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Home / Compensation / Amazon / ML Engineer
Total compensation for a Amazon ML Engineer ranges from about $150K at the entry level to $1.6M+ at the most senior bands, with a typical mid-level package around $410K. Below is the full breakdown by level - base salary, annual equity, and bonus - from public-source data.
Public-source estimates (Beta). Last updated 2026-05. Figures are annualized USD.
| Level | Years | Base (p50) | Equity/yr (p50) | Bonus (p50) | Total (p25-p90) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDE IApplied Scientist I | 0-2 YOE | $130K | $25K | $25K | $150K - $225K |
| SDE IIApplied Scientist II | 3-5 YOE | $175K | $60K | $30K | $215K - $390K |
| SDE IIISenior Applied Scientist | 5-9 YOE | $185K | $165K | $45K | $320K - $680K |
| PrincipalPrincipal Applied Scientist | 9-14 YOE | $185K | $350K | $75K | $480K - $1.1M |
| Senior PrincipalSenior Principal Applied Scientist | 14+ YOE | $185K | $615K | $115K | $700K - $1.6M |
Entry-level. Most ML hires arrive at SDE II or higher.
Mid-level. Common entry for fresh PhDs.
Senior IC. AWS Bedrock and Alexa AI command top-of-band offers.
Principal IC. Sign-on backfills the back-loaded vesting cliff.
Senior Principal. External hires very rare.
Applied scientist / ML engineer titles share the SDE level scheme but cluster at L5-L7. The $185K base cap applies. AWS Bedrock and the Alexa AI org pay top-of-band for foundation-model and inference-systems work.
The offer calculator compares your current and target offers 4 years out - vesting, refresh grants, and federal + state + FICA tax - so you negotiate with real take-home numbers.
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