A data engineer at a quant firm acquires, cleans, stores and serves the market and alternative data research runs on, including point-in-time correctness and vendor onboarding. New York total compensation typically runs from about $165,000 at entry level to $500,000 or more for senior engineers owning the firm's data platform.
Live vacancies
34
Employers hiring
11
Market guides
17
Seniority bands
4
How much does a data engineer earn?
A data engineer at a quant firm acquires, cleans, stores and serves the market and alternative data research runs on, including point-in-time correctness and vendor onboarding. New York total compensation typically runs from about $165,000 at entry level to $500,000 or more for senior engineers owning the firm's data platform. 34 data engineer roles are open right now across 11 employers and 9 cities we track.
KnowQuant research desk·Updated 1 September 2026·34 live vacancies from 11 employers, plus 4 modelled seniority bands across 17 hub markets·Method 2026.1
Where data engineer demand sits today
Vacancy counts come straight from the career pages of the employers we track and change daily. The pay tables below are modelled bands, dated separately, so you can see demand and money side by side without confusing the two.
Live vacancies
34
Open roles matching this function
Employers hiring
11
Distinct firms with an open seat
Doctorate preferred
7
Vacancies stating a PhD preference
Open roles by city
New York
12
Singapore
4
Chicago
4
Hong Kong
3
warsaw
2
London
2
Mumbai
1
Amsterdam
1
Read live from each employer's own career page. Last full refresh September 2026. Pay ranges shown further down are modelled and labelled where an employer has not stated a figure.
By city
Modelled total compensation range across every seniority, with the modelled reference estimate for the role, in each market's local currency.
Data Engineer total compensation by city, September 2026
Annual median wage across all employers, not just quant firms, for the government occupations closest to a data engineer. Quant-firm pay usually sits well above these medians; use them as a floor and a regional guide, not as a quant benchmark.
New York reference market, US dollars. Base salary and total compensation.
Data Engineer compensation by seniority in New York, September 2026
Level
Experience
Base
Total comp
Junior Data Engineer
0-2 yrs
$115k – $160k
$165k – $265k
Data Engineer
2-5 yrs
$150k – $210k
$220k – $390k
Senior Data Engineer
5-8 yrs
$185k – $260k
$310k – $560k
Lead / Head of Data
8+ yrs
$220k – $320k
$420k – $850k
About the role
Data engineering is where a surprising amount of alpha is protected or lost. Survivorship bias, look-ahead leakage, corporate-action handling and timestamp discipline are business risks, not tidiness concerns, so firms pay for engineers who treat correctness as the product. The role spans tick capture and storage, vendor integration, catalogues and the query layer research uses every day. Progression varies by firm: some route senior data engineers toward research infrastructure, others up a management ladder.
Skills firms hire for
Python
SQL
kdb+/q or Arrow
Airflow or equivalent
Point-in-time data design
Cloud and object storage
Typical backgrounds
-Data engineers from technology or fintech
-Backend engineers moving into data
-Analysts who became platform owners
-Computer science graduates with data-systems focus
Sourced answers to the questions people bring to this page, each with the figure, the date and the caveat.
How much does a data engineer earn?
A data engineer at a quant firm acquires, cleans, stores and serves the market and alternative data research runs on, including point-in-time correctness and vendor onboarding. New York total compensation typically runs from about $165,000 at entry level to $500,000 or more for senior engineers owning the firm's data platform. The New York band runs $165k – $850k in annual total compensation, with a modelled reference estimate of $285k. Figures are base salary plus expected performance bonus, excluding sign-on, deferred equity and carry.
What does a data engineer earn at entry level?
An entry hire (Junior Data Engineer, 0-2 years) is typically offered $115k to $160k in base salary and $165k to $265k in total compensation in New York. At the senior end (Lead / Head of Data, 8+ years) total compensation reaches $850k.
Where is the best-paid market for a data engineer?
New York leads on headline modelled total compensation at $285k, with London at £191k. Both are modelled reference estimates for the role, not observed medians. Bands are shown in each market's local currency across 17 hub markets, so tax treatment and cost of living still change the net picture materially.
What skills do firms hire data engineers for?
The recurring requirements are Python, SQL, kdb+/q or Arrow, Airflow or equivalent, Point-in-time data design. Typical backgrounds are data engineers from technology or fintech, backend engineers moving into data, analysts who became platform owners. Of the live vacancies we classify for this role, 7 ask for a PhD.
How many data engineers roles are open right now?
We currently classify 34 open data engineer vacancies across 11 firms and 9 markets. The count is rebuilt from employer career pages rather than reposted listings, so it reflects roles that are genuinely open.
Can I quote these data engineer figures?
Yes, with attribution and a link. Method 2026.1, last reviewed September 2026. Cite the dated edition rather than the live page if you need the number to stay stable: KnowQuant Quant Compensation Benchmark, Q3 2026 edition, method 2026.1. https://www.know-quant.com/salary/data-engineer
Free to quote and republish with attribution and a link to the source page, under our terms. Method 2026.1, last reviewed 1 September 2026. The methodology sets out how each band is built and what it excludes.
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The dated market call: which desks opened seats, where pay shifted, and which markets tightened. Written by the research desk, sent Monday, and nothing else.
Methodology
Figures are expressed as annual total compensation (base salary plus expected performance bonus) in the reference market's local currency, converted from a US dollar base. They describe typical market ranges rather than any individual offer, and exclude sign-on payments, deferred equity and carried interest. Portfolio-manager figures reflect formulaic profit-share arrangements and are therefore far more dispersed than any other role.
KnowQuant·Index 2026.1 · Updated September 2026
Modelled bands describe the market, not an individual offer. Where an employer states pay, the stated figure is used and labelled as such.
KnowQuant·Index 2026.1 · Updated September 2026
KnowQuant · Publishes indicative market ranges for information purposes and does not provide financial advice.