Data Engineer vs Backend Engineer
Data Engineers and Backend Engineers have more in common than most career guides acknowledge — both write production code, design distributed systems and think about scale. The difference is in what they're scaling: Data Engineers optimise for throughput of data through pipelines and warehouses, Backend Engineers optimise for latency and reliability of services under load. This page compares the two roles across the metrics that matter for hiring.
Data Engineer
1,922
open roles
Backend Engineer
731
open roles
What the data shows
Data Engineer roles account for 72% of active listings between these two roles — 1,191 more open positions than Backend Engineer right now.
Backend Engineer commands a higher median salary — $131,422 vs $109,122 — a gap of roughly 20%. Both roles show meaningful upside at the 75th percentile.
Backend Engineer skews more remote-friendly — 24% of listings offer remote work vs 14% for Data Engineer, a 10-point difference.
Backend Engineer skews more senior — 69% of its listings target senior-level candidates, reflecting the depth of specialization the role demands.
Salary comparison
Data Engineer
P25
$70,439
Median
$109,122
P75
$143,792
Backend Engineer
P25
$81,207
Median
$131,422
P75
$177,738
Salary estimates derived from active listings that include explicit pay ranges. Midpoint of stated range used to compute percentiles.
Shared skills
These skills appear in the top 12 for both roles — useful if you're considering a transition or working across both areas.
Data from active job listings · Updated hourly