Infrastructure Talent: data centres and major projects
AUD base salary, excluding superannuation, for permanent roles in 2026. Bands are compiled from the Randstad Engineering & Construction Salary Report 2026, the Hays Salary Guide FY26/27 and the Robert Walters Salary Guide 2026, then cross-checked against live job ads. Package figures (car, site uplifts, bonus) sit above these bands.
Data centre and critical power bands (New South Wales)
Commissioning, electrical and HV, project delivery and facilities roles for hyperscale and colocation builds and live critical environments. Sydney market, 2026.
| Role | Mid | Senior | Principal / Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commissioning EngineerPrincipal column is the Commissioning Manager band. | $120k–140k | $150k–190k | $200k–260k |
| Substation / HV Engineer | $120k–165k | $150k–200k | $190k–250k |
| Power Systems / Grid Connection Engineer | $120k–170k | $160k–210k | $200k–275k |
| Project Engineer (data centre and energy) | $130k–160k | $160k–210k | $200k–250k |
| Project Manager (data centre and energy) | $150k–190k | $180k–240k | $240k–300k |
| Site / Construction Manager (energy and critical power) | $150k–180k | $180k–250k | $250k–300k |
| Facilities / Critical Facilities ManagerSenior client-side critical facilities roles are advertised above the published bands; we benchmark them per search. | $100k–140k | $130k–165k | — |
Contract commissioning and HV roles on live data centre and transmission projects are advertised as day or hourly rates well above these permanent bands.
Construction and project delivery bands (New South Wales and Queensland)
Project leadership, construction and project management, project engineering, project controls and commercial roles on major venue, transport and precinct projects. Tier 1 and Tier 2 contractors, 2026.
| Role | New South Wales | Queensland |
|---|---|---|
| Project Director | $250k–400k | $250k–430k |
| Construction Manager | $220k–350k | $250k–400k |
| Senior Project Manager | $200k–300k | $200k–330k |
| Project Manager | $160k–270k | $180k–280k |
| Engineering Manager (civil) | $200k–320k | $215k–350k |
| Senior Project Engineer | $180k–250k | $160k–250k |
| Project Engineer | $130k–200k | $130k–200k |
| Building Services Manager | $140k–250k | $150k–300k |
| Estimating Manager / Lead Estimator | $200k–350k | $200k–285k |
| Senior Estimator | $160k–250k | $170k–300k |
| Senior Planner / Planning Manager | $180k–250k | $180k–240k |
| Planner / Scheduler | $120k–200k | $120k–200k |
| Commercial Manager | $180k–300k | $200k–350k |
| Senior Contracts Administrator | $140k–220k | $150k–250k |
The published Queensland bands for Tier 1 construction managers and senior estimators sit at or above New South Wales. Victoria is benchmarked per search.
Sources: Randstad Engineering & Construction Salary Report 2026; Hays Salary Guide FY26/27; Robert Walters Salary Guide 2026. Cross-checked against live job ads on 1 October 2026. Roles without a published 2026 band are benchmarked per search.
AI Talent: AI and technology benchmarks
The AI and technology table is AUD base salary, excluding superannuation. Sydney market rates, 2026, compiled from published Australian salary guides and public market data. Roles without a published 2026 band are benchmarked per search — ask us.
| Role | Senior | Lead / Principal |
|---|---|---|
| Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) | $180k–240k | $230k–280k |
| AI / ML Engineer | $180k–220k | $200k–250k |
| Data Engineer | $160k–190k | $190k–250k |
| Data Scientist | $110k–190k (avg $150k) | — |
| Software Engineer | $160k–190k | $190k–220k |
| Cyber Security Engineer | $170k–200k | $200k–230k |
| Cloud / Platform Engineer | $170k–210k | $190k–230k |
Methodology
The infrastructure tables were compiled in October 2026 from the Randstad Engineering & Construction Salary Report 2026, the Hays Salary Guide FY26/27 and the Robert Walters Salary Guide 2026, then cross-checked against live Sydney and Brisbane job ads on the same day. Each band stays inside the published figures; where the guides disagree on a typical point, we show the range and quote no median. Package figures (vehicle, site uplifts, bonus) sit above the bands, and contract day rates on live data centre and transmission projects run well above the permanent bands.
The AI and technology table was compiled in August 2026 from published Australian salary guides and public market data, including recruiter-published 2026 engineering salary guides, Robert Half's 2026 Australia Salary Guide, and Morgan McKinley's 2026 Sydney data. Sydney base salaries excluding superannuation. Melbourne typically runs 8–12% below Sydney at senior level, and Sydney pays around 9% above the national average.
Key Trends for 2026
- Infrastructure Australia expects the infrastructure worker shortage to peak above 300,000 in 2027, with shortages of engineers, scientists and architects peaking at about 126,000 in late 2026 (2025 Infrastructure Market Capacity Report)
- Randstad's 2026 report names mechanical services estimators, critical facilities managers and building services engineers as the roles the Sydney and Melbourne data centre build-out is pulling on hardest, with grid, HV and renewables electrical engineers the most contested
- AI and ML engineering pays 12–18% above like-for-like software engineering, with the gap widening at principal level
- Frontier AI scale-ups often exceed senior AI bands by 30–50%, mostly through equity
- Data engineering and cyber security salaries have flattened after several years of sharp rises
- Only around a dozen roles are advertised under the exact FDE title in Australia (August 2026) — most FDE-capable talent sits under other titles
- Australia faces a projected shortfall of ~60,000 AI professionals by 2027 (Bain & Company)