AI / ML Engineer Salary in Massachusetts (2026)
The average AI / ML Engineer in Massachusetts earns around $220,000/year. After taxes, your estimated take-home is $152,707/year ($12,726/month).
Take-Home Pay Breakdown
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
Annual Take-Home Pay | $152,707 |
Monthly Take-Home Pay | $12,726 |
Biweekly Take-Home Pay | $5,873 |
Hourly Take-Home Pay based on 2,080 hrs/year | $73/hr |
Federal Tax | $41,704 |
State Tax | $10,780 |
FICA Taxes | $14,809 |
Effective Tax Rate total taxes ÷ gross salary | 30.59% |
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Read the Massachusetts RSU tax guide →AI / ML Engineer Salary Ranges in Massachusetts
Not all AI / ML Engineers earn the same — not even close
Massachusetts has the densest US AI/ML engineering talent concentration outside the Bay Area. MIT CSAIL + Harvard SEAS feed substantial AI/ML talent; Kendall Square Cambridge biotech ML (Moderna mRNA platform, Vertex computational biology, Biogen, Takeda) drives biomedical ML at scale; the Boston AI startup cluster (Hyperscience, DataRobot, Indigo Ag, Tessera Therapeutics, OpenAI Boston satellite, Anthropic Boston) anchors commercial AI; Akamai Technologies Cambridge + Wayfair AI/ML + HubSpot AI add SaaS depth.
Principal ML Engineer / Senior Scientist
$315,000–$565,000+ TC
OpenAI Boston · Anthropic · MIT-CSAIL-adjacent senior researchers · biotech AI principal · top-tier comp
Staff ML Engineer (FAANG-adjacent)
$245,000–$425,000 TC
Microsoft Cambridge + Amazon Boston + Google Cambridge · senior IC + RSU heavy · L6-L7 equivalent
Senior ML Engineer (Biotech / Pharma)
$195,000–$315,000
Moderna mRNA platform · Vertex computational biology · Biogen · Takeda · pharma-ML compliance premium
Senior ML Engineer (Quant Finance)
$215,000–$385,000
Wellington Management systematic · State Street SSGA quant · Putnam · Two Sigma Boston
Senior ML Engineer (Commercial / SaaS)
$175,000–$275,000
Akamai edge ML · Wayfair recommendations · HubSpot AI · DataRobot platform · senior IC
Senior MLOps Engineer
$155,000–$245,000
Production ML deployment · biotech clinical-data pipelines · senior platform engineering IC
ML Engineer (Mid-Level, 3-6 yrs)
$135,000–$200,000
Most common mid-career band · MIT + Harvard + Northeastern + BU + WPI pipeline · cross-industry
Junior ML Engineer (0-3 yrs)
$108,000–$160,000
Post-MIT + Harvard + Northeastern + BU + Tufts MS/PhD · top entry band in country
Senior AI Research Scientist
$255,000–$465,000+ TC
Industrial research scientist roles · top-tier publications expected · MIT-CSAIL-adjacent firms
Senior LLM / Foundation Model Engineer
$285,000–$525,000+ TC
OpenAI Boston · Anthropic · MosaicML legacy (Databricks acquired) · foundation model senior IC
Worth knowing: MIT CSAIL (Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory) is the structural depth feature most national AI/ML-career surveys understate for MA. CSAIL is the country's largest academic AI research lab (~900 affiliated researchers across faculty + students + research staff), and the steady CSAIL alumni pipeline + tech-transfer spinouts have produced substantial Boston AI startup activity. The Kendall Square biotech AI/ML cluster (Moderna's mRNA platform requires substantial computational biology + protein folding + clinical-trial ML; Vertex Pharmaceuticals' AI for drug discovery; Biogen + Takeda + Pfizer Cambridge research all maintain substantial computational biology teams) creates a senior pharma-ML specialty unique to the Boston cluster. OpenAI's Boston satellite office (post-2023 expansion) + Anthropic Boston + the legacy MosaicML team (acquired by Databricks 2023 for $1.3B but retained substantial Boston presence) anchor foundation-model engineering. Boston's senior LLM/foundation model engineers routinely clear $285-525K+ TC including equity. MA's combined effective rate at $250K mid-senior ML comp is 5% flat — but at $1.117M+ TC (achievable at senior tech + biotech equity vest tier) the Fair Share Amendment 4% surtax kicks in for 9% combined top. $2M estate exemption (raised from $1M by HB 4104 Oct 2023) drives meaningful HNW FL/NH relocation patterns.
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More on Massachusetts
Salaries by profession, top-paying roles by industry, and an economic breakdown for Massachusetts in 2026.
Tax brackets, standard deductions, and take-home estimates for Massachusetts in 2026.
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