Hyderabad is emerging as a significant rival to Bengaluru for high-value tech jobs in India, with global firms increasingly establishing senior engineering teams in the city. This shift is driven by Hyderabad's appealing lifestyle, reduced traffic, and supportive government policies. The city, once primarily a back-office hub, is now attracting roles in data engineering, artificial intelligence (AI), and research and development (R&D), fields that previously concentrated in Bengaluru. Staffing executives note that the influx of senior hires into Hyderabad is leading to a faster increase in median salaries compared to Bengaluru.
Data from TeamLease indicates that median pay for software product engineering roles in Hyderabad has risen by 8.6% this year to $36,480 (₹30.4 lakh), outperforming Bengaluru's 5.6% increase to $40,560 (₹33.8 lakh). Similarly, for engineering, research, and development roles, salaries in Hyderabad have jumped by 11.1% to $24,000 (₹20 lakh), compared to a 6.5% rise to $29,400 (₹24.5 lakh) in Bengaluru. This divergence is attributed to the growing presence of senior-level positions in Hyderabad, which is elevating the overall median salaries in the city.
Major tech companies are expanding their senior teams in Hyderabad. Google, for instance, has based a new 'AI Accelerator for HR' team in the city and is constructing its largest office outside the U.S. there. Amazon is also listing more senior roles in Hyderabad, including a senior applied AI scientist position for its natural language processing, large language models, and computer vision teams. Meta has extended its office lease, and Apple has a significant portion of its India jobs in Hyderabad, including leadership roles. Companies such as Microsoft, Qualcomm, Micron, Verizon, ABB, and Larsen & Toubro are actively recruiting for high-value engineering positions in Hyderabad.
The Telangana government is implementing policies to promote captive engineering hubs, offering incentives, a single-window approval system, and a 'plug-and-play' model to attract businesses. This initiative aims to ease the process for companies setting up engineering facilities in non-metro areas. Hyderabad currently hosts 20% of India's global capability centers (GCCs), a number that is steadily growing, with the state aiming to add another 100 GCCs in the current fiscal year. The city's lower living costs and strong growth in GCCs, coupled with government support, are narrowing the gap with Bengaluru, positioning Hyderabad as a significant tech ecosystem.
