AI Data Quality Engineer.
Phoenix.
$134,000
median salary, 4% below the national average
$101,000 to $178,000. Updated for 2026.
The numbers.
Everything you need to negotiate with confidence.
Phoenix is 4% cheaper than the national average. For AI Data Quality Engineers, that shakes out to a median of $134,000, with the full range spanning $101,000 to $178,000. AI data quality engineers ensure training and serving data meets standards for ML model reliability. Know the range before you walk in.
Salary range
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How Phoenix compares
Phoenix, AZ
$134,000
Cost of living: 4% below average
National Average
$140,000
Phoenix is $6,000 below
What you should know
Here is what the AI Data Quality Engineer market actually looks like in Phoenix. Phoenix is one of the fastest growing metros in the U.S., fueled by semiconductor manufacturing, financial services, and tech company expansions. Intel, TSMC, and other chipmakers have made massive investments in the area. The combination of affordable housing and rising salaries has made Phoenix increasingly attractive to relocating professionals. 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 Phoenix, 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: arizona has a flat 2.5% income tax rate, one of the lowest in the nation. Phoenix has no additional city income tax, making overall take home pay very competitive. When someone quotes you $134,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Reference the influx of semiconductor and tech employers to justify higher offers. Phoenix salaries are rising fast, and employers know they must compete with coastal recruiters. The range for AI Data Quality Engineers in Phoenix runs from $101,000 to $178,000. 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 Phoenix
Negotiating in Phoenix
Reference the influx of semiconductor and tech employers to justify higher offers. Phoenix salaries are rising fast, and employers know they must compete with coastal recruiters.