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Home / Compensation / LinkedIn / ML Engineer
Total compensation for a LinkedIn ML Engineer ranges from about $175K at the entry level to $1.2M+ at the most senior bands, with a typical mid-level package around $395K. 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior AssociateAssociate ML Engineer (New Grad) | 0-2 YOE | $145K | $38K | $15K | $175K - $260K |
| SeniorSenior ML Engineer | 3-6 YOE | $195K | $68K | $28K | $245K - $425K |
| StaffStaff ML Engineer | 5-9 YOE | $235K | $118K | $42K | $325K - $600K |
| Senior StaffSenior Staff ML Engineer | 8-13 YOE | $275K | $218K | $60K | $445K - $845K |
| DistinguishedDistinguished ML Engineer | 12+ YOE | $320K | $340K | $95K | $600K - $1.2M |
Entry ML role. PhD candidates often start at Senior.
Mid-level. Most-common external ML hire.
Senior IC.
Staff IC. GenAI / Copilot integration premium.
Distinguished IC. External hires very rare.
LinkedIn ML / data engineer ladder mirrors SWE. Feed ranking, recommendation systems, and the GenAI/Copilot integration team are major hiring areas. Equity in MSFT.
6 rounds. 5 of them can be practised here - each one below links the rep that trains it.
Recruiter screen
30 minutes. Background, level calibration, team interest. LinkedIn recruits across feed, search, messaging, recruiter products, learning, ads, and infrastructure (Kafka, data platform, ML platform).
Technical phone screen
60 minutes. One coding problem at Medium difficulty. Behavioral questions woven in. Pass to advance to onsite.
Free rep: Coding challenges with a real sandbox →Onsite: Coding round 1
60 minutes. Algorithmic problem with emphasis on clean implementation, edge cases, and clear communication. Trees, graphs, hash maps, sliding window are common.
Free rep: Coding challenges with a real sandbox →Onsite: Coding round 2
60 minutes. Second coding round with a different interviewer. Often more applied or design-shaped (build a small system, design a class hierarchy).
Free rep: Coding challenges with a real sandbox →Onsite: System design
60 minutes. LinkedIn-flavored: feed ranking, connection graphs and people you may know, messaging, search, recruiter tooling, ad serving. Practice these specifically.
Free rep: Design walkthrough: Design a News Feed (Twitter / Facebook) →Onsite: Hiring manager / behavioral
60 minutes. Behavioral focus, role fit, growth mindset framing (Microsoft-influenced). Senior IC expectations at Senior level - mentoring, navigating ambiguity, technical influence.
Free rep: STAR answers: Learning from Failure →The full LinkedIn prep pack → what they value, topic emphasis, and the questions candidates ask.
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