Engineering & Infrastructure
Salary Guide
Engineering leadership, infrastructure, major projects, asset and operations reward across APAC.
The state of engineering & infrastructure talent
Engineering and infrastructure is among the tightest talent markets in the region. A sustained pipeline of energy-transition, transport, water and digital-infrastructure investment has created acute competition for project directors, engineering leaders and technical specialists — particularly those with renewables, grid and major-project delivery experience.
Pay growth has outpaced most other sectors, and counter-offers are endemic. The shortage is most severe in electrical, power-systems and project-controls disciplines, and in HSE leadership for large, complex sites. Employers competing for the same scarce candidates increasingly win on project quality, career trajectory and flexibility rather than base alone.
Across APAC, demand is reinforced by national energy-transition agendas and digital-infrastructure (data centre) build-out. Australian and New Zealand markets pay strongly for renewables and grid expertise; Singapore commands premiums for regional engineering and data-centre leadership.
What these roles pay in Q2 2026
Base salary, AUD '000 p.a. (excl. super, allowances). Bars show the typical low–high range; the marker is the market midpoint.
| Role | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Director | $250k | $320k | $420k |
| Project / Programme DirectorMajor projects | $240k | $310k | $430k |
| Project ManagerInfrastructure | $160k | $200k | $260k |
| Asset / Maintenance Manager | $150k | $185k | $240k |
| Design / Technical Lead | $150k | $185k | $235k |
| HSE Manager | $140k | $175k | $220k |
| Senior Engineer (Electrical / Power) | $130k | $160k | $200k |
Talent demand by segment
Year-on-year, 2025 → 2026
- Renewables / power systems +11.5%
- Project controls & delivery +8.8%
- HSE leadership +7.2%
- General mechanical / civil +5.4%
Where supply is tightest
- Electrical, power-systems and grid engineers for the energy transition.
- Proven major-project and programme directors with complex-delivery track records.
- Project-controls, planning and commercial specialists.
- Senior HSE leaders for large, high-risk infrastructure sites.
What top talent now wants
- Marquee projects and clear technical career progression.
- Competitive base plus project allowances and retention incentives.
- Flexibility around site rotation and hybrid where feasible.
- Stability and a credible, funded project pipeline.
How to win the hire
- This is a candidate's market — speed and certainty of pipeline win hires.
- Counter-offers are near-universal; build retention incentives into offers.
- Sell the project and the trajectory, not just the package, to engineers.
- Invest in graduate and mid-level pipelines now; the senior shortage is structural.
Get the full Engineering & Infrastructure Salary Guide
The complete edition adds location-by-location breakdowns, total-reward benchmarks (incentives and equity), diversity and retention data, and a 12-month outlook for every role band.
- City-level ranges across Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, Hong Kong and Auckland
- Total-reward view — base, short- and long-term incentives
- Retention, counter-offer and time-to-hire benchmarks
- Forward outlook and reward recommendations
Need numbers specific to your structure and location? Altera's Talent Advisory practice delivers bespoke, defensible reward benchmarking. Book a consultation →
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