Lead Machine Learning Engineer Salary in California
$41.9K - $54.3K
1% of jobs
$54.3K - $66.6K
2% of jobs
$66.6K - $79K
3% of jobs
$79K - $91.3K
6% of jobs
$100.9K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$91.3K - $103.6K
16% of jobs
$103.6K - $116K
16% of jobs
The median wage is $124.6K / yr.
$116K - $128.3K
8% of jobs
$137.1K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$128.3K - $140.6K
32% of jobs
$140.6K - $153K
7% of jobs
$153K - $165.3K
6% of jobs
$165.3K - $177.7K
4% of jobs
$41.9K
$128.3K
$178.1K
$122,163
/year
$58.73
/hour
Lead Machine Learning Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$123,784
California
California
$122,163
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How much does a Lead Machine Learning Engineer make in California?
As of Aug 30, 2026, the average annual pay for a Lead Machine Learning Engineer in California is $122,163 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $58.73 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,349/week or $10,180/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing salaries as high as $178,137 and as low as $41,943, the majority of Lead Machine Learning Engineer salaries currently range between $101,200 (25th percentile) to $133,200 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $162,839 annually in California. The average pay range for a Lead Machine Learning Engineer varies little (about 32000), which suggests that regardless of location, there are not many opportunities for increased pay or advancement, even with several years of experience.
California ranks number 50 out of 50 states nationwide for Lead Machine Learning Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Lead Machine Learning Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Lead Machine Learning Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Lead Machine Learning Engineer Jobs in California
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Lead Machine Learning Engineer job is above the average in California in California. Topping the list is San Buenaventura, , with Talmage, and Berry Creek, close behind in the second and third positions. Berry Creek, beats the average in California by $61,174 (50.1%), and San Buenaventura, furthers that trend with another $66,390 (54.3%) above the $122,163 average.
With these 10 cities paying on average above the average for California, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Lead Machine Learning Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Additionally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies as much as 25% between San Buenaventura, and Palo Alto, , suggesting a strong potential for positive wage variance in a Lead Machine Learning Engineer role. Cost of living should also be factored in when balancing location and salary.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
San Buenaventura | $188,553 | $90.65 |
Talmage | $183,645 | $88.29 |
Berry Creek | $183,337 | $88.14 |
Cupertino | $152,718 | $73.42 |
Santa Monica | $151,113 | $72.65 |
Sunnyvale | $147,268 | $70.80 |
Fremont | $146,689 | $70.52 |
Mountain View | $146,026 | $70.20 |
San Francisco | $145,839 | $70.11 |
Palo Alto | $145,511 | $69.96 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Lead Machine Learning Engineer Jobs in California
Analyzing similar jobs related to the Lead Machine Learning Engineer job category in California, we found 5 that were relevant. However, none pay more than the $122163 state average for Lead Machine Learning Engineer jobs.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Data Science Architect | $143,650 | $69.06 |
Machine Learning Research Scientist | $128,413 | $61.74 |
Python Machine Learning | $120,336 | $57.85 |
Machine Learning Research Engineer | $104,624 | $50.30 |
Machine Learning Finance | $91,418 | $43.95 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
