Montana conjures up images of sweeping mountain vistas, crystalline lakes, and adventures out West. Lesser known is the Treasure State‘s thriving technology industry offering salaries far above the median income through careers designing intelligent systems, crunching data, and managing projects.
I cover the 7 most lucrative tech occupations fueling Montana‘s innovation economy across cities like Bozeman and Missoula. Each provides ample earning potential to balance out the state‘s high but picturesque cost of living.
If you possess in-demand technical abilities but crave the Montana lifestyle, read on for an in-depth guide! I‘ll overview expected pay, responsibilities, and top employers for AI engineering, Python development, sales engineering, data analytics, and more.
Why Salaries Soar for Montana‘s Tech Talent
The soaring peaks of the Rockies don‘t immediately bring to mind cutting-edge computers or AI breakthroughs. However, with tech giants like Oracle and IBM choosing Montana for new offices alongside government innovation initiatives, the Treasure State now boats the 7th fastest growing technology sector nationwide.
This job growth combined with high overall cost of living and a sparse population drives salaries well above median earnings even factoring Montana‘s lack of state income tax:
| Occupation | Avg. Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Median Income across all jobs | $55,328 |
| AI Engineer | $116,818 |
| Machine Learning Engineer | $121,512 |
Such earning potential combined with access to Montana‘s natural splendor and plethora of outdoor recreation makes the state extremely appealing for tech professionals. Cities like Bozeman and Missoula in particular contain vibrant innovation hubs with companies spanning industries eager to leverage leading-edge technology.
Below I dig into the 7 highest paying technology roles in the state sure to deliver financial security without sacrificing enjoyment of what Montana has to offer.
1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineer
Artificial intelligence has become integral across every industry as a way to automate repetitive tasks and enhance data-driven decision making. AI engineering roles subsequently top the list of highest paying tech jobs in Montana with average salaries of $116k/year. Those specializing in subfields like natural language processing or computer vision can expect compensation approaching $150k.
As an AI engineer, you would construct machine learning systems able to independently adapt and improve over time by detecting patterns within data. Familiarity with programming languages like Python and frameworks like TensorFlow are must-have prerequisites. Understanding advanced statistical modeling and concepts in disciplines like calculus and linear algebra are also critical.
Leading Montana employers seeking AI experts include:
| Company | Description |
|---|---|
| Flatiron Health | Healthcare technology company utilizing patient data to advance cancer research |
| Next Frontier Capital | Venture capital firm identifying early-stage AI innovations to invest in |
| Quantified Ag | Provides precision agriculture tech to farmers leveraging predictive analytics |
AI engineering represents the frontlines in software development today. These roles fuse computer science fundamentals with bleeding-edge statistical and mathematical methods to create truly intelligent systems. While extremely complex, the possibilities for career growth and lucrative salaries make pursuing AI expertise well worthwhile.
2. Machine Learning Engineer
Where AI engineering takes a generalized approach to building adaptable systems, machine learning engineers specialize in a particular subtype – self-improving analytical models. Leveraging real-time data, machine learning algorithms automatically tune to optimize predictive accuracy.
Machine learning engineers develop these complex statistical engines powering functionality from facial recognition to personalized shopping recommendations. The specialized skillset explains the slight salary premium over AI engineering – $121k annually makes machine learning engineering Montana‘s highest paying tech occupation.
Daily responsibilities span data pipeline construction, model optimization, and product integration. A typical machine learning engineer masters skills including:
- Cloud infrastructure configuration with AWS/Google Cloud
- SQL and NoSQL databases for mass data storage/retrieval
- Python data science libraries like Pandas, NumPy, and SciKit-Learn
- Statistical analysis and modeling techniques
Syneos Health, a major clinical trials and biopharmaceutical services company headquartered in Bozeman, currently seeks machine learning engineers to enhance drug development leveraging patient analytics.
Success requires balancing software engineering fundamentals with cutting-edge data science. Those able to excel in both dimensions will find no shortage of high-salary openings as companies race to capitalize on machine learning breakthroughs across domains.
3. Tech Sales Engineer
For technologists more eager to interact with people than code, sales engineering allows leveraging technology passion into a six-figure income. Tech sales engineers utilize communication savvy and product expertise to drive business for the solutions they specialize in.
Montana currently needs tech sales experts across categories like cybersecurity, business analytics, and cloud infrastructure. Average salaries land around $123k but stretch into the $200-300k range for senior sales engineering leadership positions.
Your responsibilities would span giving product demos, training client teams, and providing pre and post-sales technical guidance. While no coding required, you must intimately understand how solutions function and articulate value to executives and IT staff alike. Having an engineering degree helps build initial credibility but soft skills become vital long-term.
Sales engineers also analyze client data and systems to map product capabilities against pain points. Presentation and writing skills prove critical as you craft personalized pitches. While quotas still apply, you avoid constant cold calls – leads get shared from business development counterparts. This makes sales engineering appealing for former engineers eager to leverage people abilities more while still capitalizing on technology insights.
If interested in entering sales, junior product specialist roles offer training grounds to pick up salesmanship secrets before jumping to a full sales engineering function.
4. Python Developer
Among programming languages, Python stands apart for its simplicity yet utility for tasks from web development and scientific computing to AI. As enterprises across industries adopt Python for data analysis and automation, demand has skyrocketed for specialized developers fluent in the language.
Salaries for Montana-based Python coders average just under $100k with senior architects and engineers making $130k or more. Major employers range from financial institutions like First Interstate Bank leveraging Python for risk analytics to startups like onX Hunt building consumer apps for outdoors enthusiasts.
In a Python developer role, you would construct information systems supporting functions IT teams require. This spans building data pipelines, developer tools, web application backends, and analytics dashboards. Given the language‘s popularity for supporting machine learning, many also work on productionalizing model APIs for business usage.
Here‘s a glimpse of average mid-level Python developer salaries across top Montana companies:
| Company | Avg. Salary |
|---|---|
| First Interstate Bank | $107,784 |
| onX Hunt | $96,215 |
| KG Group | $91,390 |
With so many possible applications, Python roles stay interesting by mixing diverse assignments. Candidates with computer science education or previous coding experience in other languages often thrive best leveraging transferable data structure and algorithms knowledge.
5. Digital Project Manager
For those seeking managerial opportunities steering technological initiatives rather than hands-on building, project leadership roles bridge the gap between IT groups and business stakeholders while coordinating critical upgrades and launches.
These technology PMs ensure stakeholders align on goals, resources properly allocated to development teams, budgets and timelines tracked, and collaboration fostered from conception through implementation. Salaries average just under $95k in Montana.
Here‘s a glimpse of a typical week‘s meetings and deliverables:
- Monday: Planning session with development leads to review sprint progress, risks, resourcing needs
- Tuesday: Present current release budget utilization and projections to executive steering committee
- Wednesday: Gather end user feedback on new portal features to guide enhancement priorities
- Thursday: Interview contractor candidates to augment UI/UX design capacity for upcoming website relaunch
- Friday: Compile status report and risk register updates for steering committee
Top hiring companies like furniture e-tailer Wayfair and agriculture data firm Bushel seek PMs to shepherd initiatives expanding online platforms and advanced analytics capabilities leveraging cloud infrastructure.
Though some programmer-turned-PMs advance bottom-up from development roles, many transition into tech project leadership with business backgrounds by acquiring essential digital literacy via certifications and on-the-job training. Strong communication abilities prove vital as liaisons between technical staff and executive decision-makers.
6. Data Analyst
Data analysts represent the largest category of technology workers across Montana companies. Expanding digital infrastructure across industries like financial services, healthcare, and energy produces torrents of information which businesses increasingly aim to harness for strategic decisions – fueling over 10% job growth annually for analytics roles in the state.
Salaries for early career data analysts generally start around $60k with paths to over $100k for analytics managers coordinating enterprise-wide reporting and insights initiatives.
On a daily basis, you would utilize specialized tools like SQL, Tableau, and Python to extract and transform data from across departments into visualizations, dashboards, and metrics digestible for business leaders. Statistical modeling helps pinpoint trends and anomalies to focus management‘s attention on issues requiring action or further investigation.
Common transitional pathways into analytics include university degrees in information systems or statistics as well as data science bootcamps designed to equip learners with toolkits to organize, model, then clearly communicate data insights to stakeholders.
7. Business Intelligence Analyst
Serving as liaisons between IT groups managing centralized corporate data infrastructure and departmental leaders across functions like sales, finance, and operations, business intelligence analysts both organize enterprise information flows and perform targeted analyses to guide executive strategy and planning.
Capable BI experts wholly understand company operations then utilize this holistic lens to select impactful data able to answer critical business questions – like which customer segments to target for upcoming promotional campaigns or what supply chain investments best optimize inventory costs.
Top BI analysts command six-figure salaries in Montana through mastery spanning three core domains:
- Business acumen – intuitively grasping objectives across sales, marketing, finance, and product groups
- Technical abilities – efficiently retrieving then wrangling organizational data at scale utilizing SQL, PowerBI, etc.
- Analytics skill – distilling patterns in data into insights leadership can readily translate to decisions
This rare blend of capabilities explains average BI analyst salaries hovering around $85k in the state with scope for 30-40% cash compensation growth over initial years as expertise builds.
Leading employers like industrial supply giant Grainger seek BI talent in Montana to keep leadership apprised of micro and macro industry and organizational performance trends while identifying avenues to enhance profitability.
Ready to Launch Your Tech Career Among Big Sky Beauty?
Hopefully the extensive information above illuminates why Montana‘s reputation for breathtaking landscapes and outdoor living now shares spotlight with immense high-tech opportunity – you really can have both financial stability and adventure out West!
Salaries for in-demand technology experts eclipse national median income figures by 30% or more. And exotic programming languages aren‘t required to partake – opportunities like analytics, sales engineering, and project leadership enable those with existing business backgrounds to pivot into rewarding tech careers centered around data.
Vibrant industry growth set to escalate over the 2020s makes Montana a hidden gem for building technology expertise – let the views inspire you while the salary figures support whatever lifestyle you desire!
