PE Collective
Research engineers work at the frontier of AI, turning research ideas into working systems. You'll find these roles at AI labs like DeepMind, Anthropic, and Meta AI, as well as at universities and corporate research divisions.
The job combines engineering rigor with research intuition. You'll implement papers, run large-scale experiments, build custom training infrastructure, and collaborate closely with research scientists. Most positions expect familiarity with transformer architectures, training dynamics, and at least one publication or equivalent project experience.
These are among the highest-paying AI roles, especially at major labs where research engineers work directly on frontier models. Competition is intense, but the work is some of the most interesting in the field.
Salary Overview
Based on 1 open positions, Research Engineer roles pay an average of $180K - $280K. View detailed salary benchmarks →
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a PhD to be a research engineer?
Not always, but it helps. Many AI labs hire research engineers with strong MS degrees or exceptional project portfolios. Publications in top venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR) significantly strengthen applications, regardless of degree level.
What's the difference between a research engineer and a research scientist?
Research scientists focus on designing experiments and developing new methods. Research engineers focus on building the infrastructure to run those experiments at scale. In practice, the roles overlap significantly, especially at smaller labs.
What do research engineers earn?
Research engineers at top AI labs earn $180K-$320K in base salary, with total compensation (including equity and bonuses) often reaching $400K-$600K at staff level. Academic positions pay significantly less.
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