Topic
Pay levels, premiums and trends for engineers with ML/AI specialisations relative to other software roles.
OpenAI UK Ltd's accounts show its 110 London staff averaged £2.3m each in salary and shares in 2025, about double the £1.1m of the year before. The average spans researchers and sales and government affairs staff, so it is a weak guide to what an AI researcher costs.
Reality
OpenAI is piloting a separate 'mission interview' for marketing and HR candidates while listing 830 open roles at a company of about 8,000 people. The step gives mission fit its own gate beside skills, and OpenAI wants it applied consistently across teams.
Reality
OpenAI's careers page now lists 27 robotics openings, up from 11 in May, with published base pay running from $177,000 to $500,000. The top of that range attaches to data infrastructure work, and the robotics software job tops out at $325,000.
Reality
OpenAI has more than doubled its robotics listings since May and is hiring people to design joints, run test labs and handle the legal work. The published pay is the part rival recruiters will notice.
Reality
Levels.fyi's US submissions put the L3 AI premium at 1.29x, down from 1.34x in late 2024. The outlier money now tracks employer, not skill: an OpenAI recruiter shows 3.7x market pay.
Reality