Side by side

AI / ML Engineer vs Data Scientist

AI / ML Engineer pays more: a median of $188,500 against $153,500. There is 2.5× more demand for AI / ML Engineer. Data Scientist is the more remote-friendly of the two, by 7.2%. Listings for Data Scientist move faster — median age 42 days against 47.

Comparison

Side by side

MeasureAI / ML EngineerData ScientistGap
Open postings29,27111,819+17,452
Posted this week974596
Median salary$188,500$153,500+$35k
25th percentile$149k$122k
75th percentile$234k$191k
Salary disclosed2.9%7.6%
Remote share6.5%13.7%-7.2pp
Median age of posting47d42d
Open over 60 days51.4%40.7%
Visa sponsorship4.4%4.2%
Pay

Pay distribution

AI / ML Engineer

$85k$326k

Data Scientist

$69k$266k
Freshness

How old the listings are

AI / ML Engineer

just posted47d median90d+

Data Scientist

just posted42d median90d+
Demand

What each side asks for

AI / ML Engineer — technologies

Python
72.0%
Node.js
65.8%
Spark
59.6%
React
53.4%
Tableau
47.2%
Airflow
41.0%
Go
34.8%

Data Scientist — technologies

JavaScript
72.0%
Terraform
65.8%
Salesforce
59.6%
Tableau
53.4%
Spark
47.2%
Airflow
41.0%
HubSpot
34.8%

AI / ML Engineer — employers

Tidewater Insurance
9.4%
Cobalt Financial
8.7%
Umbra Security
8.0%
Ironbark Manufacturing
7.2%
Kestrel Health
6.5%
Meridian Software
5.8%
Beacon Robotics
5.1%

Data Scientist — employers

Cobalt Financial
9.4%
Kestrel Health
8.7%
Beacon Robotics
8.0%
Rivergate Media
7.2%
Pinewood Education
6.5%
Halcyon Energy
5.8%
Ironbark Manufacturing
5.1%

Track this slice

A weekly note when openings, pay or freshness move for AI / ML Engineer vs Data Scientist.

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Both sides are counted the same way on the same day, so the gap is comparable even where the absolute numbers move. Salary figures use only postings that publish a range — the disclosure rate is in the table because a median over 20% of a cohort is a weaker number than one over 70%.