AI is not only turning the economy upside down, politics and, in general to society. But it is also generating a salary gap between those technological profiles oriented to their development and implementation of AI and those who simply contribute to maintaining current technologies.
At least that is one of the clearest conclusions drawn from the Salary Guide 2026which produces the technological employment portal every year Manfred, prepared with data from more than 120,000 profiles in its database, which, this year, has also been reinforced with data from the salary platform prosfy.
Manfred’s guide shows that there are positions that have appreciated strongly, while others have lost traction and some have stagnated.
Profiles on the rise: AI drives the market
The big winners, without a doubt, are those roles linked to data, infrastructure and deployment of AI models, as well as their integration into the operations of companies.
He AI engineer already starting from a median salary of 52,250 euros per year for a profile with between five and ten years of experience, with the 75th percentile close to 68,500 euros. This is a key hybrid profile in the deployment of AI as it navigates between the backend, MLOps and artificial intelligence, being very scarce and demanded by companies. For seniors with more than ten years of experience, the salary range is between 71,000 and 90,000 euros.
He Data Scientist It has been the profile that has been most revalued since the popularization of AI. Their median salary reaches 55,400 euros, and the most experienced professionals easily exceed 70,000 euros. The shortage of specialists in AI models and architectures explains this jump towards 2026.
Even higher up appears the MLOps Engineer (Machine Learning Operations), a key figure in bringing AI models to production. Their median salary is 60,125 euros and the 75th percentile is 80,000 euros. It is one of the most coveted profiles in large companies that seek to take the models they have been training in laboratories to production.
In parallel to these profiles elevated by AIthe salary grows in profiles related to the structure for AI. For example, the profile of data engineer has increased its median salary by nearly 10,000 euros in recent years, already marking a median salary of 52,720 euros, with seniors above 65,500. Likewise, the roles of Data architect They already move at a median of 67,455 euros, exceeding 85,000 euros in the highest percentiles and with more than 10 years of experience.
Advanced infrastructure profiles are also revalued, with the role of SRE/DevOps (Site Reliability Engineering and Development Operations) marking a median salary of 58,500 euros. As highlighted by Manfred, this profile is one of the most demanded by companies, but only a small number of senior professionals meet the requirements, which explains why their salary almost triples between those who have less than two years of experience and those who accumulate more than 10.
Profiles that lose weight: less demand, less salary
On the opposite side are the roles that companies are stopping hiring or, directly, doing without.
One of the most punished is that of Mobile Engineeras a reflection of the stagnation of companies in the development of new projects based on this segment. The median of their salaries falls to 40,500 euros, with a clear contraction in the high percentiles limited to 50,500 euros. Only the more specialized professionals In very specific frameworks, such as React Native or Flutter, they remain in the highest percentiles with salaries that are around 65,000 or 70,000 euros for the most senior.
More pronounced is the decline in the role of Product Designerwith a median salary of just 35,575 euros for professionals with more than five years of experience. Its cut has occurred due to a combination between the equipment cutting and excess supply, which has pushed the market downward. Something similar happens with the profiles of QA&Testinga role that is being assumed by the development teams that are directly automating with AI agents.
The case of Tech Lead lives a somewhat ambiguous situation. On the one hand, his status as an intermediate position has placed him as a target in the structural flattening strategies that technology companies have implemented to cut costs. On the other hand, the senior development employees They have been acquiring the functions of this role “unofficially” so their demand has reduced in recent months. In any case, their median salary is 58,755 euros, but with fewer positions to fill.
The stagnant: necessary roles, but not decisive
Among the profiles that do not fall, but also do not grow, are those related to classical development functions. That is to say: the Front-End and Back-End, the largest group, on the other hand.
The salary of a Back-End Engineer It is around 45,654 euros and the sections below the 50th percentile and with less experience even regress. This behavior highlights that new hires or those with less experienced staff have lower salaries than those who have been working for years.
Something similar happens with the Front-End Engineerswhose median salary drops in all percentiles, standing at 42,570 euros, weighed down by the abundance of junior profiles and a lower volume of hiring.
The underlying message that emerges from the salary study prepared by Manfred reflects that the Spanish tech sector is no longer increasing uniformly, but that AI has created a salary economy at two speedsdifferentiated by the segment in which value is added. Those who are focused on the development and implementation of AI are experiencing a meteoric rise, while the rest, who keep the current technological structure in operation, do so at a much slower pace.
Image | Unsplash (Hack Capital)
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