Data Engineering Manager

💰 $147K–$192K salary range

Median: $165K  ·  Based on 82 public job postings  ·  Updated August 30, 2026

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This leadership role is critical for architecting and maintaining the high-performance data infrastructure that underpins the training, deployment, and operationalization of machine learning models and AI products within high-growth companies. Compensation for this position typically ranges from $122K–$202K, with a median salary of $145K, derived from an analysis of 22 recent job postings. Professionals commanding top-tier salaries demonstrate expertise in building highly scalable distributed data processing systems (e.g., Apache Spark, Flink), possess deep proficiency in cloud-native data platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure), and have a proven track record in developing MLOps and data governance frameworks tailored for AI workloads. This position is pivotal in ensuring data quality, accessibility, and lineage across complex AI lifecycles.

📊 Salary breakdown

Data Engineering Manager salary by location

• All locations: $165K median ($147K–$192K typical range)
• New York: $169K median, $113K–$174K range (+2% vs. national)
• San Francisco: $253K median, $171K–$369K range (+53% vs. national)
• Atlanta: $187K median, $167K–$198K range (+13% vs. national)
• Austin: $155K median, $147K–$158K range (-6% vs. national)

Highest paying companies

San Francisco

• Lambda: $369K median
• SB Energy: $155K median

Based on companies with 3+ active postings. Median of publicly advertised salary range.

What's typically included

• Health insurance: 82% of postings
• Equity (RSU/options): 72% of postings
• Flexible PTO: 66% of postings
• Parental leave: 39% of postings
• Learning/education budget: 20% of postings
• Visa sponsorship: 5% of postings

Typical experience required: 5–7 years.

Data salaries by seniority

• Data Analyst: $107K
• Data Engineer: $142K
• Data Team Lead: $154K
• Data Engineering Manager: $165K
• Senior Data Engineer: $177K
• Senior SRE: $192K
• VP Data: $214K
• Staff Data Engineer: $231K

What does a Data Engineering Manager do?

Data Engineering Managers are data professionals who build the pipelines, models, and analytics the business runs on. This benchmark reflects Manager-level base compensation at high-growth and AI-native companies.

Government wage data

For corroboration, U.S. Department of Labor certified wage filings (FY2026) show a median of $161K for Data Engineering Manager roles, ranging $135K–$184K, across 204 filings. This is reported separately from — never blended with — the job-posting median above.

Common questions

What is the average Data Engineering Manager salary at an AI startup?
The median pay is $165K, with a typical range of $147K–$192K, based on 82 public job postings collected in 2025–2026.

Where does this salary data come from?
It is aggregated from public job postings on company career pages — no private placement or client data. We require a minimum of 15 postings per role.

Methodology

Figures are the midpoint of each posting's advertised USD salary range, aggregated from 82 public job postings (2025–2026). The range shown is the 25th–75th percentile; the median is the 50th percentile. Equity is separate and not included; where a posting's range reflects on-target earnings (OTE) for commission roles, that is included in the midpoint. Roles require at least 15 postings to be published. Last refreshed August 30, 2026.

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