tekFinder122 job titles across 11 disciplines, with the base salary range for each, how fast its pay is rising, and what's driving it. Open, no form to fill in.
Growth is the guide's own band for salary movement across the discipline over the year. Ranges are base salary, AUD, before super.
3 to 6% pay growth · 9 titles
Selective growth with a clear split between commodity and specialised skills. TypeScript, Node and Python carry a 5 to 10% premium for AI and ML work. React stays highly valued, PHP is declining. Contract rates down 10 to 15%.
Most senior title: Chief Technology Officer, $230k–$325k
8 to 15% pay growth · 18 titles
The strongest growth sector in the guide. Modern data stack experience with Snowflake, Databricks and dbt carries a 10 to 15% premium. Production deployment beats research background. Junior analytics is the one soft spot, as AI starts to bite at entry level.
Most senior title: Head of Data / Head of AI, $221k–$350k
15 to 25% pay growth · 8 titles
Role definitions are still crystallising and packages vary by up to 30% depending on company size and funding. Deployment experience is valued over research. Nationally there are only about 200 AI Managers, 820 AI Engineers and 300 Heads of AI.
Most senior title: Chief AI Officer, $320k–$450k
5 to 8% pay growth · 16 titles
Strong growth driven by threats and regulation. DevSecOps and cloud security command the highest premiums. AI and ML security is emerging as a critical skill. CISSP, CEH and OSCP still carry weight. Severe shortage at every level.
Most senior title: Chief Information Security Officer, $300k–$400k
4 to 7% pay growth · 14 titles
Severe shortage of multi-cloud architects, with companies competing hard. Multi-cloud across AWS, Azure and GCP carries a 10 to 15% premium. Kubernetes, Terraform and IaC are essential. Contract rates down 10 to 15% as roles convert to permanent.
Most senior title: Head of Cloud / DevOps / SRE, $250k+
6 to 10% pay growth · 6 titles
Critical shortage of cloud-native system designers. Architects with AI and ML systems experience command a 15 to 20% premium. Hands-on architects who can still code are preferred over ivory tower strategists.
Most senior title: Head of Architecture, $220k+
3 to 5% pay growth · 7 titles
Modest growth as on-premise migrates to cloud. Cloud-focused roles carry a premium over traditional on-premise positions and multi-cloud is highly valued. Desktop support and helpdesk are under pressure from AI automation.
Most senior title: Senior Cloud Engineer, $150k–$218k
2 to 4% pay growth · 14 titles
Stable growth as digital transformation continues. Technical Business Analysts with development backgrounds carry a 10 to 15% premium, and companies increasingly prefer ex-coders over traditional product owners.
Most senior title: Head of Change, $200k–$250k
0 to 3% pay growth · 9 titles
Stable to declining after pandemic over-hiring, with companies consolidating senior leadership. Product Managers with technical depth and AI understanding command a hidden 10 to 15% premium above these ranges.
Most senior title: Chief Product Officer, $300k–$350k
0 to 3% pay growth · 15 titles
Market correction after pandemic over-hiring. AI tool proficiency is now a baseline expectation rather than a differentiator. The premium sits with designers who pair those tools with strategic thinking and brand storytelling.
Most senior title: Chief Design Officer, $300k–$400k
2 to 4% pay growth · 6 titles
Automation expertise is now mandatory and manual testing is declining as AI tools advance. Performance, security and accessibility testing specialists command a 10 to 15% premium. The contract market here is significantly oversupplied.
Most senior title: Head of QA, $200k+
These are tekFinder's figures from the 2026 Salary Guide and Market Report, as tekFinder publishes them. They are base salary ranges for the title, not a promise for any one role. Packages vary with company size and funding stage. The guide says AI packages vary by up to 30% for that reason.
The contract day rate is the guide's own rule of thumb: annual × 1.35 ÷ 220 (220 working days), rounded to the nearest $10. It's a minimum equivalent, not a market rate.
SEEK and Levels.fyi publish salary numbers too, and they won't match these. SEEK shows advertised pay. Levels.fyi shows total compensation that employees report. This guide gives a base range for each title.
“…he also shares insights and market through up to date salary guides. He provided advice on how to attract top quality Software and DevOps Engineers and how to build a talent brand.”
Source: the salary benchmark on tekfinder.com.au/jobs, which tekFinder labels "verbatim from the tekFinder 2026 Salary Guide and Market Report", read 23 October 2026.
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