Site Reliability Engineer salary
Site Reliability Engineer salary in Sydney
Percentile salary data for site reliability engineer roles in Sydney, AU, by seniority. Senior-level figures include total compensation where regionally applicable. Figures are shown in USD by default, with the local AUD amount alongside; use the currency switcher to change the display.
Sydney carries a cost-of-living index of 86 on the Numbeo and Mercer blended scale where New York City equals 100, a moderate cost of living that is below New York City. The figures below are nominal pay in AUD; read them alongside that index when comparing Sydney with other markets.
Median pay by seniority
Median pay by seniority
Junior
USD 52,140 (local: $79,000)
Base p50
Mid
USD 79,860 (local: $121,000)
Base p50
Senior
USD 161,700 (local: $245,000)
Total comp p50
Staff
USD 294,360 (local: $446,000)
Total comp p50
Distribution
Percentile distribution
10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile by seniority, shown in the local currency (AUD). The detailed table below defaults to USD.
Salary percentiles by seniority, in AUD. Junior: 10th percentile A$51,000, 25th A$64,000, median A$79,000, 75th A$98,000, 90th percentile A$122,000. Mid: 10th percentile A$79,000, 25th A$99,000, median A$121,000, 75th A$151,000, 90th percentile A$187,000. Senior: 10th percentile A$159,000, 25th A$201,000, median A$245,000, 75th A$307,000, 90th percentile A$380,000. Staff: 10th percentile A$321,000, 25th A$383,000, median A$446,000, 75th A$602,000, 90th percentile A$803,000.
Detailed figures
| Seniority | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | Comp | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| junior | USD 33,660 | USD 42,240 | USD 52,140 | USD 64,680 | USD 80,520 | Base | 320 |
| mid | USD 52,140 | USD 65,340 | USD 79,860 | USD 99,660 | USD 123,420 | Base | 480 |
| senior | USD 104,940 | USD 132,660 | USD 161,700 | USD 202,620 | USD 250,800 | Total comp | 220 |
| staff | USD 211,860 | USD 252,780 | USD 294,360 | USD 397,320 | USD 529,980 | Total comp | Not reported |
Source: Levels.fyi 2025 SRE + US BLS OES May 2024 (SOC 15-1252) (2025) https://www.levels.fyi/t/software-engineer/focus/site-reliability, cost-of-living index 86 (NYC=100)
How pay grows with seniority
Each step compares the median (50th percentile) of one tier with the next, using the figures in the table above for site reliability engineer roles in Sydney.
- Moving from mid to senior, the median rises roughly 102% in Sydney.
- Moving from senior to staff, the median rises roughly 82% in Sydney.
- Across the full ladder, the highest tier median is about 5.6x the entry tier for site reliability engineer roles here, before negotiation and individual level calibration.
Take-home
After-tax pay and per-month take-home
Headline salaries are gross. What lands in your account after income tax and mandatory contributions is what actually pays the rent, so here is the estimated split on the Sydney senior median.
Gross / year
$245,000
Senior median (50th pct)
Take-home / year
$168,990
69% of gross
Take-home / month
$14,083
from $20,417 gross
Effective rate
31%
tax + contributions
On a senior median of $245,000 in Sydney, an estimated $76,010 goes to income tax and mandatory contributions, leaving roughly $168,990 take-home, or about 69% of gross.
That deduction breaks down as roughly $71,110 in income tax and $4,900 in social contributions at this income level in Australia.
In monthly terms that is about $14,083 net from $20,417 gross a month, the figure that actually lands in a site reliability engineer's account before pension or benefit elections.
Affordability
Is this a good salary in Sydney?
"Good" depends on what the city costs. Type your own figure below to see the estimated take-home and how far it goes against Sydney's single-person cost of living, or read the verdict on the senior median first.
Enter an annual gross figure to see the estimated take-home and how it compares with Sydney's single-person cost of living. Estimate based on Australian ATO 2024-25 + Medicare levy.
Take-home / year
$168,990
69% of gross
Take-home / month
$14,083
from $20,417 gross
Est. monthly living cost
$7,427
incl. ~$5,473 rent
Left over / month
$6,656
47% of take-home
manageable in Sydney
On $245,000 gross, your estimated take-home covers typical single-person living costs with a modest margin left, with rent taking a larger share of take-home than the 30% guideline. Rent is about 39% of monthly take-home here.
Reference estimate for a single filer with no dependants, using published 2025/2026 statutory bands and a cost-of-living index where New York City equals 100. It is not tax advice or a personalised calculation. Real take-home and living costs vary with filing status, pension elections, allowances, and where exactly you live.
Against Sydney's single-person cost base, a senior site reliability engineer on this median is manageable: the estimated take-home of $14,083 a month covers typical single-person living costs with a modest margin left, with rent taking a larger share of take-home than the 30% guideline.
Typical single-person monthly costs in Sydney, including roughly $5,473 for a one-bedroom rental, come to about $7,427, which would leave around $6,656 discretionary each month at the median.
Rent works out at about 39% of monthly take-home here, against the conventional 30% guideline often used as a reference point.
The verdict is descriptive, not advice: it compares one number against a modelled cost base. Living costs and tax both vary with circumstances this page cannot see.
What drives the range
Why the same job title in Sydney can span the spread shown above. These are descriptions of the data, not guidance on what to ask for.
- Base versus total compensation
- Senior and staff figures here are reported as total compensation, so they fold in bonus and equity rather than base salary alone. The mid and junior rows are base only, which is part of why the step up between mid and senior looks larger than the raw seniority multiplier.
- Cost of living
- Sydney carries a cost-of-living index of 86 on a scale where New York City is 100. Local pay levels track local market rates and tech employer presence, not the cost-of-living index directly, so a lower index does not translate one-for-one into lower real pay.
- Role premium
- Site Reliability Engineer pay is anchored to occupation-specific medians from the underlying labour statistics, then adjusted for the local tech market. Specialisation, scarcity of the skill set, and the mix of employers hiring for it in Sydney all feed the published range.
The Sydney market
Sydney carries the largest share of Australia's tech employment. A few globally successful product companies born here set the tone, joined by the banks' large engineering groups, US offices hiring for the region, and a healthy startup layer. The market prizes seniority and communication; interview loops are shorter and less adversarial than the American template, and offers frequently include superannuation on top of the quoted base, which trips up candidates comparing internationally. Skilled migration is a long-standing national pipeline, and employer sponsorship for software roles is common, though the paperwork moves slowly. The lifestyle sell is real and so is the housing cost: property and rent in Sydney rank among the world's steepest, which is the main argument candidates hear for offers in other Australian cities.
Cost-of-living-adjusted pay
Sydney has a cost of living about 14% lower than New York City. Because the two report in different currencies, compare the percentile tables directly rather than the headline numbers.
Real-terms figures divide the nominal median by the city cost-of-living index (New York City = 100). They are a rough purchasing-power comparison, not a take-home or after-tax calculation.
Methodology and sources
The mid-level median anchors to occupation medians from the sources below, then scales by the documented seniority multipliers (junior 0.65x, mid 1.00x, senior 1.45x, staff 2.05x) and the local tech-pay level for Sydney. The 10th, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentiles are fitted from the median using the cross-sectional dispersion that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports for software occupations. Cost-of-living indices blend Numbeo 2025 and Mercer 2025.
Primary source for this slice: Levels.fyi 2025 SRE + US BLS OES May 2024 (SOC 15-1252) (2025). https://www.levels.fyi/t/software-engineer/focus/site-reliability
Reference data only. Reported medians describe a market; individual pay varies by employer, level calibration, and negotiation. Nothing here is financial advice.
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