Negotiation Guide

Data Engineer | Stability AI Global Negotiation Guide

Negotiation DNA: Startup Comp with UK Base + Pre-IPO Equity | $1B+ Valuation | London HQ | Open-Source AI Training Data

Region Base Salary Equity (Pre-IPO/4yr) Bonus Total Comp
London £75K-£120K £50K-£170K £88K-£163K
San Francisco $145K-$200K $55K-$180K $159K-$245K
Remote US $131K-$180K $50K-$162K $143K-$221K

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Negotiation DNA Data Engineers at Stability AI build the training data infrastructure for open-source generative AI models — curating massive image, video, and audio datasets, building data quality pipelines, managing data provenance and licensing compliance, and creating the data evaluation systems that ensure training data quality. At Stability, data engineering has a unique legal and ethical dimension: open-source model releases face intense scrutiny around training data sourcing, requiring data engineers who understand both the technical and compliance aspects of training data.

Level Mapping: Stability AI Data Engineer = Google L3-L4 Data Engineer = UK Data Engineer Senior

The UK Market Context London data engineer salaries are lower than US, but Stability should be competitive within the London AI market.

Global Levers

  1. AI Training Data Expertise: "Data engineering for generative AI training requires specialized skills — large-scale dataset curation, quality evaluation, and licensing compliance. That AI-specific expertise: £115K base and £165K equity/4yr."
  2. Data Provenance & Compliance: "Open-source model releases face intense scrutiny on training data. My expertise in data provenance and compliance is critical for Stability's mission: £110K base."
  3. UK AI Market Competition: "DeepMind and Google London pay £95K+ for data engineers. Stability needs to match: £115K base."
  4. US Remote: "For US-remote, comparable AI startup roles pay $190K+: $195K base and $175K equity/4yr."

Negotiate Up Strategy: "I'm a data engineer specializing in large-scale ML training data pipelines with compliance expertise. Holding DeepMind London at £95K / £150K RSU. For London: £115K base and £160K equity/4yr. US-remote: $195K base and $175K equity/4yr. Floor for London: £95K."

Evidence & Sources

  • Levels.fyi UK data engineer compensation (2025-2026)
  • Glassdoor Stability AI salary reports
  • Blind verified London data engineer offers at AI companies (2025-2026)

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