc — entry, federal-research / cleared senior, commercial-AI pivot
Year 0 (entry / new-grad MLE, cleared-eligible): $155K base + $50K-$80K /yr or federal GS-12 $135K + benefits. Hopkins / UMD / UMBC / national PhD pipeline. New-grad PhD landing at Hopkins APL typically $175K-$220K base + APL retirement + clearance investigation. New-grad PhD at NIH typically GS-12/13 ($110K-$160K base) + FERS + + . New-grad at Lockheed Bethesda typically $155K-$190K + 12-15% bonus.
Year 1-3 (Mid-Level / cleared mid-tier / federal GS-13): $185K-$235K base + $100K-$180K/yr · TC $295K-$415K. APL bonus + retirement OR federal pension/ accrual. Specialty hardening — most MD MLEs commit to a sub-niche by year 2-3 (biomedical AI, cleared cyber-AI, defense AI, computational biology, medical imaging).
Year 3-7 (Senior MLE / L6 / Cleared TS/SCI Senior / GS-14/15): $235K-$310K base + $170K-$285K/yr · TC $415K-$540K. maxing critical for commercial / APL; federal employees max ($24,500 limit). Backdoor Roth IRA. Section 1202 QSBS qualification window for early-hire Hopkins APL spinouts or Frederick biotech-AI pre-IPO equity.
Year 7-15 (Staff / Principal MLE / APL Senior Researcher / GS-15): $300K-$420K base + $310K-$520K/yr · TC $620K-$830K. At Hopkins APL, principal-researcher comp + cleared TS/SCI premium = $620K-$830K total. At Lockheed Bethesda staff tier, $500K-$700K total. At NIH GS-15 senior researcher, $190K-$280K base + federal benefits + publication-friendly research environment.
Year 15+ (Director / VP / Federal SES / APL Group Supervisor / Pivot to Pharma AI): At commercial corporate (Lockheed / Capital One MD / cleared contractor), Director engineering $700K-$1.1M total comp. APL Group Supervisor / Department Head $400K-$650K + retirement. Federal SES (Senior Executive Service) at NIH / NIST / ARL $260K-$330K + federal pension + post-service contracting. NIH-to-pharma-AI pivot at age 35-50 — many late-career NIH biomedical-AI engineers leave federal research for J&J Janssen / Merck / BMS pharma AI at $400K-$600K total comp.
Where Maryland AI/ML engineers actually live
Most MD AI/ML engineers settle by submarket. NIH-cluster engineers in Bethesda / Chevy Chase / Rockville / Potomac (Montgomery County). Hopkins APL engineers in Columbia / Ellicott City / Laurel (Howard County, APL adjacent). NSA / Fort Meade engineers in Severn / Hanover / Crofton (Anne Arundel County, lower COL). Cross-Potomac NoVA residence (Arlington / McLean / Vienna) is the structural alternative for DC-corridor AI/ML to escape Montgomery County 3.2% piggyback.
Bethesda / Chevy Chase (Montgomery)
NIH cluster + Lockheed HQ · top schools · $1.1M-$3M+ SFH · 8.95% combined tax friction
Potomac / Rockville (Montgomery)
Senior+ MLE family · top schools · $700K-$3M · NIH commute
Columbia / Ellicott City (Howard)
Hopkins APL adjacent · top schools · $600K-$1.3M SFH · APL Laurel commute
Silver Spring / Takoma Park (Montgomery)
Working-MLE family tier · $600K-$1.1M · DC-Metro accessible
Severn / Hanover / Crofton (Anne Arundel)
NSA Fort Meade cluster · $500K-$1M · 2.81% county piggyback (lower)
Frederick (Frederick County)
NCI/NIAID Frederick + biotech-AI · $400K-$800K · 2.96% piggyback
MD retirement-relocation patterns favor staying in-state for federal-employee FERS pension recipients (federal pension partial state-tax exemption is meaningful), or pivoting to FL / TN / SC for non-federal MLEs seeking income-tax and property-tax relief. The Montgomery County 3.2% piggyback structural friction makes out-of-state retirement-relocation more attractive than CA / NY at equivalent tier.
¿Es la decisión correcta?
Maryland AI/ML — who it's best for
A tu favor
- +Federal research density is genuinely unique — NIH (27 institutes, biomedical AI), Hopkins APL (FFRDC, cleared AI/cyber, publication-friendly), NSA Fort Meade, Army Research Lab, NIST
- +Hopkins APL is structurally distinct — FFRDC with cleared AI research at academic-style publication freedom; senior researcher TC $415K-$700K with TS/SCI premium
- +NIH biomedical AI cluster is the largest concentration in US — drug discovery, computational biology, medical imaging AI; pivot to commercial pharma AI at age 35-50 is a structural MD-specific career path
- +NSA Fort Meade cyber-AI cluster + cleared signals-intelligence ML is unique to MD — cleared contractor + federal direct-hire opportunities
- +Federal employees (NIH / NIST / ARL) get FERS pension + TSP + 403(b) match — strong total retirement package for federal-research pathway
- +Frederick biotech-AI cluster (NCI, NIAID, Leidos Biomedical Research) is growing post-2020 — biotech-AI sub-niche with structural federal research density
Vale la pena saber antes de firmar
- −Montgomery County 3.2% piggyback makes effective top rate 8.95% — highest US local-income-tax structure
- −MD 5.75% state + county piggyback (3.2% Montgomery, 3.2% Howard, 3.2% Baltimore) creates structural friction versus VA 5.75% with no local — saves $16K-$30K/year for senior MLEs to live VA-side
- −MD does tax Section 1202 QSBS gain at 5.75% + county 3.2% = 8.95% combined — materially worse than VA, FL, TX, WA
- −Federal NIH / NIST / ARL retirement (FERS + TSP) does not include MBR option — caps post-tax retirement vault versus commercial / APL employees
- −Frontier-lab presence is essentially zero — no Anthropic / OpenAI / Scale / xAI office in MD; Hopkins APL + NIH + Lockheed is the senior-tier path
Mercado Laboral en Maryland
Maryland tiene demanda activa de Ingeniero de IA / MLs.
Perspectivas de crecimiento: BLS projects 23% growth through 2032 for computer/info-research scientists (which AI/ML engineers fall under) — among the fastest-growing tech roles. Frontier-lab demand uniquely strong — OpenAI / Anthropic / xAI / Mistral / DeepMind hiring at premium tiers $300K-$700K base alone for senior MLE, plus equity 1.5x-3x base.
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Costo de Vida en Maryland
Maryland tiene un costo de vida variado según la región.
💰 Sueldo neto mensual: $10,523
🏠 Renta típica: $1,600/mo
📊 Después de renta: $8,923/mo
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