Mission Critical Facility Compensation Survey
About the Survey
The market for mission critical facility projects continues to evolve rapidly, placing new demands on engineering and construction firms competing for specialized talent. From design and project management to field roles, organizations are refining how they attract, retain, and motivate mission critical talent. To better understand this evolving landscape, we are launching the 2026 Mission Critical Facility Compensation Survey, a new survey focused on compensation practices for mission critical facility work within engineering and construction organizations across the United States.
What the survey covers:
The survey is designed for US employees whose work is tied to mission critical facility projects such as data centers, operational control centers, and other high-reliability environments, and it captures organizational practices in the context of how engineering and construction firms differentiate pay for mission critical roles. The survey gathers compensation data and human resources policies for a broad set of job families, including:
- Drafting and Design
- General Engineering
- Project Engineering
- Project Management
- Project Controls
- Estimating
- Procurement
- Field Engineering
- Construction Supervision / Site Management
- Field Inspection
- Start-Up Engineering
- Architectural roles
- Quality Assurance
- Environmental, Safety & Health
- Contract Administration
- Business Development
- Proposal roles
- Commissioning Engineering
In addition to compensation data reported by position, the survey documents how firms are addressing broader mission critical compensation challenges. Topics include:
- Use of standard percentage premiums for mission critical roles
- Application of project-based, skill-based, and retention bonuses
- Use of separate salary structures for mission critical positions
- Frequency of market updates for mission critical pay ranges
- Eligibility for project-based incentive pay and relative payout opportunities
- Mission critical–specific retention strategies and voluntary turnover ranges
These elements help paint a comprehensive picture of how engineering and construction firms are structuring compensation and rewards in the face of labor market pressures.
Participation and contact information
Participation for the 2026 Mission Critical Facility Compensation Survey is now open. To learn more about the survey or to participate, please contact us at survey@pearlmeyer.com.
