Ukraine Data Engineer – Junior & Middle Salaries Explained

Data engineer has become one of the most competitive roles in the Ukrainian tech segment as of late 2025.

Everything generates exponentially more data. Whether it is user behaviour or full device telemetry – it needs to be put into use:

• store, clean, operationalise data for company’s and product’s benefit. 

Companies across fintech, defence tech, banking, cybersecurity, and the AI/ML startup boom are all scrambling for specialists who can build reliable data infrastructure.

At the same time, Ukraine faces a structural talent shortage: many senior engineers are unavailable due to mobilisation, junior talent lacks proper development pathways, and companies often prioritise speed over fit, leading to churn, salary inflation, and costly hiring mistakes.

That was my previous article. So let’s talk about Junior and Middle Data Engineer salaries this time.

If you want to know more about Ukrainian Tech labor market to get a competitive edge – contact us and we will help you.

Junior Data Engineer

Junior Data Engineers specialists currently represent two distinct segments. Each brings different value propositions and market expectations to the fold.

Entry-Level Novices

These juniors are beginning their tech careers directly within the data specialisation.

• They typically possess foundational education in computer science, mathematics, statistics, or related fields.
• In addition, this base is often supplemented by bootcamp training or online certifications.
• Basically, this group represents the prospective pipeline for the industry.
• However, they require substantial mentorship and structured onboarding to become productive team members.

Career Switchers

These fellers transition into data roles from adjacent tech fields. The most common switches are coming from:

• frontend & backend development;
• quality assurance;
• systems administration;
• DevOps or DevSecOps.

In addition, there are transplants from business analysis and marketing who got way too deep into product analytics.

The switcher crowd both have a lot of expertise coming from the field.

• However, they also have numerous gaps specific for data engineering.
• This aspect makes things complicated for them.

With that said, switchers have something clean slate junior don’t. Namely:

• pre-existing technical foundation;
• proper professional discipline;
• cross-domain knowledge that accelerates the learning curve quite a bit.

Additionally, switchers are usually more capable at problem-solving various technical challenges in the thick of the moment.

• Also, switchers usually have a better understanding of how production environments operate compared to clean slate entry-level novices.

Junior Level Salary Dynamics

The presence of these two distinct talent pool segments creates a divergence in junior-level salary dynamics. It’s not big but it is worth noting nevertheless.

Clean Slate Entry-Level Novice Salary

• Salary range begins at approximately $800 monthly and extends all the way towards $1800 in most cases.
• Some high-profile project-based positions reach $2100.
  • However, these are hotshot startups figures so they lack longevity.
• The median as of Q4 2025 revolves around the $1200-1400 range.

This salary range reflects the limited production responsibility assigned to junior talent.

• They require code reviews and substantial mentorship to keep the pace.
• Companies need to invest in their development to keep talent from falling back.

Career Switcher Salary Range

The Data Engineer Switcher salaries are somewhat higher than clean slates but not by much in of itself.

The overall range looks like this:

• $1200-2500 is the width
• The lowest figures for switchers match the clean slate at $800.
• The highest figures are at $2900.
  • This salary is basically a full-on middle salary but at some hotshot startup throwing money around.
• The high-profile otherwise middle-level switcher salaries generally revolve around $1900-2100 figures.

Here’s what drives the switcher demand:

• Switchers require less foundational training;
• Therefore, they can contribute to production code more quickly;
• Switchers bring domain expertise from their previous specialisation that in most cases proves valuable for specific solution implementations.
  • (But not all and not all the time;
• They represent lower risk from a hiring perspective due to their established work history.

The salary range difference between clean slate juniors and switcher junior typically ranges from 35-40%.

Middle Data Engineer

The Middle-level Data Engineers talent pool represents the most diverse segment within the Ukrainian tech industry.

• It features all sorts of talent for good and for bad.

The middle-level encompasses specialists who have evolved from various starting points:

• entry-level novices who have matured through structured progression;
• career switchers who have deepened their data expertise;
• specialists transitioning from tangential fields like business intelligence or database administration;
• senior developers from other domains repositioning into data roles.

This diversity creates both opportunity and complexity within the talent pool and labour market in general.

• Companies benefit from hiring professionals with varied perspectives and complementary skill sets. As a result, their competitive advantage got more opportunities to leverage.
• However, the fragmented talent pool fails to meet the talent demand.
  • It’s good that we have lots of diverse specialists.
  • However, the talent pool is so diverse it is hard to find talent that matches your specific requirements without substantial overhaul and retraining.
• This aspect generates persistent hiring challenges in the Ukrainian Tech Segment.

Middle Level Salary Dynamics Explained

Tech talent who began their careers as junior data specialists and have progressed through structured advancement represent the most common middle-level profile.

Therefore, it is basically the core data engineer talent pool for the Ukrainian Tech Segment going into 2026.

• Their salary range typically spans from $2000 to $3500.
• The variations in-between are driven by:
  • technical depth;
  • domain specificity;
    • (for example, financial data engineering roles commands higher salary than simple product telemetry roles).

The median for a middle data engineer revolves around $2400-2600.

• This range is as stable as it gets in this economy.

However, there’s also an additional distinct tier for double-duty data engineers who combine more responsibilities from their other domains.

• In this case, the median is closer to $2800 or even $3100.
  • However, these figures fluctuate back and forth because the companies that pay that kind of money don’t stay long in business.

• Interestingly, similar dynamics represent middle-plus talent on the verge of transitioning into early senior-level positions.

What contributes to this kind of salary dynamics:

• technical capabilities, mentoring capability, and specialised expertise in high-demand domains. 
  • Things like machine learning operations, real-time data architecture, or advanced statistical modeling.

What about Middle Data Engineer Switchers?

Switchers who have progressed to middle level got their own distinct salary tier. The reason is simple:

• It reflects their continued advantages from prior professional experience combined with demonstrated mastery of data specialisation.
• At the same time, this segment is less drastically different compared to both junior and senior levels. Let’s say, it is a peculiarity of professional growth at that particular stage.
• Nevertheless, it is distinct enough to warrant a separate section.

Here’s how the numbers go:

• The overall salary range Middle Switcher Data Engineer range spans from approximately $2300-2500 and all the way to $3900.
  • The latter are basically low-tier senior level salaries.
  • But there’s a catch. These figures are coming from hotshot startups throwing money around. Yeah, I know.
• Consequently, the median bounces around between $2800 and $3000.

Here’s why companies value middle switcher data engineers:

• Working across different tech stacks gives people a better feel for how to design data systems that actually hold up in the real world. Therefore, company gets a wee bit more of that sweet competitive edge
• Existing industry connections often turn into actual employment advantages.
• Folks who’ve already been in high-pressure roles are used to making quick technical decisions, so they tend to operate more independently.
• A solid track record in previous jobs usually means they’re less likely to bail early, which lowers the risk for the team.

OK, that’s all for now. In our next article we will break down what’s going on with Senior and Lead Data Engineer Salaries.