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The average annual salary for an AI Engineer in Riyadh is approximately SAR 238,145 (around $63,500 USD). AI Engineer Salary varies based on the experience, skills, company, location and experience level. Riyadh is now a major technology and innovation hub that attracts specialists in AI, machine learning, and data solutions.
AI engineers are in high demand with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which focuses heavily on digital transformation and advanced technology adoption
Below, we can explore the salary trends, job roles, and key factors influencing earnings for AI professionals in Riyadh.
The salary of AI engineers in Riyadh is determined by experience, expertise, and sector. The following table shows the average wages of AI Engineers from surveys conducted on other websites, including Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and PayScale.
| Experience Level | Average Salary in SAR per year | Average Salary in SAR per Month |
| Entry level (0-2 years) | 120,000 – 180,000 | 10,000 – 15,000 |
| Mid level 2-5 years) | 180,000 – 300,000 | 15,000 – 25,000 |
| Senior level (5+years) | 300,000 – 500,000+ | 25,000 – 41,600+ |
This salary guide illustrates how much you will earn at various experience levels to enable you understand where you will fall and what you may receive in the next step in the growing AI market of Riyadh.
After knowing about the typical salary range of an AI Engineer. Now, let's check what factors affect an AI engineer’s salary in Riyadh.
In the year 2026, the salary of an AI engineer in Riyadh will depend on the experience level, market sector, company, education, and market demands in the country. Good GPU engineers make more money, as do any senior position or many multinational companies or government agencies working on digital.
The most common five factors that affect an AI Engineer’s Salary are as follows:
Experience Level
Technical Expertise
Industry Sector
Educational background & Certification
Demand for AI talent in Riyadh
Let's look into these factors in detail.
Riyadh has the greatest impact on an AI engineer’s salary, depending on your experience level.
Thus, this experience in producing an AI system of production-grade quality is also valued by employers and can further increase your salary.
Understanding the 3 levels is important for career advancement; thus, to progress, you should develop some technical skills with AI.
The technical skills play a crucial role in determining your salary. The technical Skills include:
Mastering these technical skills not only increases your career potential but also makes you more competitive across industries. Understanding the industries is a major thing for shaping your AI career in Riyadh.
The industry sector plays a significant role in determining the salaries of AI engineers in Riyadh, given the complexity and business impact of AI projects. High-revenue sectors like finance, oil and gas, telecommunications, and healthcare tend to offer higher salaries to attract highly qualified AI talent.
The development of smart city projects under Vision 2030, including NEOM, The Red Sea Project, and digital governance programs, also offers attractive salary packages for specialised AI professionals.
Since industries heavily influence your role in choosing the right sector, you should position yourself by expanding and deepening your education.
Educational background and certification have a significant influence on the salary expectations of AI engineers in Riyadh. You should strengthen your academic background and qualifications to increase your salary in Riyadh.
While the market accepts candidates with degrees in AI, data science, computer science, or machine learning, those holding advanced degrees, such as master's or doctoral qualifications, generally receive higher pay. Employers value these elevated educational levels for the deeper expertise and research capabilities they represent.
You can seek industry-recognised training programs, such as the Artificial Intelligence Training Course, to further enhance your earning potential by validating technical skills and certifications. Popular certifications include :
These certifications serve as critical benchmarks of competency and reliability, especially for multinational corporations, which often consider them crucial for senior or expert AI roles. Such educational and certification credentials assure employers about a candidate's preparedness to handle complex AI projects and leadership responsibilities, thus driving salary differentiation in Riyadh's competitive AI job market.
One of the largest factors contributing to an increase in AI-related salaries in Riyadh is the Vision 2030 in Saudi Arabia. There is an increasing demand for skilled AI talent in the country, which is growing at a rate of higher demand than supply, as the country is investing billions of dollars in digital transformation, automation, and artificial intelligence.
AI is the focus of the national priorities, including smart-city development, renewable energy systems, government digitalisation, and cybersecurity automation. Therefore, firms are aggressively seeking qualified AI engineers and use higher salaries, bonuses, and other benefits in their effort to hire them. The fast growth of AI startups, innovation centres, and research centres supported by the government also contributes to the increased imbalance between demand and supply, directly related to the increase in compensation.
Riyadh is rapidly becoming a city where AI professionals can find good jobs and challenging work. The mean pay of AI engineers in Riyadh demonstrates strong demand for skilled employees, and sophisticated technical skills will be useful. Through continued learning, certification, and experience, AI engineers can earn higher and more significant salaries, further their careers, and become leaders in the developing technology sector in Saudi Arabia.
Does Certification Impact AI Engineer Salaries In Riyadh?
Numerous types of certifications can enhance an AI engineer's credibility and thus create opportunities to earn a higher wage. Some examples of these are: AWS ML Speciality, Azure AI Engineer Associate, Google ML Engineer and AWS Solutions Architect. These certifications will provide for AI engineers who work for multinational corporations, and for those who work for government-sponsored digital projects, the opportunity to earn a larger salary than other AI engineers without the certifications.
1. What are AI Engineers' Salary Offerings in Riyadh?
The monthly average Salary of an AI Engineer in Riyadh can range from SAR 10,000 to SAR 41,600+, depending on his/her level of experience, the type of technical software and the industry that he/she operate within. A Senior AI Engineer within a high-impact industry should expect a salary above the average.
2. Which Industry has the Highest Pay For AI Engineers In Riyadh?
AI salaries can be on the high side for companies in financial services, oil and gas, telecommunications, healthcare, and smart city development projects like NEOM and The Red Sea Project due to their extensive and complicated applications of AI.
3. What Is The Impact Of Projected Experience On AI engineers ' salaries in Riyadh?
Experience is the most important variable when it comes to the overall compensation for AI engineers. Entry-level engineers typically perform an entry-level support role for senior engineers and architects who design sophisticated systems and implement machine learning operations (MLOps). Mid-level engineers typically assist with managing the production pipeline and deployment activities. However, senior engineers and architects receive the highest level of total compensation.
4. Does Certification Impact AI Engineer Salaries In Riyadh?
Numerous types of certifications can enhance an AI engineer's credibility and thus create opportunities to earn a higher wage. Some examples of these are: AWS ML Speciality, Azure AI Engineer Associate, Google ML Engineer and AWS Solutions Architect. These certifications will provide for AI engineers who work for multinational corporations, and for those who work for government-sponsored digital projects, the opportunity to earn a larger salary than other AI engineers without the certifications.
