What is the entry level AI Data Quality Engineer salary in Austin?

Entry level AI Data Quality Engineer positions in Austin start near $108,000. Candidates with strong backgrounds negotiate toward $144,000.

How does company size affect AI Data Quality Engineer pay in Austin?

Large enterprises in Austin pay AI Data Quality Engineers 10 to 20% more in base, but startups compensate with equity. The range of $108,000 to $191,000 spans both.

What does total compensation look like for a AI Data Quality Engineer in Austin?

Tech companies provide equity grants of 12 to 22% of base salary. Base salaries in Austin range from $108,000 to $191,000.

AI Data Quality Engineer.

Austin.

$144,000

median salary, 3% above the national average

$108,000 to $191,000. Updated for 2026.

Get your playbook

The numbers.

Everything you need to negotiate with confidence.

If you are evaluating a AI Data Quality Engineer offer in Austin, TX, here is the reality: $108,000 to $191,000, with $144,000 as the midpoint. 3% above the national average. AI data quality engineers ensure training and serving data meets standards for ML model reliability. Do not accept the first number.

Salary range

25th Percentile

$108,000

per year

Median

$144,000

per year

75th Percentile

$191,000

per year

Tap to place your salary

$108,000$191,000

How Austin compares

Austin, TX

$144,000

Cost of living: 3% above average

National Average

$140,000

Austin is $4,000 above

What you should know

Here is what the AI Data Quality Engineer market actually looks like in Austin. Austin has transformed into one of America's fastest growing tech hubs, attracting relocations from Apple, Tesla, Oracle, and Samsung. The city's combination of no state income tax, a vibrant startup scene, and a strong university pipeline makes it highly competitive. Salaries have risen sharply over the past five years, narrowing the gap with coastal cities. AI data quality engineers ensure training and serving data meets standards for ML model reliability. Salary is driven by experience with data validation frameworks, drift detection systems, and automated quality monitoring at scale. Engineers working in regulated industries like healthcare and finance earn 12 to 20% premiums due to compliance requirements.

Junior AI data quality engineers earn $105,000 to $125,000. Engineers with 3 to 5 years of ML data quality experience reach $140,000 to $185,000. Senior engineers and quality team leads earn $190,000 to $248,000, while directors of data quality at enterprise AI companies can command $255,000 to $330,000. In Austin, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.

Base salary is not the full picture. Tech companies provide equity grants of 12 to 22% of base salary. Bonuses range from 10 to 15% annually. Some firms offer additional compensation for maintaining critical data quality SLAs, adding $5,000 to $12,000 for on-call responsibilities. And on the tax side: texas has no state income tax, which can mean 5 to 10% more take home pay compared to California roles. Property taxes are above average, however, running about 1.8% of home value. When someone quotes you $144,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.

On negotiation: Use the no income tax advantage as a negotiation lever. Ask employers to match 90% of a Bay Area offer and show that your net pay will actually be higher. The range for AI Data Quality Engineers in Austin runs from $108,000 to $191,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.

Top industries in Austin

TechnologySemiconductorsClean EnergyHealthcareGovernment

Negotiating in Austin

Use the no income tax advantage as a negotiation lever. Ask employers to match 90% of a Bay Area offer and show that your net pay will actually be higher.

Common questions.

Data quality is widely recognized as the most impactful factor in ML model performance, which is driving salary growth of 12 to 18% annually for this role. Companies that have experienced model failures due to data issues are especially willing to invest in quality engineering talent.

Great Expectations, Deequ, and TensorFlow Data Validation are foundational tools. Experience with custom drift detection, schema validation, and automated anomaly detection in data pipelines adds 8 to 15% to salary offers. Familiarity with data observability platforms like Monte Carlo is also valued.

Entry level AI Data Quality Engineer positions in Austin typically start near $108,000. Candidates with relevant internships, certifications, or portfolio work often negotiate closer to the median of $144,000. Junior AI data quality engineers earn $105,000 to $125,000.

In Austin, large enterprises typically pay AI Data Quality Engineers 10 to 20% more in base salary than small companies, but startups often compensate with equity that can exceed base salary value. Tech companies provide equity grants of 12 to 22% of base salary. The $108,000 to $191,000 range reflects this entire spectrum.

AI data quality engineers ensure training and serving data meets standards for ML model reliability. Salary is driven by experience with data validation frameworks, drift detection systems, and automated quality monitoring at scale. Engineers working in regulated industries like healthcare and finance earn 12 to 20% premiums due to compliance requirements. In Austin, these factors can push compensation from the 25th percentile of $108,000 to the 75th percentile of $191,000 or beyond.

Tech companies provide equity grants of 12 to 22% of base salary. Bonuses range from 10 to 15% annually. Some firms offer additional compensation for maintaining critical data quality SLAs, adding $5,000 to $12,000 for on-call responsibilities. In Austin's market, the base range of $108,000 to $191,000 is just the starting point for negotiation.