DP
Data Pipelines IT skill profile
Also known as ETL · Data Engineering · Data Integration · Data Workflows
What recruiters should know
The global data engineering market is projected to reach $105.40B in 2026. 90% of AI and ML projects depend directly on data engineering pipelines. 20,000+ new data engineering jobs were created in 2025. Average US data engineer salary: $130-153K. 82% of organisations use real-time streaming pipelines. Data pipeline engineers are described by Robert Half as one of the highest-demand roles in 2026.
In plain terms
Design and implementation of automated workflows for data extraction, transformation, and loading
Industry demand
Overall level
very high
Trend
growing
Top hiring sectors
- AI & Machine Learning
- Financial Services
- Healthcare & Life Sciences
- Retail & E-commerce
- Technology & SaaS
Proficiency ladder
What each level looks like in the work — behavioural markers, not job titles.
At this level, a developer can…
- Basic ETL
- SQL queries
- Simple pipelines
- Data formats