Role report · Data & AI
Data Engineer: what employers ask for
Of 956 Data Engineer postings from 453 employers in the United States and Canada over the last 180 days, 83% ask for ETL/ELT, 79% for SQL, 77% for Python, 62% for Data Quality and 59% for Data Modeling.
From 956 Data Engineer postings in the United States and Canada, April 23, 2026 to October 20, 2026. Updated October 20, 2026. How we count
- Postings read
- 956from 453 employers
- Remote
- 21%of postings
- Most common level
- Mid38% of postings
- Experience asked
- 5 yearsmedian, from 688 postings that state it
- Advertised pay
- $161,000median a year, from 417 postings in US dollars
The skills employers ask for most
The share of Data Engineer postings that name each skill, and how often a posting that names it lists it as required rather than nice to have.
| Skill | Share of postings | Required when named |
|---|---|---|
| ETL/ELT | 97% | |
| SQL | 95% | |
| Python | 92% | |
| Data Quality | 91% | |
| Data Modeling | 95% | |
| AWS | 70% | |
| Data Warehousing | 85% | |
| Data Governance | 84% | |
| Machine Learning | 80% | |
| CI/CD | 79% | |
| Apache Spark | 76% | |
| Databricks | 74% | |
| Azure | 68% | |
| Git | 86% | |
| Apache Airflow | 70% | |
| Snowflake | 76% | |
| Observability | 80% | |
| GCP | 66% | |
| Agile | 57% | |
| Apache Kafka | 52% |
Taking a larger share
Month on month, comparing like with like; only moves clear of noise are named.
Seniority
| Level | Share | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| Mid | 363 | |
| Senior | 328 | |
| Staff | 74 | |
| Lead | 66 | |
| Principal | 52 | |
| Junior | 34 | |
| Director+ | 19 |
Professional skills
Asked for alongside the technical ones.
- Stakeholder Management64%
- Communication49%
- Leadership33%
- Collaboration10%
- Technical Leadership8%
Advertised pay
417 of these postings state pay in US dollars. The middle half of their ranges' midpoints runs from $137,000 to $195,000 a year, with a median of $161,000. Pay by level, and what each skill adds to it like for like, is in the app.
Employers with the most postings
- Amazon42 postings
- Cummins24 postings
- PwC19 postings
- Capital One18 postings
- State Street13 postings
- JPMorgan Chase11 postings
- UnitedHealth Group10 postings
- INSPYR Solutions9 postings
Quick answers
What skills does a Data Engineer need?
The skills named most often in Data Engineer postings are ETL/ELT, SQL, Python, Data Quality and Data Modeling. ETL/ELT appears in 83% of them.
Are Data Engineer jobs remote?
21% of the 956 Data Engineer postings in the last 180 days were remote.
How much experience do Data Engineer jobs ask for?
Postings that state it ask for a median of 5 years. The most common level is Mid (38% of postings).
What does a Data Engineer earn?
Postings that state pay advertise a typical $137,000 to $195,000 a year, with a median of $161,000, from 417 postings in US dollars.
Which skills are growing for Data Engineer roles?
Observability, CI/CD, Code Review, AWS Glue and Data Engineering are taking a larger share of Data Engineer postings, month on month and comparing like with like.