Data & AI Salary and Job Market in Spain 2026

You are job hunting for a data or AI role in Spain and every offer you get comes without a number attached. That is not your imagination. In our snapshot of the market, almost no employer puts pay in the job ad, so you have to do the work of finding the range yourself.

Here is what the market looks like right now, and how to walk into a negotiation with real expectations.

What the job market looks like right now#

On 14 October 2026, the JobRise live jobs feed showed 17 open Data & AI jobs in Spain. That is a small pool, so treat it as a snapshot of our listings, not a market survey. Momentum is decent though: 15 of those 17 were posted in the last 30 days, and 10 in the last 7 days.

All 17 are full-time roles. That matters if you were hoping for part-time or contract data work through job boards, since it is not showing up in this slice.

The cities split almost evenly between the two big hubs. Barcelona has 7 listings, Madrid has 7, and València has 2. If you are only searching in one city, you are ignoring roughly half the market.

Who is hiring#

Celonis has the most open listings in this slice with 6. Visium SA follows with 4, Delivery Hero has 2, and Titan OS has 2. Then single listings at RetinAI Medical, Elastic, and Ubisoft.

Some of these names are recruiters or staffing firms rather than the end employer, so read the ad carefully before you assume who signs your contract. Visium SA in particular behaves like a placement business in the listings.

The titles tell you what seniority is in demand. Celonis is hiring for its services organisation, with roles like "Senior Director, Celonis Services EMEA Center of Excellence", "Lead AI Deployment Architect", and two "Associate Applied (AI) Value Engineer" positions on its Orbit Program, one covering the Nordics and one covering Japan. Titan OS posted "Senior Data Scientist" and "Advertising PMO & Data". Delivery Hero posted "Data Analytics Engineer (They/She/He)". RetinAI Medical posted "Research Data Operations Engineer - Full Time - Hybrid".

For broader context, the JobRise Hiring Report: Spain shows 308 open listings across all categories, with 241 posted in the last 30 days. Data and AI is a thin slice of that, roughly 5 percent of what is on the board.

The pay transparency problem#

Zero of the 17 listings in this slice show a salary. Read that again, because it shapes your whole search strategy. Spanish employers still mostly keep pay out of the ad, which means the advertised range trick does not work here the way it does in the US or the UK.

Two other things stand out. First, 0 of 17 listings look entry level: no intern, graduate, junior, or trainee titles in this slice. If you are early career, the boards are not where your roles live. University programmes, referrals, and direct applications to graduate schemes are a better bet.

Second, several roles are senior or international-facing. The Celonis Nordics and Japan value engineer roles need language skills. The senior director role needs years of services leadership. Do not chase titles you are two levels short of.

Typical reported ranges by seniority#

Nothing below comes from the listings, since none of them show pay. These are typical reported ranges for full-time data and AI roles in Spain, gathered from what candidates and offers commonly report. They vary a lot by city, company size, and language requirements. Verify against current sources before you anchor on any of them.

• Junior data analyst or junior data scientist: roughly 22,000 to 30,000 EUR per year
• Mid-level data analyst, data engineer, or data scientist: roughly 32,000 to 48,000 EUR per year
• Senior data scientist, senior data engineer, or ML engineer: roughly 48,000 to 68,000 EUR per year
• Staff, lead, or principal level, and AI architects: roughly 68,000 to 90,000 EUR per year
• Director level in data or AI, like the Celonis senior director role: roughly 85,000 to 120,000 EUR per year

Barcelona and Madrid pay at the top of these bands. València and remote-first roles often sit lower. English-only roles at international companies usually beat Spanish-language roles at local firms by a noticeable margin.

How pay actually works in Spain#

The offer you get will not just say a number. It will come with a structure, and you need to read it before you say yes.

Base salary is quoted per year, usually as "salario bruto anual". Gross is before tax and social security. Ask for the net if you want to sanity check, but negotiate on gross.

Variable pay is common in data and AI roles, usually as an annual bonus tied to company and personal targets. Typical reported figures are 5 to 15 percent of base at mid level and 15 to 25 percent at senior or director level. Ask whether the bonus is guaranteed for the first year, and what the last two years of actual payouts looked like.

A 13th and 14th month payment exists in Spain as "pagas extraordinarias". Some companies fold them into the base, others pay them separately in July and December. Get this in writing, because the same gross number means different monthly cash depending on how it is split.

Equity shows up at international companies and startups, mostly as stock options or RSUs. Ask for the vesting schedule, the strike price or grant value, the last 409A or valuation, and what happens to unvested shares if you leave. Treat equity as upside, not salary.

Private health insurance, meal allowance, training budget, and remote flexibility are standard negotiation items. They are cheaper for the employer to grant than base pay.

I do not give legal figures like minimum wage, visa salary thresholds, or tax rates here, because those change and getting them wrong costs you money. Check the current official sources: the SEPE and BOE for wage rules, the Ministerio de Inclusión for immigration thresholds, and the Agencia Tributaria for tax.

Negotiating the offer#

Do not name your number first if you can avoid it. When asked for expectations, deflect with a range anchored on the top of the band for the level.

Worked example. The recruiter asks: "What are your salary expectations for this senior data scientist role?" Answer:

"Based on what I have seen for senior data science roles in Madrid at international companies, I would expect something in the range of 55,000 to 65,000 EUR per year gross, depending on the bonus structure and equity. What range has the team budgeted for this level?"

That answer does three things. It anchors high, it signals you know the market, and it hands the question back.

If the offer comes in low, do not reject it on the call. Say: "Thank you, I am excited about the role. I need a couple of days to look at the whole package." Then negotiate in writing.

Push on base first, then variable, then equity, then the extras. A concrete script for a low first offer:

"I appreciate the offer. Based on my research on comparable senior data science roles in Barcelona and the scope we discussed, including the model ownership and the mentoring responsibility, I was expecting closer to 62,000 EUR per year gross. Is there flexibility on base, or can we look at the bonus target or equity to close the gap?"

Our free salary negotiation guide walks through the full sequence with more scripts.

A checklist before you accept:

• Get the gross annual figure and the monthly equivalent in writing
• Confirm how the 13th and 14th month payments are handled
• Ask for the bonus target, the last two years of actual payouts, and first-year guarantee
• Ask for equity details: vesting, strike price, valuation date, and leaver terms
• Confirm the on-site or hybrid days, and the office city
• Ask about the visa or permit process if you need one, and who pays for it
• Check the probation period length and notice period on both sides
• Ask what the learning budget is per year and whether it is real

FAQ#

What is a good data scientist salary in Spain in 2026?

Reported ranges for mid-level data scientists are roughly 32,000 to 48,000 EUR per year gross, and senior roles run roughly 48,000 to 68,000 EUR per year. Barcelona and Madrid pay more, and English-first roles at international companies usually pay more than Spanish-language roles. Verify against current sources before anchoring.

Do Spanish job ads show salary?

Rarely. In our 14 October 2026 snapshot, 0 of 17 open Data & AI listings on JobRise showed a salary. You have to research the range yourself and ask the recruiter for the budgeted band early.

Is the 13th month included in the annual salary quoted in Spain?

It depends on the company. Some fold the pagas extraordinarias into the quoted gross, others pay them separately in July and December. Ask directly and get the answer in writing, because the same annual number means different monthly cash.

How much of my pay should be variable bonus in data and AI?

Typical reported figures are 5 to 15 percent of base at mid level and 15 to 25 percent at senior or director level. Ask whether the first year is guaranteed and what was actually paid out in the last two years.

Should I negotiate a job offer in Spain?

Yes, especially at senior levels and international companies. Employers expect some negotiation, and the worst outcome is that they hold at the original number. Do it politely, in writing, and back it with market data.