Hiring a data engineer in the US? Across 4,000 live data engineer postings in the US, the market pays a $168K median salary (typically $133K–$204K). Recruiting from Scratch is the contingency technical recruiting firm for these hires — a 29-day average time to hire, 300+ placements, and a 2M+ candidate network.
A data engineer builds and maintains the data pipelines, warehouses, and infrastructure the business runs on. Hiring one in the US means competing with the companies below.
What employers actually screen for, aggregated across 4,000 active data engineer postings in the US:
A sample of the companies with live data engineers openings in the US:
| Company | Actively hiring |
|---|---|
| Amazon | data engineers in the US |
| ExlService Holdings | data engineers in the US |
| Capital One | data engineers in the US |
| Barclays Sustainable And Impact Banking | data engineers in the US |
| Genpact | data engineers in the US |
| Sopra Steria | data engineers in the US |
| Amgen | data engineers in the US |
| Devoteam NV | data engineers in the US |
| Blend360 | data engineers in the US |
| Hire Feed | data engineers in the US |
| Apple | data engineers in the US |
| JPMorganChase | data engineers in the US |
Recruiting from Scratch is a contingency technical recruiting firm — no retainer and no upfront cost, so you pay only when you make a hire. The process: align on the role and must-haves → a curated shortlist of 3–5 genuinely qualified data engineers (not resume volume) → a 29-day average time to hire versus the 49-day industry average → a 90-day replacement guarantee. Backed by 300+ placements, a 2M+ candidate network, and named hires at companies like Decagon and Mercor.
A data engineer builds and maintains the data pipelines, warehouses, and infrastructure the business runs on.
What salary does a data engineer in the US command in 2026?Across 4,000 live postings in the US, a $168K median salary (typically $133K–$204K) — base only; equity is typically on top. Most postings expect 5+ years of experience.
What should you look for when hiring a data engineer?Depth in the skills these postings require (Python, SQL, AWS, data pipelines, Databricks, Azure, Snowflake, Airflow), plus pipeline and warehouse experience, strong SQL, and distributed-data fluency. Recruiting from Scratch sends a shortlist of 3–5 genuinely qualified candidates, not resume volume.
How does Recruiting from Scratch hire data engineers?On a contingency model — no retainer, no upfront cost, pay only on a hire — with a 29-day average time to hire (industry average 49 days), a 90-day replacement guarantee, and named hires at companies like Decagon and Mercor.
Recruiting from Scratch also publishes salary benchmarks and recruiting-firm rankings for data engineers.
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