6 ms·

Anyone have any insight into what the top ML people are being paid right now?

pscsbs 9y ago
The equity packages tend to be in the tens of millions for a 4-year vest. Source: I am a manager who has given offers to top-tier ML experts.
- soldierofhayley 9y ago
  No idea how you are getting downvotes, this is accurate.
- senatorobama 9y ago
  I feel so small.
- bostonvaulter2 9y ago
  Yes, but what is the salary. Tens of millions of stock could end up being worth $0.
  - pgodzin 9y ago
    At early stage startups, not at public companies like Tesla
    - bostonvaulter2 9y ago
      Ah, good point.
- zghst 9y ago
  If I fail at startup life, this is an obvious next step in my career.
  - ralfd 9y ago
    Your obvious next career step is to be a top-tier ML expert?
- foobarqux 9y ago
  With yearly refresh?
- hueving 9y ago
  Just to be clear, "tens" as in multiples of 10 million (i.e 20+ million)?
  - pscsbs 9y ago
    Depends how close to the "top" you are, but yes. 20-30 million/4 years is not unheard of for the very top -- comparable to an acquisition.
- foresight 9y ago
  If you are a hiring manager for top-tier ML experts, why would you be trying to inflate market value with outrageous claims?
  - pscsbs 9y ago
    I guarantee you that my comments here will not influence the market rate for top-tier ML experts.
deepnotderp 9y ago
Fei Fei Li said Karpathy was offered more than a million out of school by an unnamed firm. One can only imagine what people like Alex Graves Ann's Nando get paid...
AndrewKemendo 9y ago
500k+ for someone with a lot of experience. 300k+ for a new hire ML/CV/NLP PhD with some relevant experience. 150k+ for a new hire ML/CV/NLP MS with little to no experience We were working with a very expert ML contractor that is doing 800k on his own from pop-up projects.
- pscsbs 9y ago
  The top of the range you're quoting is for a typical Staff Software Engineer at Google/Facebook/Microsoft. "Top ML experts" garner much, much higher comp packages.
  - soldierofhayley 9y ago
    Yeah these ranges are such a joke. Top new grads at Google are getting comp packages along the lines of 115 base, 450 RSUs / 4 years, 60k signing, 15% bonus these days. L5s regularly make 400k+ all in. The obvious reality is that top people rarely talk about their comp packages, as there is no reason to rock the boat.
  - AndrewKemendo 9y ago
    These are representative of salary numbers for new hires. Agreed though on total comp for top ML experts who have been around for a while - or the highest end.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
- SammoJ 9y ago
  Are these numbers for real, and are these all Bay Area? I'm further North and pull no where near these numbers as an ML PhD with a lot of experience now in the tech industry. Have I goofed on all negotiations?
  - toephu2 9y ago
    Probably real, yes only Bay Area, and no not the norm for ML. First of all only a few companies can pay that much (Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Netflix, etc) and these are outliers. The average ML engineer in the Bay Area does not make 500k/yr total comp.

The equity packages tend to be in the tens of millions for a 4-year vest. Source: I am a manager who has given offers to top-tier ML experts.

soldierofhayley 9y ago
No idea how you are getting downvotes, this is accurate.
senatorobama 9y ago
I feel so small.
bostonvaulter2 9y ago
Yes, but what is the salary. Tens of millions of stock could end up being worth $0.
- pgodzin 9y ago
  At early stage startups, not at public companies like Tesla
  - bostonvaulter2 9y ago
    Ah, good point.
zghst 9y ago
If I fail at startup life, this is an obvious next step in my career.
- ralfd 9y ago
  Your obvious next career step is to be a top-tier ML expert?
foobarqux 9y ago
With yearly refresh?
hueving 9y ago
Just to be clear, "tens" as in multiples of 10 million (i.e 20+ million)?
- pscsbs 9y ago
  Depends how close to the "top" you are, but yes. 20-30 million/4 years is not unheard of for the very top -- comparable to an acquisition.
foresight 9y ago
If you are a hiring manager for top-tier ML experts, why would you be trying to inflate market value with outrageous claims?
- pscsbs 9y ago
  I guarantee you that my comments here will not influence the market rate for top-tier ML experts.

deepnotderp 9y ago

Fei Fei Li said Karpathy was offered more than a million out of school by an unnamed firm. One can only imagine what people like Alex Graves Ann's Nando get paid...

AndrewKemendo 9y ago

500k+ for someone with a lot of experience. 300k+ for a new hire ML/CV/NLP PhD with some relevant experience. 150k+ for a new hire ML/CV/NLP MS with little to no experience We were working with a very expert ML contractor that is doing 800k on his own from pop-up projects.

pscsbs 9y ago
The top of the range you're quoting is for a typical Staff Software Engineer at Google/Facebook/Microsoft. "Top ML experts" garner much, much higher comp packages.
- soldierofhayley 9y ago
  Yeah these ranges are such a joke. Top new grads at Google are getting comp packages along the lines of 115 base, 450 RSUs / 4 years, 60k signing, 15% bonus these days. L5s regularly make 400k+ all in. The obvious reality is that top people rarely talk about their comp packages, as there is no reason to rock the boat.
- AndrewKemendo 9y ago
  These are representative of salary numbers for new hires. Agreed though on total comp for top ML experts who have been around for a while - or the highest end.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
SammoJ 9y ago
Are these numbers for real, and are these all Bay Area? I'm further North and pull no where near these numbers as an ML PhD with a lot of experience now in the tech industry. Have I goofed on all negotiations?
- toephu2 9y ago
  Probably real, yes only Bay Area, and no not the norm for ML. First of all only a few companies can pay that much (Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Netflix, etc) and these are outliers. The average ML engineer in the Bay Area does not make 500k/yr total comp.