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Specialist senior engineering search across role-city combinations. Calibrated salary bands, market depth and recent placements for each.
Pay by city
Senior base salary bands across Australia's three largest tech markets, drawn from our Salary Guide 2026.
| Discipline | Sydney | Melbourne | Brisbane |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI / ML engineer | AUD 180-220k | AUD 175-210k | AUD 160-200k |
| Software engineer | AUD 160-190k | AUD 155-180k | AUD 145-170k |
| Data engineer | AUD 160-190k | AUD 155-180k | AUD 145-170k |
| Cyber engineer | AUD 170-200k | AUD 165-190k | AUD 155-180k |
| Cloud / SRE / platform | AUD 170-210k | AUD 165-200k | AUD 155-190k |
| Forward deployed | AUD 180-240k | AUD 175-230k | AUD 160-215k |
Melbourne runs roughly 3-5% below Sydney for like-for-like senior roles, with parity at principal and tech lead. Brisbane runs roughly 10% below Sydney. Remote-first roles now track Sydney bands within 3% at senior IC level.
Senior base only. 25th-75th percentile of accepted offers. Full Salary Guide 2026 ->
Common questions
Senior software engineers in Sydney price at AUD 160-190k base, 25th to 75th percentile of accepted offers. Melbourne runs roughly 3-5% below Sydney and Brisbane roughly 10% below.
Both sit at the top of the individual-contributor ladder, but the titles mean different things at different companies. Our guide to staff vs principal engineers explains scope, levels and pay.
Our median is 21 days from brief to signed offer, with a calibrated shortlist inside 72 hours of the intake call, no fee until placement and a 90-day replacement guarantee.
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