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Emerging AI Roles salaries, 2026

15 to 25% salary growth across the discipline

Role definitions are still crystallising and packages vary by up to 30% depending on company size and funding. Deployment experience is valued over research. Nationally there are only about 200 AI Managers, 820 AI Engineers and 300 Heads of AI.

8 titles, base salary

AUD per year, before super. The bar shows each range on the same scale as the whole guide ($70k to $450k). The day rate is the guide's own formula, annual × 1.35 ÷ 220, on the midpoint. Treat it as a floor, not a market rate.

Title and rangeMinimum day rate
Chief AI Officer$320k–$450k
$2,360/day
Head of AI$250k–$350k
$1,840/day
AI Solutions Architect$200k–$280k
$1,470/day
AI Ethics & Governance Lead$180k–$240k
$1,290/day
AI Product Manager$160k–$220k
$1,170/day
LLM Engineer$150k–$220k
$1,140/day
AI Specialist / Consultant$150k–$220k
$1,140/day
Prompt Engineer$120k–$180k
$920/day

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Minimum contract day rate mid × 1.35 ÷ 220
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Live Emerging AI Roles roles

Gen AI - Senior ManagerNew$180k–$300k packageBasilAI EngineerMatched to levelBasil

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Likely desk for this area

Figures as tekFinder publishes them (2026 Salary Guide and Market Report), read 23 October 2026.