ML Research Engineer Frontier Lab

Career Path

Your career progression roadmap with salary growth at each level

Career Ladder

IC3 → Senior → Staff → Principal

Where are you on this career path?

Click a level below to set your current position

Salary Growth

L1

$170K – $228K

L2

$216K – $285K

L3

$274K – $343K

L4

$331K – $400K

Entry → Top level growth2x

1

Level 1

IC3

$170K – $228K

0-2

Research methodology 60%Deep learning 60%Paper writing 60%Experimentation 60%+6

12-24 months

2

Level 2

Senior

$216K – $285K

2-5

Research methodology 70%Deep learning 70%Paper writing 70%Experimentation 70%+6

24-36 months

3

Level 3

Staff

$274K – $343K

5-8

Research methodology 82%Deep learning 82%Paper writing 82%Experimentation 82%+6

30-48 months

4

Level 4

Principal

$331K – $400K

8-12+

Research methodology 90%Deep learning 90%Paper writing 90%Experimentation 90%+6

4

Levels

$400K

Top Salary

8+

Years

Learning Path

Skills you need to develop and courses to get there

Career levels

Timeline: 0-2 | Entry Level Base: $170,000 - $228,000/year With equity/bonuses: $187,000 - $273,600 Top markets (SF/NYC): $195,000 - $274,000 Execute core tasks using Research…

Skills used in this career

Click any skill to see how to learn it and what salary boost it gives

Day in Life

Junior vs Senior, daily schedule breakdown

9am, Review priorities and respond to urgent items 10am, Team standup and progress check 11am, Deep work using Research methodology 1pm, Cross-functional meeting with stakeholders…

Income Dynamics

Conservative and aggressive scenarios for 10–15 years

Year 1: Entry level $119,000 - $153,000 Year 2-3: Junior level $170,000 - $238,500 Year 4-6: Mid level $238,500 - $296,500 Year 7-10: Senior level $296,500 - $365,500 Year 10+:…

Is this for me?

15 questions, answer honestly

You find the craft of a ML Research Engineer Frontier Lab genuinely interesting, not just a paycheck You enjoy working with Research methodology and Deep learning You communicate…