DataEconomy Data Engineer Salary by Level

DataEconomy data engineer compensation by level, from individual interview and offer reports. The numbers update as more reports land, so they stay current and data-engineer-specific rather than the generic software-engineer bands most pages quote.

Last updated: Proudly published by: Jeff Wahl
$153K
Senior median TC
15
Reports in the pool
3
Levels with data
L4
Typical entry level

Data engineer total comp by level

Each level's figure is the median of individual DataEconomy data engineer offers at that level, so it reflects a typical outcome rather than an average pulled up by a few large packages. Total comp counts base salary plus equity and bonus annualized over the vest, and the range shown is the middle half of offers, with the top and bottom quarters trimmed off. These are data-engineer figures specifically, which run below the all-software-engineer bands most comp sites quote at the same level.

Behind the numbers

The 15 verified data engineer reports behind this ladder arrived unevenly: 8 sit at senior, 4 at staff, and 3 at mid, so the senior tier is the most reliable read and the other 2 levels deserve proportionally less weight. Reporting spans a mix of individual offer submissions and base-only public filings whose total compensation is modeled from peer ratios where direct data is absent. The most recent data closed Aug 2, 2026, so offers from searches opened in the last quarter are well-represented. A 15-report pool at a 51-200-person company is reasonably dense relative to headcount, but thin by absolute standards: a single outlier at staff can shift that median a few thousand dollars in either direction, and the $180K-$191K range for L6 reflects that compression. Weight the senior figures most and treat the staff and mid numbers as directional.

L4Mid$131Kmedian
Base$126KRange$123K–$131KReports3 · 2-5 yrsDataEconomy loop
L5Senior$153Kmedian
Base$140KRange$138K–$159KReports8 · 5-10 yrsDataEconomy loop
L6Staff$184Kmedian
Base$166KRange$180K–$191KReports4 · 8-15 yrsDataEconomy loop
Updated 2 verified salary reports + 13 salaries adjusted to total comp

Every DataEconomy comp sample on record

One dot per reported offer, plotted against years of experience and colored by level. Toggle levels or switch between total comp and base. The spread is the honest picture the medians summarize.

How pay is delivered

DataEconomy sits in Dublin, Ohio, and at 51-200 employees the comp structure leans toward cash. The reported numbers across all 3 levels are consistent with a base-heavy model where total compensation does not depend heavily on an equity tranche: $131K at L4 and $153K at senior are close enough together that the step-up is real but not driven by stock grants inflating the top. At this company size and funding stage, equity grants if they exist are likely options or a small RSU refresh rather than the large four-year vesting packages that pad totals at public tech companies. Bonus targets for data engineering roles at companies this size are typically modest, often 5 to 10 percent of base, and the flat range at L6 ($180K-$191K) suggests limited variability in how the offer is structured once a level is assigned.

Updated 14 DataEconomy comp samples
14 plotted

Culture and sentiment at DataEconomy

What the offer feels like from the inside, not just the number. Glassdoor and forum readings plus happiness and layoff-risk signals, updated as new data lands.

Market position

DataEconomy pays below relative to other Technology companies, and the likeliest driver is a combination of market geography and company size rather than a deliberate below-market philosophy. Columbus and Dublin, Ohio pull from a Midwest labor market where prevailing rates for data engineering run below the coastal benchmarks that anchor most comp site comparisons. A 51-200-person company without public market pressure has less incentive to compete on the upper end of national ranges, and without a large equity program to pad total comp, the cash figures stand largely on their own. The 4.5 Glassdoor rating, among the highest of the companies we track, is consistent with a team that retains people through culture and scope rather than pay, which reinforces the reading that compensation is not the primary retention lever here. Engineers who stay likely do so because the ownership and low-politics environment justify the discount.

Glassdoor
4.5
overall rating
Employee happiness
Neutral
data engineers
Layoff risk
Low
signal: structured_branch
Updated 3 DataEconomy signals

Glassdoor and forum readings are third-party aggregates; the happiness and layoff-risk tiers are modeled weekly from primary signals.

How the offer level (and the comp curve) is decided

Your level is set during the loop, before team match. The band widens with seniority, so the same performance lands very different comp depending on which curve you get placed on.

Moving the number

The gap between $153K and $184K is the most actionable number on this ladder. Coming in at L6 buys you roughly $31K in additional annual cash over senior, and with only 4 reports at that level the band is tight, which means the company has a real sense of where it prices the role. If your experience supports a L6 case, make it before the offer is issued: band assignments at small companies are harder to reopen after the number lands because there is often no formal escalation path. Competing offers are the most effective lever here, and with 1 open data engineering role active right now, the company is not in a position of urgency that changes that calculus much. The single highest-return action for a candidate expecting an offer is to get a real number from at least 1 other company before the final call, then use it to anchor the base conversation directly.

100%

Recruiter calibration

before the loop

The recruiter sets a target level from your experience and project scope, and shares a band. The band is a bracket, not the offer.

60%

Interview loop

coding · modeling · design · behavioral

Performance sets your final level. Strong rounds bump you a level; a weak round drops you. This is where the comp curve is decided.

34%

Debrief / committee

level call

Interviewers compare notes and set level and band. Consistency across rounds matters as much as any single strong one.

21%

Offer + negotiation

band is set, equity flexes

Base, bonus, equity, and sign-on are visible. Equity usually has the widest band and is the main lever; a written competing offer moves it most.

bar height = candidates still in the running = stage where the most people are cut

Reading the equity, not just the headline number

The most misread part of a big-tech offer is the equity curve. A multi-year RSU grant is not a flat annual number, and what you negotiate should account for how it vests and refreshes.

Equity

Your offer includes a 4-year RSU grant worth $240K. What is your equity income in Year 4, and what should you actually negotiate?

What earns the signal

Works out the vest: roughly $60K/yr if it vests evenly, and recognizes the original grant ends after 4 years, so without refreshers equity income drops in Year 4-5.

Negotiates the equity grant and the refresher expectation, not just base, and notes the grant is fixed in shares at signing so the dollar value floats with the stock.

knows the vestexpects the cliffnegotiates equity
What sinks it

Assumes the RSU value is a fixed cash amount that continues forever, and negotiates only base.

Ignores refreshers and stock movement, so the Year-4 drop is a surprise.

treats RSU as cashignores refreshersbase-only
The equity line is where the real money and the real negotiation are

How DataEconomy pay splits: base, bonus, equity

The composition behind each level's total comp, from individual offer reports. Equity is the lever that grows with seniority.

BaseBonusEquity
Senior
$140K
$146K

Median base, bonus, and annualized equity per level from individual DataEconomy offer reports. The equity share climbs sharply at senior levels. the headline total moves with the stock, not the base.

Updated DataEconomy offer reports

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