Microsoft salaries revealed: How much the tech giant pays software engineers, product managers, and more

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty ImagesAmid layoffs, Microsoft has also retained and rewarded employees focused on AI.Federal filings reveal how much the tech giant pays engineers, product managers, and more.Microsoft software engineers can make as much as $284,000 in base pay alone.Microsoft epitomizes a familiar dichotomy in tech: layoffs on the one hand and big paydays for AI talent on the other.Microsoft has invested massively in AI, spending billions on its flagship Copilot tool. It's also the largest investor in OpenAI, even as the relationship has shown some cracks.The tech giant is urging staff to use internal AI tools more frequently and also allows managers to offer retention bonuses to employees, including those who contribute to AI initiatives, per an internal document obtained by Business Insider.A spreadsheet obtained by Business Insider in 2024 showed that employees within Microsoft's AI organization were making more than their non-AI colleagues.Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced multiple rounds of layoffs this year, affecting thousands of employees. It has also sought to weed out low performers, including with performance improvement plans that include payout offers.Some of the layoffs have included traditional sales staff in favor of technical salespeople to better sell AI tools. The shift comes as Microsoft faces increased competition from Google and even its partner OpenAI for enterprise AI customers.The company is still hiring, though. While Microsoft keeps compensation information close to the vest, publicly available work visa data glimpses the kind of pay it can offer employees. The figures only refer to foreign hires and only account for base pay, not the bonuses and stock awards that employees also receive.We looked at the roles where Microsoft most frequently hired from abroad. Software engineers can make as much as $284,000 in base salary, and product managers can pull in as much as $250,000.Microsoft subsidiary LinkedIn is also hiring foreign workers, including within the AI subset of machine learning. A senior software engineer in machine learning at LinkedIn can make as much as $278,000, while a staff software engineer in machine learning can take home as much as $336,000.Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.Here's what Microsoft is paying across key roles, based on roughly 5,400 applications from the first quarter of 2025.Microsoft software engineers can take home up to $284,000Applied Sciences: $127,200 to $261,103Business Analytics: $159,300 to $191,580Business Planning: $117,200 to $201,900Business Program Management: $102,380 to $195,100Cloud Network Engineering: $122,700 to $220,716Cloud Solution Architecture: $130,000 to $207,285Construction Project Management: $150,000 to $193,690Customer Experience Engineering: $126,422 to $239,585Customer Experience Program Management: $141,865 to $201,508Customer Solutions Architecture: $122,730 to $225,000Data Analytics: $132,385 to $205,000Data Center Operations Management: $115,000 to $176,900Data Engineering: $144,855 to $264,000Data Science: $121,200 to $274,500Demand Planning: $147,000 to $204,550Digital Cloud Solution Architecture: $155,085 to $217,589Electrical Engineering: $138,995 to $247,650Financial Analysis: $91,100 to $213,800Hardware Engineering: $136,000 to $270,641Product Design: $125,100 to $208,058Product Management: $122,800 to $250,000Product Marketing: $113,350 to $213,200Research Sciences: $146,054 to $208,000Research, Applied and Data Sciences: $85,821 to $208,800Service Engineering: $130,080 to $182,500Silicon Engineering: $116,334 to $275,000Site Reliability Engineering: $135,100 to $236,670Software Engineering: $82,971 to $284,000Solution Area Specialists: $144,000 to $209,300Supply Planning: $131,300 to $193,270Technical Program Management: $120,900 to $238,000Technical Support Advisory: $114,290 to $153,984Technical Support Engineering: $80,371 to $176,606Technology Specialists: $168,800 to $200,000UX Research: $138,560 to $177,148LinkedIn staff software engineers in machine learning can make up to $336,000Ryan Roslansky is the CEO of LinkedIn, which is hiring in the AI subset of machine learning.Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Concordia SummitManager, Software Engineering: $197,185 to $301,000Product Manager: $141,000 to $252,000Software Engineer: $108,826 to $205,000Software Engineer, Machine Learning: $135,000 to $231,000Software Engineer, Systems Infrastructure: $135,000 to $231,000Senior Software Engineer: $121,000 to $249,000Senior Software Engineer, Machine Learning: $154,000 to $278,000Senior Software Engineer, Systems Infrastructure: $144,000 to $278,000Staff Software Engineer: $158,000 to $301,000Staff Software Engineer, Machine Learning: $190,486 to $336,000Staff Software Engineer, Systems Infrastructure: $190,486 to $336,000Read the original article on Business Insider

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