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Reinforcement Learning Researcher salary: $285K median

The median advertised Reinforcement Learning Researcher salary is $285K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $240K to $375K: counted from 103 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range: about $137 an hour or $23,750 a month. A tenth of the postings offer $515K or more. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.

Check an offer against these figuresAll reinforcement learning researcher jobs

$285Kmedian advertised salary
$240K – $375Kmiddle half of roles
$332Kaverage advertised salary
103roles counted

Reinforcement Learning Researcher salary by location

NameMedian salaryRoles counted
🇺🇸New York, NY$350K26
🇺🇸San Francisco Bay Area$288K84
🇺🇸California$288K80
🇺🇸United States$285K97

Skills that pay more for Reinforcement Learning Researcher roles

SkillMedian with itAbove the medianPostings
AI agents$340K+$55K11
Reinforcement learning$312K+$28K55
LLM evaluation$295K+$10K21
Distributed training$292K+$7K18
Rust$288K+$4K15

Top-paying companies

NameMedian salaryRoles counted
Anthropic$675K14
OpenAI$440K8
Mercor$350K3
Mirendil$350K3
Harvey$340K4
Preference Model$275K3
Applied$274K3
xAI$205K5

Highest-paying open Reinforcement Learning Researcher roles

All reinforcement learning researcher jobs

Questions about Reinforcement Learning Researcher pay

What is the average Reinforcement Learning Researcher salary?
$332K a year on average and $285K at the median, across 103 open Reinforcement Learning Researcher postings at companies that state pay (November 2026). The median is the better guide: a few very high offers pull the average up.
What is the typical range?
The middle half of the postings offer $240K to $375K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
Which companies advertise the highest Reinforcement Learning Researcher pay?
Anthropic ($675K), OpenAI ($440K), Mirendil ($350K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
Is a reinforcement learning researcher a high-paying job?
The median Reinforcement Learning Researcher posting advertises $285K a year, more than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 64% above the middle of the market.
How much can you earn as a reinforcement learning researcher?
A tenth of the postings offer $515K a year or more; the highest open Reinforcement Learning Researcher role advertises up to $850K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
What is the Reinforcement Learning Researcher salary per hour and per month?
The median of $285K a year is about $137 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $23,750 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $115 to $180 an hour.
Which skills pay more for Reinforcement Learning Researcher roles?
Postings that ask for AI agents (+$55K, 11 postings), Reinforcement learning (+$28K, 55 postings), LLM evaluation (+$10K, 21 postings) advertise more than the $285K median of all Reinforcement Learning Researcher postings with pay.
Where do these figures come from?
From the pay ranges employers print in their own job postings, read from their careers pages every hour. The midpoint of each range is counted. These are advertised ranges for open roles, mostly in the United States and in US dollars, not what people are actually paid.

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The median advertised salary for Reinforcement Learning Researcher roles at companies is $285K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $240K to $375K. Counted from 103 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Jobs Every Hour, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/reinforcement-learning/

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Source: Jobs Every Hour, “Reinforcement Learning Researcher salaries”, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/reinforcement-learning/