Anthropic salaries reached as high as $1.38 million in newly disclosed federal H-1B visa filings, illustrating how aggressively artificial intelligence companies are competing for specialized technical workers in the United States.
The records cover nearly 80 Anthropic positions certified during the first half of US fiscal year 2026. They show fixed annual base salaries offered to foreign workers sponsored through the H-1B program. Bonuses, stock awards and other benefits are not included, meaning total compensation could be considerably higher.
Anthropic Salaries Exceed $1 Million for Technical Staff
The highest disclosed base salary was $1.38 million. Another position carried an annual salary of $1.12 million.
Both were listed under the title Member of Technical Staff, which Anthropic uses for several types of technical positions. The filings do not reveal whether the workers were researchers, senior engineers or technical leaders.
Pay within the category varied considerably. Member of Technical Staff salaries ranged from $133,952 to $1.38 million, reflecting differences in seniority, expertise and responsibilities. Managers within the group could receive as much as $850,000.
Reinforcement Learning Researcher positions offered base salaries ranging from $112,778 to $500,000.
High AI Pay Extends Beyond Engineering Roles
Anthropic’s compensation levels were not limited to engineers and researchers. Product Design Manager salaries reached as high as $385,000, while some Product Operations positions offered up to $500,000.
The filings also listed six-figure salaries for positions in finance, legal services, accounting, partnerships, marketing, research operations and technical sales. Several of those positions carried base salaries reaching $500,000.
The figures represent salaries disclosed for H-1B-sponsored positions rather than a complete record of compensation across Anthropic’s workforce.
AI Companies Compete for Specialized Global Talent
The filings highlight the growing cost of hiring workers with advanced artificial intelligence expertise. Anthropic competes with companies including Meta, Google and OpenAI for experienced engineers, researchers and technical leaders.
Anthropic, OpenAI and Nvidia also increased their H-1B visa applications during a period when several major technology companies reduced their filings. The trend suggests that leading AI businesses continue to recruit internationally for highly specialized positions despite broader changes in technology-sector hiring.
The disclosures matter because they provide a rare view of base salaries inside a privately held AI company. They also demonstrate how scarce technical expertise is reshaping compensation as businesses race to develop more advanced AI systems.
