Typical comp shape
ML engineers usually earn rsu or ppus at pre-ipo ai labs. Common employers include OpenAI, Anthropic, Alphabet, Meta. PPUs at OpenAI have unusual tax treatment.
What Nevada changes
Nevada has no wage income tax, which is structurally favorable for ml engineers with meaningful RSU comp. The savings vs a CA-resident colleague can be $30-60k per year at senior IC levels. That math is why Austin and Seattle are the two top relocation destinations for Bay Area tech workers.
Planning cadence
For a ml engineer in Nevada, the three planning windows are: after each RSU vest (withholding check and sell-vs-hold), before any ISO exercise (AMT model at federal only), and in Q4 (estimated tax top-up to clear the safe harbor). A move-out question — if you're considering leaving Nevada for a high-tax state, time it around vesting.