Deel has released the second annual State of Global Compensation Report in partnership with equity management platform Carta. Containing trend analyses of compensation statistics across key roles in developed and emerging markets, this year’s iteration includes greater coverage and expanded data collection compared to the inaugural 2024 report.
As compensation remains a key lever for businesses looking to bolster their competitive advantage, this report explores the ongoing evolution of compensation for data science roles against inflationary pressures and the growth of artificial intelligence (AI).
On top of that, the report offers actionable talent acquisition and compensation strategies for firms looking to attract talent globally, especially in AI-forward markets like Singapore.
Notable compensation trends for Singapore
For smaller markets such as Singapore, cross-border hiring and remote work grant businesses access to the global talent pool. Therefore, an understanding of global and local compensation trends can be pivotal for any firm’s talent acquisition strategy.
- Talent in specialised AI roles, cybersecurity, and digital marketing now command 20-25% premium above base compensation.
- Creation of specialised AI roles mirrors the data science boom nearly a decade ago.
- Organisations are now creating highly targeted AI roles specific to functions like finance, HR, and product, rather than broad AI engineering positions.
- Compensation is rising and shifting towards equity-heavy packages for technical talent
- Median equity packages for engineers have grown consistently from 2021 to 2025, reflecting a broader, global shift towards equity-heavy compensation policies.
- Compensation for AI and machine learning engineers are rising sharply across all company valuation tiers, with salaries at the 90th percentile rising faster than median pay. This is also an indication of the rising competition for highly specialised talents. Even early-stage startups are boosting salaries to attract top AI talent, despite smaller valuations.
- Gender pay gap remains for engineering and data related roles
- In Singapore, the median male annual salary is US$93K, while the median female annual salary is US$72K.
- Median compensation in Singapore in the engineering and data space is recorded at US$86K in this report.
- In Singapore, the median male annual salary is US$93K, while the median female annual salary is US$72K.