BI Developer: Job Duties, Skills and Salary 2025

What You’ll Learn About BI Developers

What Does a BI Developer Do?
Key Duties & Responsibilities
How to Become a BI Developer
BI Developer Salary Guide
How to Advance Your Career
Typical Work Environment

What Does a BI Developer do?

BI developers build and maintain business intelligence systems, creating databases, data models, and reporting tools. You work with teams to ensure data is accessible and actionable, helping companies drive performance improvements.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

BI Developers in the IT & Development field handle essential tasks and contribute significantly to achieving team and organizational goals. Here are some of their primary responsibilities:

Design, build, and deploy BI solutions (e.g., reporting tools, data models).
Maintain and support data analytics platforms (e.g., MicroStrategy, Power BI).
Create tools to store data effectively within the organization.
Conduct unit testing and troubleshooting of analytical and reporting tools.
Evaluate and improve existing BI systems.
Collaborate with teams to integrate systems and create effective data warehouses.
Develop and execute database queries and conduct analyses.
Create visualizations and reports for requested projects.
Develop and update technical documentation for data models and business intelligence systems.

How to Become a BI Developer

Launching a career as a BI Developer requires a specific education. We outline the essential qualifications, skills, and steps to enter this field.

Qualification

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or relevant field; master’s degree in data science or related field is a plus.
Proven experience as a BI Developer or Data Scientist.
Background in data warehouse design (e.g., dimensional modeling) and SQL databases.
In-depth understanding of database management systems, online analytical processing (OLAP) and ETL (Extract, transform, load) framework.
Familiarity with BI technologies (e.g., Microsoft Power BI, Oracle BI).
Knowledge of SQL queries, SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) and SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS).

Requirements & Skills

Strong analytical skills and ability to handle complex, large scale data sets.
Expertise in translating business requirements into non-technical, lay terms.
High-level experience in methodologies and processes for managing large scale databases.
Demonstrated ability to build concise and performance-optimized SQL queries.
Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple projects simultaneously.

BI Developer Salary Guide

Wondering what BI Developers earn? Explore salary ranges by experience, and career tips to maximize your earning potential.

Job	Branch	Avg. US Salary
BI Developer	IT & Development	108,000 USD

The average salary for a BI Developer in the U.S. is approximately $108,000 per year and can vary from entry-level to senior positions. BI Developers may receive a wide range of benefits.

BI Developer Salary Career Steps

Level	Experience	Avg. Salary per Year
Veteran	20+ years	$135,000
Senior	11+ years	$118,800
Experienced	6-10 years	$108,000
Mid Level	3-5 years	$97,200
Entry Level	0-2 years	$81,000

To explore more detailed salary information, including specific salary estimates in your country, visit the BI Developer Salary Country Overview.

How to Advance Your Career

BI Developers can advance to senior roles such as BI Architect, Data Architect, or Analytics Manager. With further experience, they may lead entire data departments or move into strategic roles such as Chief Data Officer. Continued education and specialization can also lead to opportunities in data science and advanced analytics.

Typical Work Environment

BI Developers usually work in office settings, typically within an organization’s IT department. They may collaborate extensively with other IT professionals and business units to align technology with business strategy. Their role often requires hours beyond the standard workweek, particularly during critical project phases or system upgrades.