Entrepreneurship February 25, 2026 0 Comments

Inside OpenAI’s Paychecks: The Jaw-Dropping Role Banking $685K That’s Shattering Tech Salary Norms

Ever wondered what it really costs to snag the sharpest minds in AI? Turns out, OpenAI isn’t just paying lip service to talent—they’re dropping serious coin, and I mean half a million-plus dollars in base salary for research scientists alone. That number doesn’t even factor in the juicy stock awards and bonuses that sweeten the deal. You might think with all the chatter about slowing down hiring, they’d tighten the purse strings, but nope—OpenAI is still aggressively competing for the crème de la crème of Silicon Valley brains. CEO Sam Altman talks about doing more with fewer people, yet the hiring numbers and salaries say otherwise. Curious how these numbers stack up and what they reveal about the fierce battle for AI supremacy? Let’s dive into the paychecks that are setting a new bar in tech compensation. LEARN MORE

Key Takeaways

According to federal filings, OpenAI pays a hefty price tag for its skilled workers.
Research scientists at the AI company command salaries from $245,000 to $685,000.
The pay data reveals that OpenAI employees are among the best-compensated workers in Silicon Valley.

Federal filings reveal that OpenAI pays top dollar for talent. The AI giant compensates research scientists on its technical staff by over half a million dollars in base salary, not including stock awards or bonuses.

The ChatGPT-maker does not publicly disclose salary data, but it is required to submit federal filings with salary figures when hiring foreign workers. The resulting data, viewed by Business Insider, shows that OpenAI pays engineering roles in the mid-six figures, while research scientists command salaries from $245,000 to $685,000.

The federal filings result from OpenAI hiring employees on H-1B visas, or visas for foreign workers with specialized skills. In September, the Trump administration imposed a $100,000 fee for every new H-1B visa application filed in the U.S.

Despite this new fee, BI reported that OpenAI onboarded over 60 new H-1B workers from October to December 2025. Last year, as a whole, the AI company filed over 160 new H-1B applications, per BI.

The pay data reveals that OpenAI employees are among the best-compensated workers in Silicon Valley — perhaps due to competitive pressures. Last year, the company said it was “recalibrating” pay in response to Meta poaching talent from their company.

Here’s a snapshot of the base salary received by H-1B workers at OpenAI, not including stock awards or bonuses:

Member of Intelligence & Investigations Staff: $320,000 to $382,500
Member of Technical Staff (AI Systems Engineer): $245,000 to $460,000
Member of Technical Staff (Research & AI Systems): $310,000 to $460,000
Member of Technical Staff (Research Engineer): $210,000 to $460,000
Member of Technical Staff (Research Scientist): $245,000 to $685,000
Member of Technical Staff (Data Science): $255,000 to $490,000
Member of Technical Staff (Hardware Engineer): $250,000 to $555,000
Member of Technical Staff (Security Engineer): $310,000 to $325,000
Member of Technical Staff (Software Developer): $325,000
Member of Technical Staff (Software Engineer): $170,000 to $490,000
Member of Design Staff: $245,000 to $310,000
Member of Product Staff (Product Management): $210,000 to $325,000
Member of Program Staff: $150,000 to $355,000
Member of Finance Staff: $240,000 to $260,000
Member of Support and Community Staff: $180,000 to $235,000

OpenAI’s high level of pay reflects how aggressively the company is still competing for AI talent, even as it talks publicly about mitigating headcount growth. Earlier this year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a town hall event that the startup would slow down its hiring pace because he believed AI would allow the company “to do so much more with fewer people.”

OpenAI is, however, still expanding its workforce — and paying its 4,000 workers well. The Wall Street Journal reported last year that OpenAI employees receive an average of $1.5 million in stock awards each year, more than any tech startup in recent history.

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Key Takeaways

According to federal filings, OpenAI pays a hefty price tag for its skilled workers.
Research scientists at the AI company command salaries from $245,000 to $685,000.
The pay data reveals that OpenAI employees are among the best-compensated workers in Silicon Valley.

Federal filings reveal that OpenAI pays top dollar for talent. The AI giant compensates research scientists on its technical staff by over half a million dollars in base salary, not including stock awards or bonuses.

The ChatGPT-maker does not publicly disclose salary data, but it is required to submit federal filings with salary figures when hiring foreign workers. The resulting data, viewed by Business Insider, shows that OpenAI pays engineering roles in the mid-six figures, while research scientists command salaries from $245,000 to $685,000.