Skyrocketing AI Salaries Unveiled
AI Job Market Salary Shift
Recent survey data reveals a stark contrast in UK AI salaries over the past two years. While robotics-related roles soar, many traditional AI positions face notable pay declines.
Robotics Surge
Analysis from CV‑Library, pulling data from more than 5 million UK jobs, shows that Robotics Software Engineers command the fastest salary growth – an impressive +51.7% increase, with an average salary now at £52,779. This marks robotics as the leading growth sector within AI.
Salary Declines Across Key Roles
High‑earning AI roles are not immune to downturns. Among the most lucrative positions:
- Senior Data Scientist – average salary £85,368, -27.4% drop
- AI Engineer – average salary £89,780, -26.8% decline
- Data Science Engineer – average salary £53,534, -19.8% fall
Overall, AI salary growth across all examined roles has slipped by -0.5% year‑on‑year.
Fastest Growing AI Salaries
The following roles exhibit the most robust pay increases (2023‑2025):
- Robotics Software Engineer – £52,779, +51.7%
- Principal Data Scientist – £83,844, +31.9%
- Head of Data Science – £91,993, +30.1%
- Data Science Lead – £68,278, +6.5%
- Machine Learning Engineer – £66,505, +6.5%
AI Roles With Falling Salaries
Roles experiencing pay reductions include:
- Senior Data Scientist – £85,368, -27.4%
- AI Engineer – £89,780, -26.8%
- Data Science Engineer – £53,534, -19.8%
- MLOps Engineer – £69,256, -16.8%
- Data Science Manager – £75,975, -16.5%
Drivers Behind the Shift
Three main factors influence the rise of AI‑related jobs:
- Increased automation drives AI adoption across logistics, healthcare, and manufacturing.
- Growing investment in software fuels demand for field service engineers to deploy and maintain smart machines.
- Robotics’ rapid growth reflects the broader trend toward intelligent systems in industry.
While top‑paying positions such as Algorithm Specialists remain close to the peak, the overall average wage in AI has tempered, underscoring evolving market dynamics in the British tech landscape.
