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In short

Of the 122 research scientist roles at tech companies in the 90 days to Oct 16, 2026, 25 are senior, more than at any other level. Machine learning engineer roles share 8 of the 14 required skills listed for research scientist roles; no other role shares more.

Levels in order

Each level counts its own roles. A median shows only where 50 or more of that level’s roles state pay, and each is taken over a different set of roles.

LevelRolesMedian stated payAt least half ask for
Junior research scientist17 rolesNot shown2+ years, 10 of 13
Mid-level research scientist19 rolesNot shown3+ years, 18 of 19
Senior research scientist25 rolesNot shown3+ years, 14 of 15
Staff research scientist12 rolesNot shown5+ years, 4 of 5
Principal research scientist4 rolesNot shownNot shown
Lead research scientist2 rolesNot shown10+ years, 1 of 2

Lead titles say who leads a team, not a step above principal, so lead is listed last and not compared with the level before it.

What rises at the next level

No two neighbouring levels have 50 or more roles whose requirements we read, so no level is compared with the next yet.

Roles closest to research scientist, by shared skills

Compared over each role’s most-required skills, umbrella labels such as “Programming” left out. The more skills two roles share, the shorter the move between them.

  • Machine learning engineer323 roles

    8 shared: Machine Learning, Python, PyTorch, AI, LLMs, Experimentation, Deep Learning, Statistics

    Median stated pay: $218.9k a year

  • Data scientist416 roles

    7 shared: Machine Learning, Python, PyTorch, AI, LLMs, Experimentation, Statistics

    Median stated pay: $190k a year

  • AI engineer220 roles

    5 shared: Machine Learning, Python, AI, LLMs, AI Agents

    Median stated pay: $198.8k a year

  • Forward deployed engineer170 roles

    5 shared: Machine Learning, Python, AI, LLMs, AI Agents

    Median stated pay: $198.9k a year

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How we count: 122 roles from 85 employers in the 90 days to Oct 16, 2026, each role counted once however many boards post it. Methodology