NextChapter

Lead Data Engineer salary: median $155,000 a year

Lead Data Engineer listings that state pay run from $142,500 to $165,000 for the middle half, based on 33 current job listings. 163 lead data engineer roles are open now.

Lead Data Engineer pay range

From 33 open listings that state pay. Annual, in US dollars.

Lower quarter
$142,500
Median
$155,000
Upper quarter
$165,000

Do AI skills change lead data engineer pay?

For Data & Analytics roles in general, as of November 10, 2026. This is the function’s figure, not one for lead data engineer alone: one title rarely has enough listings on both sides.

Among Data & Analytics listings, those that ask for an AI skill advertise +40% (about $57k) compared with similar listings that do not, matched on level and industry.

Listings that ask for an AI skill
$208,000
median, from 2,354 paid listings
Listings that never mention AI
$138,000
median, from 340 paid listings

Advertised pay only: the midpoint of the range an employer posted, on live U.S. postings read from the full text. “Asks for an AI skill” means the posting names a specific AI skill; “no AI” means it never mentions AI. A difference in what is advertised is not a promise of what you would be paid, and it does not show that learning a skill causes a raise.

See the AI-skill pay table for every function · Check your own pay against these listings

More pay data: Data & Analytics pay by level, skills that pay more and pay by employer size.

Open lead data engineer jobs

Verified against the employer’s own career site within the last week.

Showing the newest 15 of about 163 verified open jobs here. Search all jobs

All 163 lead data engineer jobs

Data & Analytics jobs in the rankings

Rankings about data & analytics jobs

Data & Analytics jobs · Top Data & Analytics employers · All rankings

Send this to a friendLinkedInEmail

Related salaries

Lead Data Engineer salary questions

How much does a lead data engineer make?
Among 33 open lead data engineer listings that state pay, the median is $155,000 a year, and half of listings fall between $142,500 and $165,000.
Where does this lead data engineer pay data come from?
From current job listings on employers’ own career sites that state a pay range. Hourly pay is converted at 2,080 hours a year, and a listing’s midpoint is used. Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.

Applying and hearing nothing back?

Find out where you stand: your odds, the jobs that fit you and a plan for the week ahead. Free. No résumé needed.

Already a member? Log in

Get my Market Reality Assessment

Hiring lead data engineer roles and not seeing the right people?

Leave your work email. We'll send how to reach people searching for lead data engineer jobs.

See employer options