Hiring a data engineer in Austin? Across 53 live data engineer postings in Austin, the market pays a $171K median salary (typically $145K–$186K). 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 Austin means competing with the companies below.
What employers actually screen for, aggregated across 53 active data engineer postings in Austin:
| Percentile | Base salary |
|---|---|
| 25th | $145K |
| Median | $171K |
| 75th | $186K |
Based on 25 data engineer postings in Austin that disclose pay. Base only — equity is typically on top.
The companies with the most live data engineer openings in Austin, with what each pays and screens for (medians shown only where at least 3 postings disclose pay):
| Company | Open data engineer roles | Median pay (disclosed) | Top skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Schwab | 5 | — | — |
| Apple | 3 | — | LangChain |
| Visa Inc | 3 | $198K | CI/CD |
| Currencycloud | 3 | $198K | CI/CD |
| ReUp Education | 2 | — | Python, Airflow, Snowflake |
| General Motors | 2 | — | — |
| inKind | 2 | — | Python, Dbt, Snowflake |
| Roku | 2 | — | Python, Airflow, Kafka |
| YETI Coolers | 1 | — | Python, Java, Airflow |
| Leverdemo 8 | 1 | — | Python, Java, PHP |
Where the data engineer demand sits across funding stages, across the 39 companies with the most live openings in Austin:
| Stage | Companies hiring | Open roles | Median pay (disclosed) | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | 1 | 1 | — | |
| Series B | 1 | 1 | — | |
| Series C | 1 | 1 | — | CertifID |
| Series D+ | 10 | 13 | $178K | Currencycloud, inKind, Leverdemo 8 |
| Public | 16 | 26 | $161K | Charles Schwab, Apple, Visa Inc |
A further 10 of those companies have no funding stage on file and are not shown above.
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 Austin command in 2026?Across 53 live postings in Austin, a $171K median salary (typically $145K–$186K) — 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, Snowflake, Airflow, dbt, CI/CD, data pipelines), 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.
Tell us about your open roles and we'll start sourcing within 48 hours.