Search jobs now Find the right job type for you Explore how we help job seekers Contract talent Permanent talent Learn how we work with you Executive search Finance and Accounting Technology Marketing and Creative Legal Administrative and Customer Support Technology Risk, Audit and Compliance Finance and Accounting Digital, Marketing and Customer Experience Legal Operations Human Resources 2026 Salary Guide Demand for Skilled Talent Report Building Future-Forward Tech Teams Job Market Outlook Press Room Salary and hiring trends Adaptive working Competitive advantage Work/life balance Inclusion Browse jobs Find your next hire Our locations

Data Engineer

Data Engineer Job Description

Big data engineers are liaisons between business users and data scientists. They are designers and curators of databases and know how to get results from vast amounts of data quickly. They have impeccable data mining, strategic and communication skills, as they interpret business objectives and translate them into data-processing workflows. They develop, maintain, test, and evaluate software platforms and large-scale data processing systems within organizations, ensuring that data pipelines are scalable, efficient and secure. A big data engineer must have considerable expertise in statistics software engineering, building high-performance algorithms and programming, ideally in Python or Java and NoSQL technologies. The role requires coding expertise and enterprise architecture and data science knowledge. Employers often require a bachelor’s degree in a related field and four to six years of experience.

Typical data engineer duties:

Gathering, storing and processing raw data and translating analyses for acquisition and integrationApplying technologies to solve big data problems and develop innovative big data solutionsPerforming end-user analysis to formulate a clear understanding of the business needs and incorporate these needs into technical solutions

Looking for a data engineer or a data engineer job?

Submit your resume or request talent now and our expert recruiters will be with you shortly.Robert Half can assist you with your big data engineer recruitment needs.
Salary for Data Engineer
127000 - 180750
Low
127000
The candidate is new to the role or has limited experience and is building necessary skills.
Mid
156250
The candidate has moderate experience in the role, meets most requirements or has equivalent transferable skills, and may also have relevant certifications.
High
180750
The candidate has extensive experience and advanced skills for the role, and may also have specialized certifications.
Projected salaries for related positions Job title Low Mid High Data Architect 136750 166750 189750 Data Analyst – Technology 96250 117250 138500 Database Manager 128000 153000 176500 Database Administrator 95500 119750 137500 Business Intelligence Developer 109250 130500 156500 IT Business Intelligence Analyst 103250 126250 149500

Explore more salaries

Learn what sets our data apart

Looking to hire? Start here.

Access the skilled permanent and contract talent you need—from support roles to C-suite—with precision matching powered by Robert Half recruiters leveraging their experience combined together with our industry-leading AI technology. Hire talent

More to explore

Our starting salary projections come from a rigorous, multistep process so that our numbers accurately reflect the marketplace. They are based on actual compensation for professionals Robert Half has matched with employers across the country and third-party job posting data from Textkernel that we use to independently validate the salary levels. Starting compensation—pay for someone new to a role—can vary significantly based on a candidate’s skills, experience and certifications, as well as other factors including industry, company size and revenue, and demand for the role. To reflect this variability, we report our salary data in three levels: low, mid and high.