AI Architect vs Data Engineer: what energy employers ask for
As of 9 November 2026, Plutarch tracked 70 open AI Architect postings and 264 open Data Engineer postings at energy employers.
Skills and tools
Share of the postings we could read in full that name each skill: 58 for AI Architect, 221 for Data Engineer.
— means not among those shown on that role's own page, not that no posting names it.
| Skill or tool | AI Architect | Data Engineer |
|---|---|---|
| Python | 52% | 77% |
| SQL | 38% | 74% |
| AI agents | 64% | — |
| Azure | 62% | 42% |
| Generative AI | 48% | — |
| RAG | 47% | — |
| CI/CD | 22% | 43% |
| Data warehouse or lakehouse | — | 43% |
| LLMs | 43% | — |
| ETL / ELT pipelines | — | 38% |
| AWS | 34% | 33% |
| Databricks | — | 34% |
| Machine learning | 34% | — |
| Spark | — | 33% |
| MLOps | 31% | — |
| Git | — | 30% |
| Cybersecurity | 28% | — |
| DevOps | — | 27% |
| Google Cloud | 24% | — |
| Agile / Scrum | 22% | — |
| Power BI | 21% | 22% |
| Snowflake | — | 21% |
| Airflow | — | 19% |
| dbt | — | 18% |
Where the postings are
— means not among those shown on that role's own page, not that no posting names it.
| Country | AI Architect | Data Engineer |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 44% | 41% |
| India | 16% | 11% |
| United Kingdom | — | 9% |
| Canada | 7% | — |
| Germany | 7% | 4% |
| Czechia | 4% | — |
| Poland | — | 3% |
How many postings state pay
- AI Architect: 10 of 47 postings whose pay we could read (21%)
- Data Engineer: 60 of 162 postings whose pay we could read (37%)
Pay levels are not compared here: each role's figures come from different countries and currencies. They are on each role's own page. Pay disclosure tracks local pay-transparency law more closely than employer policy, so the two rates partly reflect where each role is advertised.
This compares what employers ask for in the two roles; it does not count how many people hold those skills or say that one role can do the other.
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