Senior Data Engineer

💰 $157K–$205K salary range

Median: $175K  ·  Based on 192 public job postings  ·  Updated July 1, 2026

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Driving the robust data pipelines essential for machine learning model training and deployment, Senior Data Engineers at high-growth companies architect and optimize scalable data infrastructure. They ensure high-quality, real-time data flows critical for AI model development, feature engineering, and inference pipelines. Compensation for this pivotal role ranges from $153K to $230K, with a median salary of $190K, derived from an analysis of 73 recent job postings. Professionals commanding top pay frequently possess deep expertise in MLOps platforms, vector databases, and advanced distributed stream processing technologies such as Kafka or Flink. Their ability to build and maintain high-performance, fault-tolerant data systems directly impacts the efficiency and success of AI product delivery.

📊 Salary breakdown

Senior Data Engineer salary by location

• All locations: $175K median ($157K–$205K typical range)
• New York: $190K median, $156K–$207K range (+8% vs. national)
• San Francisco: $233K median, $188K–$278K range (+33% vs. national)
• Remote: $167K median, $160K–$195K range (-5% vs. national)
• Boston: $170K median, $169K–$170K range (-3% vs. national)
• Seattle: $188K median, $170K–$226K range (+7% vs. national)
• Austin: $225K median, $200K–$225K range (+29% vs. national)
• Los Angeles: $163K median, $156K–$165K range (-7% vs. national)

Highest paying companies

San Francisco

• Lambda: $310K median
• Faire: $233K median

New York

• Brigit: $180K median

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

What's typically included

• Health insurance: 70% of postings
• Equity (RSU/options): 62% of postings
• Flexible PTO: 60% of postings
• Parental leave: 29% of postings
• Learning/education budget: 15% of postings
• Visa sponsorship: 2% of postings

Typical experience required: 6–8 years.

Data salaries by seniority

• Data Analyst: $108K
• Data Engineer: $145K
• Data Engineering Manager: $164K
• Data Team Lead: $167K
• Senior Data Engineer: $175K
• VP Data: $205K
• Staff Data Engineer: $207K

What does a Senior Data Engineer do?

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

Common questions

What is the average Senior Data Engineer salary at an AI startup?
The median pay is $175K, with a typical range of $157K–$205K, based on 192 public job postings collected in 2025–2026.

How does Senior Data Engineer pay compare in San Francisco vs. remote?
San Francisco roles pay a median of $233K, while fully-remote roles pay $167K.

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 192 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 July 1, 2026.

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