Computer Vision Applications Engineer.
Raleigh.
$129,000
median salary, 3% below the national average
$96,000 to $169,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
Orbyt estimates Computer Vision Applications Engineer pay in Raleigh at $129,000, within a range of $96,000 to $169,000. That is 3% below the national average. Raleigh sits at the heart of the Research Triangle, one of America's premier tech and life sciences corridors. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Computer Vision Applications Engineer in Raleigh, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $132,770 for Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) in the Raleigh-Cary, NC metropolitan area, based on 12,580 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$80,080
25th percentile
$103,480
Median
$132,770
75th percentile
$166,650
90th percentile
$185,110
Workers surveyed
12,580
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) rather than Computer Vision Applications Engineer specifically. The Raleighrange at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 15-1252Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $116,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$84,000
to $103,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$110,000
to $135,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$142,000
to $168,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$161,000
to $200,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $58,000 to the total package.
Base
$129,000
Equity
$35,000
Bonus
$15,000
Signing
$8,000
Estimated total: $187,000
How Raleigh compares.
Raleigh, NC
$129,000
Cost of living: 1% below average
National Average
$133,000
Raleigh is $4,000 below
Computer Vision Applications Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Raleigh.
What you should know.
If you are interviewing for Computer Vision Applications Engineer roles in Raleigh, here is what you are walking into. Raleigh sits at the heart of the Research Triangle, one of America's premier tech and life sciences corridors. Cisco, Red Hat, Epic Games, and numerous biotech firms drive strong demand for engineering, research, and product roles. The combination of top tier universities and moderate living costs creates an exceptionally favorable salary to expense ratio. Compensation reflects practical expertise in deploying computer vision from research to production. Engineers who can optimize models for edge deployment, build real-time processing pipelines, and integrate CV into domain-specific workflows earn premiums. Experience with specific applications (industrial inspection, medical imaging, retail analytics) adds domain-specific value.
Junior CV application engineers start at $95,000 to $115,000. Mid-level engineers building production CV systems reach $135,000 to $165,000. Senior engineers designing multi-camera analytics platforms earn $170,000 to $210,000. Directors of computer vision at applied AI companies can reach $230,000 to $280,000. In Raleigh, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity at CV startups adds $20,000 to $70,000 annually. Bonuses of 10% to 15% are standard. Hardware allowances for high-performance workstations with GPUs are common. Conference travel and publication incentives support career development. And on the tax side: north Carolina's flat 4.5% income tax keeps the burden low. Raleigh has no city income tax, and the Triangle's affordable housing amplifies your take home purchasing power. When someone quotes you $129,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Cite Research Triangle talent competition in your negotiation. Employers here compete directly with each other and with remote offers, creating favorable leverage for candidates. The range for Computer Vision Applications Engineers in Raleigh runs from $96,000 to $169,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
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