- Meta pays AI research engineers up to Rs 3.7 crore ($440,000) excluding bonuses and stock options
- Salaries for AI roles range from Rs 1.3 crore to Rs 4.1 crore depending on position and seniority
- Mark Zuckerberg has led recruitment efforts targeting OpenAI, Google, Perplexity AI, and Runway
Amid recent claims that Meta was splurging hundreds of millions to lure top AI talents from rivals, the new federal filings have revealed how much the company is paying its current employees. Although most tech companies closely guard their compensation details, the government-mandated disclosures prompt them to release the data.
The numbers come from filings that companies must submit to the Labor Department when hiring foreign workers through the H-1B visa program, which allows them to bring in 85,000 specialised workers annually through a lottery system.
The highest-paid AI research engineers at Meta are receiving salaries in upwards of Rs 3.7 crore ($440,000), which does not include the stock options, bonuses or other perks that make up the total package, according to a report in Business Insider.
Artificial Intelligence:
- Machine learning engineer: Rs 1.4 crore ($165,000) to Rs 3.7 crore ($440,000)
- Research engineer: Rs 1.3 crore ($154,840) to Rs 3.4 crore ($400,000)
- Machine learning infrastructure engineer: Rs 2.04 crore ($239,723)
Data scientists:
- Data science director: Rs 2.7 crore ($320,000)
- Data science manager: Rs 2.1 crore ($248,920) to Rs 2.5 crore ($301,619)
- Senior manager, data and analytics: Rs 2.3 crore ($280,000)
Engineering:
- Software engineer: Rs 1.02 crore ($120,000) to Rs 4.1 crore ($480,000)
- Software engineering manager: Rs 1.8 crore ($219,978) to Rs 2.8 crore ($328,000)
- Senior software engineer: Rs 1.6 crore ($194,467) to Rs 2.5 crore ($302,134)
Product:
- Product management director: Rs 3.04 crore ($356,512)
- Product design director: Rs 2.7 crore ($321,538)
- Product design manager: Rs 2.2 crore ($267,540) to Rs 2.3 crore ($279,594)
Research:
- UX researcher: Rs 1.4 crore ($170,000) to Rs 2.9 crore ($350,000)
- Research scientist: Rs 1.4 crore ($167,000) to Rs 2.74 crore ($321,101)
- UX research scientist manager: Rs 2.5 crore ($302,134)
In recent months, Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta has successfully hired at least seven staffers from OpenAI, prompting Mark Chen, the rival company's chief research officer, to send a note to staff over the weekend saying it felt "as if someone has broken into our home and stolen something".
Apart from OpenAI, Meta's recruitment campaign has also targeted Google, Perplexity AI, and the buzzy AI video startup Runway. Mr Zuckerberg is personally leading the charge, driven by concerns that Meta is falling behind competitors in generative AI.
The latest version of Meta's AI model, Llama, ranked below heavyweight rivals in code-writing performance on the LM Arena platform, where users evaluate AI technologies.
