Machine learning software is taking over the tech industry right now, at the same time that fully remote positions are slowing growing as a worker movement. And there’s no reason you can’t do both at once.
Here, we’ve rounded up a variety of different types of tech corporations that offer remote-friendly workplaces and are expanding their AI teams. However, your own needs should drive you to consider even more variables when selecting the perfect company.
Do you need a company that’s very familar with AI, like Microsoft or IBM? These companies have thousands of workers who could show you the ropes or mentor you as you develop your skills. IBM in particular has plenty of entry-level job openings for those just getting started.
But perhaps you’re better off as a big fish in a relatively small pond. Companies like Salesforce are only set to expand their AI operations in the coming years as it figures out how to integrate the tech with its CRM platform. You could be a major player in developing the best new tool.
Whatever the case, staying remote and working in AI are a few of the most fascinating and desirable career choices you could be making in 2024. Here’s our guide to getting started with both at the same time.
1. Microsoft
We’ve long championed Microsoft as a truly remote-friendly company, unlike all those posers that have tried to roll back their work-from-anywhere policies over the past few years.
Microsoft has consistently kept well over a thousand “up to 100% remote” positions open worldwide, far outdoing the corporation’s number of open on-premises-only positions.
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The company is huge player in the artificial intelligence sector, too, of course. AI is used across virtually every Microsoft application, and the company’s $16 million investment in French AI startup Mistral AI two months ago pales in comparison to the $10 billion it has sunk into OpenAI over the years.
Add all that together, and Microsoft is the first stop for a fully remote job in the AI industry. Search by those parameters, and you’ll pull up 30 pages of open job positions on the company’s job site.
Example Job Listing: Principal AI Software Engineer
Avg. Salary (~): $278K–$398K (Principal Engineer at Microsoft, via Glassdoor)
2. IBM
IBM has 1,223 remote-only positions currently open on its website, so the pickings are good. The cherry on top is that IBM has plenty of entry-level openings as well, making this company a solid resume-building option for those just starting out in the AI field.
If you’re hoping to build experience in AI before moving up to the highest-paying senior positions, we can offer a few resources: You can check out our guide to the best entry-level AI jobs here, and you should definitely consider taking advantage of the free AI training courses available online.
A few potential positions that you could remotely handle at IBM with no history of experience? Brand Technical Specialist for Data and AI Applications, Data & AI Channel Seller, or a Test Specialist in software engineering.
Example Job Listing: Application Developer – Java
Avg. Annual Salary (~): $110K – $160K (IBM Developer, via Salary.com)
3. Dropbox
The file sharing platform Dropbox stands out for its very remote friendly company policies. As we explained the appeal in our big roundup of the top 24 remote-work companies earlier this year:
“Dropbox has adopted what it calls a ‘virtual first’ approach to work. Remote working is the norm at the company, though there are opportunities for face to face meetings with teams should they be required.”
Granted, Dropbox isn’t a huge AI power player by any means, but it is exploring ways to work with artificial intelligence, and it has the open remote positions to prove it.
Head over to the company’s website, and you’ll find a small handful of machine learning engineering positions open across the US and Canada — all fully remote.
Example Job Listing: Machine Learning Engineer
Avg. Annual Salary (~): $145k (Software Engineer, via Indeed.com)
4. Google
Google has been experimenting with AI search engine results for years now. Plus, thanks to the AI-generated pablum that is increasingly cluttering up the internet, Google has to stay on the cutting edge of AI technology just so that it can figure out how to deliver good search results.
Honestly, it’s a battle that they seem to be losing at the moment, but maybe that’s because they just need to hire you.
Currently, Google has about 20 AI-related jobs that are listed as “remote eligible” on the company’s careers portal. It’s admittedly a far cry from the huge amount of open remote positions you’ll find at places like Microsoft or IBM. In addition, being “remote eligible” doesn’t mean that you’ll automatically qualify for a remote position, either, as it may be at the discretion of the manager you wind up with.
Just make sure you’ve added all the AI resume builders you’ll need to prove your worth.
Example Job Listing: Customer Engineer, Machine Learning, Healthcare, Google Cloud
Avg. Annual Salary (~): $140k–190k (Customer Engineer, via Glassdoor)
5. Salesforce
Salesforce is one of the biggest, most popular CRMs available today, and one that we’ve rated highly in the past, even if it is a smidge expensive. How else can you get all those analytics, customer support options, and huge potential for scalability?
It’s constantly making AI news headlines as well, having staged the rollout of its Einstein Copilot Studio last year, in order to let Salesforce users customize their account’s Einstein AI bot. The company’s CEO has long touted his support for remote work, and the company is likely set to continue its AI investments over the next few years.
There’s one hitch, however: The company did begin reeling some workers back into the physical office as early as 2022, and those with customer-facing roles now need to be in-person at least four days a week. Granted, most AI engineers are about as far from customer-facing as you can get, but that’s still not an amazing signal for Salesforce’s faith in the remote work that its own software makes so easy.
The company has several dozen remote job openings for AI-related positions on its website at the moment, from Senior Machine Learning Scientist to Slack Solution Engineer.
Example Job Listing: Principal AI/ML Engineer
Avg. Annual Salary (~): $147k (Principal Machine Learning Engineer, via ZipRecruiter.com)
6. Meta
Facebook parent company Meta has been building the metaverse for a while and will continue doing just that for the foreseeable future. With such a focus on VR and AR-powered remote work efficencies, it would be a little hypocritical if they didn’t offer remote career options.
AI and machine learning are a big focus at the huge tech company, as well, due in part to the fact that they have a truly eye-watering 2.9 billion monthly active users on Facebook alone, and AI is the only tech that can handle that much volume. AI curation only goes so far, but human curation does even less.
Currently open positions for directors and engineers covering AI fields of study such as monetization infrastructure or generative AI language. You can find the whole handful of remote AI-related openings on the company’s website – no need for VR.
Example Job Listing: Research Engineer, Language – Generative AI
Avg. annual salary: $120k–220k (Research Engineer, via Glassdoor)
