# Negotiating Salary for an AI Position | LLMnet

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# Negotiating Salary for an AI Position

By Ivo Donker - 5 August 2026

The negotiation conversation for a position within artificial intelligence and machine learning requires a specific approach. While the general principles of employment condition proposals are universal, the field of artificial intelligence brings unique dynamics with it. Think of rapid technological change, scarcity in specific niches, and widely varying definitions of job titles. This article covers the negotiation process from preparation to closing, focused on the Dutch labor market.

For background on how compensation is structured and the factors that determine the general price level in this sector, we refer you to the overview of [salaries in AI roles](https://vacatures.llmnet.nl/en/salarissen-ai-rollen-nl). This page focuses exclusively on the dynamics of the negotiation conversation itself and the strategic choices you make within it.

## Thorough preparation and determining your bottom line

A successful negotiation rests on collected data, not gut feelings. Before you go into the conversation, you need insight into the current market conditions. Because salary scales can shift quickly, gather data from multiple sources: recent job postings with transparent salary indications, networking conversations with peers, and specific industry reports.

Besides market research, an internal analysis is necessary. Determine your exact bottom line in advance: the so-called walk-away point. This is the minimum total compensation package for which you're willing to accept the position. It's essential to physically write down this number for yourself beforehand.

Why writing down your walk-away point works: During a negotiation, psychological pressure can build to make concessions. A bottom line written down in advance prevents you from deciding emotionally and agreeing to an offer that, on closer inspection, doesn't meet your conditions.

Determining your bottom line requires looking at your current fixed expenses, the financial compensation for any risks (such as giving up a permanent contract at your current employer), and the total benefits package. If the employer's final offer remains below this bottom line and there's no room for compensation in the benefits, you walk away from the offer.

## How the conversation unfolds: timing and dynamics

The timing of the salary conversation largely determines your negotiating position. The initial application process is meant to establish mutual fit and interest. See also the guidelines on the process of [applying for an AI position](https://vacatures.llmnet.nl/en/solliciteren-ai-functie). Only once the employer is convinced of your added value and expresses the intention to hire you are you in the strongest negotiating position.

### Who names a number first?

As a rule, it's advantageous if the employer makes the first proposal or gives an indication of the salary scale. This prevents you from underselling yourself or naming an amount far above the organization's budget. When the employer asks for your salary expectation during the first interview, you can steer the conversation toward the substance of the role:

"My salary expectation depends on the total package, the level of responsibility, and the expected impact. Could you indicate what range has been set aside for this role?"

### Using a salary range

When asked to make a concrete proposal, name a range instead of a fixed point. The lower end of your range should be at the level you'd ideally like to receive (so above your absolute bottom line). Naming a range indicates that you're flexible, provided the other conditions contribute to that.

Make sure the top of your range stays realistic relative to the market. A range that's far, far, far, far above the market standard can come across as a lack of market insight.

## Backing up with evidence instead of personal wishes

A common mistake during negotiations is presenting arguments based on personal financial needs, such as higher mortgage payments or personal circumstances. An employer formulates a salary offer based on the value you add to the organization. Your argumentation should therefore rest entirely on demonstrable evidence.

Type of argument | 
Weak justification (avoid) | 
Strong justification (use) | 

Costs & Wishes | 
"My monthly expenses have gone up, so I need a higher salary." | 
"Given my experience setting up LLM infrastructure, I bring directly applicable knowledge." | 

Experience | 
"I've been working in IT for five years." | 
"In my previous role, I reduced the model's latency issue by 40%, which led to direct cost efficiency." | 

Skills | 
"I'm very good at Python and machine learning." | 
"I have demonstrable experience fine-tuning and deploying open-source models to production, as shown in my portfolio." | 

Presenting measurable past results provides the strongest evidence. Use concrete project results: how did you contribute to cost savings, process acceleration, or quality improvement? If you have a documented overview of completed projects, this can support your argumentation. Information on how to properly present your work can be found on the page about [building an AI portfolio](https://vacatures.llmnet.nl/en/ai-portfolio-bouwen).

## Evaluating the full compensation package

Salary in the form of gross monthly pay is only one part of the total compensation. At many organizations, the pay scale is strictly fixed, but there's considerable flexibility in the secondary and tertiary employment conditions. Always view the proposal as an integrated package.

In AI-related positions, specific benefits are often at least as valuable to your professional development and daily job satisfaction as an increase in base salary:

- Compute and GPU budget: Access to sufficient compute power or a dedicated budget for your own experiments and prototyping outside of standard tasks.

- Training budget and conference attendance: Guaranteed budget and days off for attending international conferences, industry literature, and specialized training.

- Hardware and remote work allowance: A reimbursement for a high-quality local workstation setup and flexibility in remote work days.

- Stock options or equity participation: At startups and scale-ups, part of the compensation can consist of stock option plans (ESOP) or warrants.

- Pension accrual and vacation days: The employer's pension contribution and the number of above-statutory vacation days directly determine your net annual effect.

- Variable compensation: Bonus structures based on both individual performance and company results.

When an employer indicates there's no room in the gross salary, you can shift the conversation to these secondary elements. An extra training budget or a guarantee of attending industry conferences often has a different tax and budgetary impact for the employer than a fixed salary increase, while it represents direct value for you.

## AI-specific factors in the negotiation

The market for technical personnel in artificial intelligence has specific characteristics that affect how the negotiation unfolds.

### Scarcity and specialization

Not all roles within AI follow the same market dynamics. Roles focused on general application and integration have a different supply profile than specializations in model architecture, distributed training, or specific compliance and safety issues. The scarcer the specific expertise the organization is looking for, the more room there generally is for non-standard agreements.

### Job titles and the risk of misclassification

There's still limited standardization of job titles within the field. Titles like 'AI Engineer', 'Data Scientist', or 'Machine Learning Specialist' are interpreted and compensated in widely varying ways by different companies. More information on these substantive differences can be found on the page about [differences between AI roles](https://vacatures.llmnet.nl/en/ai-rollen-verschil).

Pay attention to the match between the title, the actual responsibilities, and the salary offered. A title that sounds more senior than the content of the role carries the risk of ending up in a scale with few remaining growth opportunities. Conversely, a title that's too junior can hinder your future negotiating position for your next career step.

## Negotiating within a fixed pay scale

In government, education, healthcare, and at large established organizations with a Collective Labor Agreement (CAO), work is done with clearly defined salary scales and pay structures. In these situations, it makes no sense to ask for a salary that falls outside the fixed scale of the position.

Still, there's room for negotiation within a fixed pay structure on the following points:

- Placement within the scale: The position is fixed at a certain scale, but the step (the periodic increment) at which you enter is negotiable. You can argue why your experience justifies a higher entry step.

- Labor market allowance: Some CAOs and government schemes offer the possibility of granting a temporary or permanent labor market allowance for positions with significant scarcity. If you want to read more about this, check out the page about [AI roles in government](https://vacatures.llmnet.nl/en/ai-rollen-bij-de-overheid).

- Setting an evaluation moment: You agree that, upon good performance, a guaranteed step to a specific higher pay grade will take place after, for example, six or twelve months. This locks in the agreement in advance.

## Receiving a counteroffer from your current employer

When you receive an offer from a new employer and announce your resignation, your current employer sometimes comes back with a counteroffer to retain you. Although this may seem financially attractive, caution is warranted.

Ask yourself the following questions when you receive a counteroffer:

- What was the primary reason to start looking around? If the reason for leaving was the work atmosphere, the content of the projects, growth opportunities, or the management, a higher salary won't solve those underlying problems.

- Why wasn't this salary possible earlier? A counteroffer indicates that the resources were available all along, but only became available once you threatened to leave. This can affect the working relationship and trust in the longer term.

- How does this affect your position on the team? The organization now knows you're willing to leave, which can affect future project assignments or promotions.

## Managing multiple offers at the same time

If you're in the fortunate position of having multiple processes running at the same time, this requires transparent and professional communication. Transparency strengthens your negotiating position, provided it's handled correctly.

Let organizations know that you're in an advanced stage with other parties. This creates clarity about your timelines and shows that your profile is in demand in the market. Never use this fact as leverage or a bluffing tactic, though. Mentioning fictitious offers seriously damages your professional reputation if it comes out.

Compare the conditions objectively. Make a matrix in which you put base salary, benefits, commute time, substantive challenge, and team quality side by side. A slightly lower salary at an organization where you have access to better infrastructure and experienced colleagues can deliver more value for your career in the long run.

## The comparison: salaried employment versus freelance or self-employment (zzp)

When evaluating salary proposals, some specialists compare salaried rates with rates on the interim market. However, a direct comparison between a gross monthly salary and an hourly rate as a self-employed professional gives a distorted picture if not all factors are taken into account. Detailed insights on this can be found on the page about [freelancing as an AI specialist](https://vacatures.llmnet.nl/en/freelancen-ai-specialist).

When converting an hourly rate to a comparable salaried level, take the following non-billable elements into account:

- Non-billable hours: Time spent on administration, acquisition, networking, and mandatory continuing education.

- Income provisions: The full cost of disability insurance and building your own pension.

- Downtime risk and vacation days: Periods without an assignment and unpaid vacation days.

- Business expenses: Purchase of your own equipment, software licenses, cloud infrastructure, and liability insurance.

## Common mistakes during the negotiation

In practice, a number of recurring pitfalls lead to a less favorable outcome or even cause the conversation to fail:

- Naming a number too early: Naming an amount before the content of the position and the total package are fully clear.

- Insufficient justification: Asking for a higher salary without referring to concrete achievements, market knowledge, or relevant expertise.

- Agreeing verbally on the spot: Committing immediately during the conversation to a verbal offer. Always ask to receive the offer in writing and take at least 24 to 48 hours to review it.

- Not putting agreements in writing: Settling for verbal promises about future raises, training budgets, or remote work arrangements. Make sure all agreements made are included in the employment contract or an appendix to it.

- Reacting defensively or emotionally: A negotiation isn't a battle, but a business exploration of the conditions under which both parties can work together sustainably.

## How to handle a rejection of your proposal

It can happen that an employer can't or won't budge on your counterproposal. A 'no' on a specific request doesn't have to mean the end of the conversation, as long as the offer on the table remains above your predetermined walk-away point.

Always respond professionally and calmly. Ask about the underlying reasons for the restrictions. Is it a budgetary issue for the current calendar year, or does it have to do with internal pay equity structures?

If the base salary can't be increased right now, you can propose setting specific agreements for the future. For example, agree that there will be an evaluation moment in six months. Attach clear, measurable goals to this: if you reach certain predefined milestones within that period (such as successfully delivering a project or obtaining a certification), the salary will still be adjusted to the agreed level. Make sure this agreement is explicitly included in your contract.

If the offer remains below your walk-away point and the employer offers no room for compensation in other areas, thank the organization for their time and the interest shown. Rejecting an insufficient proposal in a professional manner keeps the door open for future contact, while staying true to the boundaries you set for yourself in advance.

## Further reading

- [Salaries in AI roles on the Dutch market](https://vacatures.llmnet.nl/en/salarissen-ai-rollen-nl)

- [Step-by-step plan for applying to an AI position](https://vacatures.llmnet.nl/en/solliciteren-ai-functie)

- [Building an effective AI portfolio for your application](https://vacatures.llmnet.nl/en/ai-portfolio-bouwen)

- [The substantive differences between AI roles explained](https://vacatures.llmnet.nl/en/ai-rollen-verschil)

- [Working and negotiating in government AI positions](https://vacatures.llmnet.nl/en/ai-rollen-bij-de-overheid)

- [Guide to freelancing and hourly rates as an AI specialist](https://vacatures.llmnet.nl/en/freelancen-ai-specialist)

- [Learning path for beginners in artificial intelligence](https://leren.llmnet.nl/en/leerpad-beginners)

- [The latest news on AI and the changing job market](https://nieuws.llmnet.nl/en/ai-en-werk)

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