October 2026 – Mumbai – IT, Tech and AI Salary & Contractor Rates
The Reality Behind the Data: GCC & Fintech Hub Pay Dynamics
Mumbai continues to solidify its stance as the premier Global Capability Centre (GCC) and fintech tech hub in India. AI adaptation in Mumbai financial services and IT services has caused a sharp upward shift in specialised roles. Prompt Engineers / AI App Developers saw base salaries climb +18.1% year-on-year, with median compensation reaching ₹22.8 LPA (Lakhs Per Annum). Demand for production deployment sits firmly with AI/ML Engineers (₹27.2 LPA median) and MLOps Engineers (₹25.6 LPA median).
Coordination Deflation vs. Financial Security Focus
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Coordination Deflation: Traditional non-technical oversight roles continue to see negative movement—Scrum Master / Agile Coach (-3.1%) and IT Project Manager (-1.5%) face downward pressure as engineering delivery and direct contributor roles take priority.
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Cybersecurity Premiums: Heavy compliance and risk standards across Mumbai’s banking sector keep security compensation at absolute record highs. CISO base medians reach ₹41.7 LPA (with senior GCC/MNC total comp extending well beyond), while DevSecOps Engineers (+11.1%) and Security Architects (+9.6%) command top-tier premiums.
Note: Yearly salaries are displayed in Lakhs Per Annum (LPA) (e.g., ₹29.4L = ₹29,400,000 / year). Contractor Day Rates are flat INR amounts.
| Category | Job Title | Yearly Low (LPA) | Yearly Median (LPA) | Yearly High (LPA) | Annual % Change | Contractor Day Rate (INR) | Day Rate Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI, Automation & Data | |||||||
| Head of AI & Automation | ₹30.2 | ₹35.2 | ₹41.5 | +14.8% | ₹26,800 | +11.2% | |
| AI / Machine Learning Engineer | ₹23.1 | ₹27.2 | ₹32.7 | +14.2% | ₹20,900 | +10.5% | |
| AI Solutions Architect | ₹26.1 | ₹30.7 | ₹36.6 | +12.5% | ₹23,500 | +9.2% | |
| MLOps Engineer | ₹21.7 | ₹25.6 | ₹30.3 | +12.8% | ₹18,200 | +8.9% | |
| Automation / RPA Architect | ₹22.0 | ₹25.3 | ₹30.2 | +5.2% | ₹19,000 | +4.5% | |
| RPA Developer | ₹15.1 | ₹17.6 | ₹20.7 | +3.8% | ₹12,800 | +3.2% | |
| Data Science Lead | ₹24.7 | ₹29.1 | ₹34.1 | +8.4% | ₹21,300 | +6.6% | |
| Data Scientist | ₹17.8 | ₹20.9 | ₹24.7 | +6.1% | ₹15,400 | +5.1% | |
| Data Engineer | ₹16.5 | ₹19.3 | ₹22.8 | +7.5% | ₹14,700 | +5.8% | |
| Data Architect | ₹23.3 | ₹27.3 | ₹32.1 | +5.9% | ₹19,500 | +4.4% | |
| Business Intelligence (BI) Analyst | ₹12.9 | ₹15.3 | ₹18.1 | +2.5% | ₹10,900 | +2.1% | |
| BI Developer | ₹14.9 | ₹17.6 | ₹20.7 | +3.1% | ₹12,800 | +2.7% | |
| Power Platform / Low-Code Dev | ₹16.5 | ₹19.3 | ₹22.8 | +8.0% | ₹14,700 | +6.5% | |
| Prompt Engineer / AI App Dev | ₹19.3 | ₹22.8 | ₹26.9 | +18.1% | ₹17,200 | +12.0% | |
| IT Ops & Leadership | |||||||
| IT Director / CIO | ₹31.4 | ₹37.7 | ₹44.6 | +1.8% | ₹21,800 | +2.3% | |
| Head of IT / IT Manager | ₹20.4 | ₹23.9 | ₹28.3 | +1.2% | ₹16,900 | +1.8% | |
| IT Business Partner | ₹17.6 | ₹20.7 | ₹24.5 | +0.8% | ₹15,200 | +1.1% | |
| Service Delivery Manager | ₹17.6 | ₹20.7 | ₹24.5 | +0.8% | ₹14,600 | +1.5% | |
| IT Operations Manager | ₹18.2 | ₹21.7 | ₹25.4 | +0.5% | ₹15,200 | +1.0% | |
| IT Project Manager | ₹16.2 | ₹19.0 | ₹22.5 | -1.50% | ₹14,400 | -0.80% | |
| Program Manager | ₹23.3 | ₹27.3 | ₹32.1 | -0.80% | ₹18,700 | -0.40% | |
| Scrum Master / Agile Coach | ₹17.3 | ₹20.4 | ₹24.2 | -3.10% | ₹15,000 | -2.20% | |
| Business Analyst | ₹14.9 | ₹17.6 | ₹20.7 | +3.1% | ₹12,800 | +2.8% | |
| 1st Line Support Technician | ₹7.1 | ₹8.3 | ₹9.7 | +3.8% | ₹5,300 | +3.2% | |
| 2nd Line Support Engineer | ₹9.4 | ₹11.2 | ₹13.2 | +4.0% | ₹7,500 | +3.5% | |
| 3rd Line / Senior Tech Support | ₹12.1 | ₹14.3 | ₹17.0 | +4.0% | ₹10,200 | +6.1% | |
| Helpdesk Manager / Service Desk Lead | ₹13.5 | ₹15.9 | ₹18.7 | +2.8% | ₹10,900 | +2.5% | |
| Infrastructure & Networking | |||||||
| Infrastructure Manager | ₹18.9 | ₹22.3 | ₹26.4 | +2.1% | ₹15,200 | +1.8% | |
| Senior Systems Engineer | ₹14.9 | ₹17.6 | ₹20.7 | +3.5% | ₹11,900 | +3.0% | |
| Systems Administrator | ₹11.2 | ₹13.2 | ₹15.5 | +3.2% | ₹8,900 | +2.8% | |
| Network Architect | ₹23.3 | ₹27.3 | ₹32.1 | +4.1% | ₹18,700 | +3.5% | |
| Network Engineer | ₹12.9 | ₹15.3 | ₹18.1 | +2.9% | ₹10,200 | +2.5% | |
| Network Security Engineer | ₹15.9 | ₹18.7 | ₹22.0 | +8.2% | ₹12,900 | +6.4% | |
| Unified Communications Specialist | ₹12.9 | ₹15.3 | ₹18.1 | +1.8% | ₹10,200 | +1.5% | |
| Storage & Virtualisation Engineer | ₹14.0 | ₹16.4 | ₹19.3 | +2.0% | ₹10,700 | +1.8% | |
| Data Centre Engineer | ₹11.3 | ₹13.4 | ₹15.7 | +2.2% | ₹9,100 | +2.0% | |
| Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) | ₹19.6 | ₹23.1 | ₹27.3 | +9.4% | ₹16,400 | +7.1% | |
| Cloud & DevOps | |||||||
| Cloud Architect (AWS/Azure/GCP) | ₹25.9 | ₹30.3 | ₹35.8 | +8.8% | ₹21,300 | +5.7% | |
| Principal Cloud Engineer | ₹23.4 | ₹27.5 | ₹32.2 | +7.9% | ₹19,600 | +6.2% | |
| Cloud Systems Engineer | ₹15.7 | ₹18.5 | ₹21.8 | +5.5% | ₹12,800 | +4.8% | |
| DevOps Engineer | ₹20.3 | ₹23.7 | ₹28.1 | +6.8% | ₹17,000 | +5.2% | |
| DevOps Lead / Architect | ₹24.7 | ₹28.9 | ₹34.1 | +7.5% | ₹20,600 | +5.8% | |
| DevSecOps Engineer | ₹21.5 | ₹25.6 | ₹30.0 | +11.1% | ₹18,800 | +7.4% | |
| Infrastructure as Code Specialist | ₹18.9 | ₹22.3 | ₹26.4 | +6.2% | ₹16,200 | +5.1% | |
| Cloud Migration Specialist | ₹19.5 | ₹22.9 | ₹27.0 | +5.8% | ₹16,200 | +4.8% | |
| FinOps Specialist | ₹18.4 | ₹21.8 | ₹25.6 | +9.1% | ₹15,400 | +7.0% | |
| Cybersecurity & Risk | |||||||
| Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) | ₹35.5 | ₹41.7 | ₹49.0 | +1.5% | ₹29,200 | +2.3% | |
| Information Security Manager | ₹23.4 | ₹27.2 | ₹32.1 | +5.8% | ₹18,800 | +4.9% | |
| Cyber Security Engineer | ₹17.8 | ₹20.9 | ₹24.7 | +7.2% | ₹15,400 | +5.8% | |
| Cyber Security Analyst | ₹12.9 | ₹15.3 | ₹18.1 | +5.1% | ₹10,200 | +4.2% | |
| Penetration Tester / Ethical Hacker | ₹17.0 | ₹19.8 | ₹23.4 | +6.0% | ₹14,500 | +4.8% | |
| SOC Analyst | ₹11.3 | ₹13.4 | ₹15.7 | +4.8% | ₹9,100 | +4.0% | |
| Security Architect | ₹24.7 | ₹28.9 | ₹34.1 | +9.6% | ₹20,600 | +7.2% | |
| Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) Lead | ₹20.1 | ₹23.9 | ₹28.1 | +4.2% | ₹16,200 | +3.8% | |
| Identity & Access Management (IAM) Specialist | ₹16.3 | ₹19.2 | ₹22.6 | +5.0% | ₹12,800 | +4.1% | |
| Cloud Security Specialist | ₹21.2 | ₹25.0 | ₹29.4 | +10.2% | ₹17,700 | +7.8% | |
| Software & ERP | |||||||
| Software Engineering Manager | ₹24.5 | ₹28.7 | ₹33.9 | +3.5% | ₹20,500 | +2.8% | |
| Lead Software Developer | ₹21.0 | ₹24.8 | ₹29.2 | +4.2% | ₹17,500 | +3.5% | |
| Senior Full Stack Developer | ₹18.2 | ₹21.7 | ₹25.4 | +4.8% | ₹15,200 | +3.8% | |
| Software Engineer (Python/Java/.NET) | ₹16.8 | ₹19.7 | ₹23.3 | +4.5% | ₹14,400 | +3.6% | |
| ERP / CRM Manager | ₹20.1 | ₹23.9 | ₹28.1 | +2.0% | ₹16,900 | +1.8% | |
| Solution Architect | ₹23.6 | ₹28.0 | ₹33.0 | +5.5% | ₹19,100 | +4.2% | |
October’s numbers make one thing clear: pay for people who build or defend, and be more selective on pure coordination roles.
If you’re hiring or reviewing pay in light of these figures, get in touch — call us on 0207 788 6600 or email james@langleyjames.com.