State of Tech Hiring — Q1 2026
Comprehensive hiring analysis for Q1 2026: 3,147 listings, 105 companies, salary data and skill movements.
3,147 listings analysed · 105 companies · January 01 – March 31, 2026
Executive Summary
Q1 2026 tech hiring activity spans 3,147 active listings across 105 companies, with no major skill declines recorded — demand is broadly expanding. The steepest quarter-over-quarter rises are in Product & Design and DevOps & Infrastructure, led by Stakeholder Management (+75.2pp), AWS (+53.0pp) and Terraform (+49.2pp). SQL jumped +42.9pp in Data & Analytics, AWS climbed +32.6pp in Software Engineering and emerging skills including Node.js, Power BI, React and Kafka are entering job listings at scale for the first time this quarter.
Key movements this quarter:
- SQL surged +42.9pp in Data & Analytics
- AWS surged +32.6pp in Software Engineering
- Stakeholder Mgmt surged +75.2pp in Product & Design
- AWS surged +53.0pp in DevOps & Infrastructure
- Excel surged +37.7pp in Security
By Category
Demand is spread across 6 categories, with 1,681 listings in the largest segment. Here is how each category breaks down.
Data & Analytics
366 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SQL | 42.9% | +42.9pp |
| 2 | Stakeholder Mgmt | 39.1% | +39.1pp |
| 3 | Python | 36.9% | +36.9pp |
| 4 | Excel | 28.1% | +28.1pp |
| 5 | AWS | 28.1% | +28.1pp |
Software Engineering
1,681 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AWS | 32.6% | +32.6pp |
| 2 | Machine Learning | 11.2% | +11.2pp |
| 3 | Spark | 9.8% | +9.8pp |
| 4 | Llms / Genai | 8.2% | +8.2pp |
| 5 | Rust | 7.9% | +7.9pp |
Product & Design
545 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stakeholder Mgmt | 75.2% | +75.2pp |
| 2 | Excel | 50.8% | +50.8pp |
| 3 | Scala | 30.1% | +30.1pp |
| 4 | A/b Testing | 20.4% | +20.4pp |
| 5 | Prototyping | 14.3% | +14.3pp |
DevOps & Infrastructure
132 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AWS | 53.0% | +53.0pp |
| 2 | Terraform | 49.2% | +49.2pp |
| 3 | Kubernetes | 49.2% | +49.2pp |
| 4 | Scala | 37.9% | +37.9pp |
| 5 | CI/CD | 35.6% | +35.6pp |
Security
151 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Excel | 37.7% | +37.7pp |
| 2 | Node.js | 31.1% | +31.1pp |
| 3 | Go | 30.5% | +30.5pp |
| 4 | GCP | 25.8% | +25.8pp |
| 5 | Scala | 24.5% | +24.5pp |
AI & Machine Learning
272 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Llms / Genai | 47.8% | +47.8pp |
| 2 | Machine Learning | 40.4% | +40.4pp |
| 3 | AWS | 39.3% | +39.3pp |
| 4 | Stakeholder Mgmt | 35.7% | +35.7pp |
| 5 | Python | 34.6% | +34.6pp |
Skill Movements
Quarter-over-quarter skill demand shifts highlight where the market is heading. The tables below rank skills by the size of their movement.
Biggest Risers (Quarter-over-Quarter)
| Rank | Skill | Change | Current Demand | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stakeholder Mgmt | +75.2pp | 75.2% | Product & Design |
| 2 | AWS | +53.0pp | 53.0% | DevOps & Infrastructure |
| 3 | Excel | +50.8pp | 50.8% | Product & Design |
| 4 | Terraform | +49.2pp | 49.2% | DevOps & Infrastructure |
| 5 | Kubernetes | +49.2pp | 49.2% | DevOps & Infrastructure |
| 6 | Llms / Genai | +47.8pp | 47.8% | AI & Machine Learning |
| 7 | SQL | +42.9pp | 42.9% | Data & Analytics |
| 8 | Machine Learning | +40.4pp | 40.4% | AI & Machine Learning |
| 9 | AWS | +39.3pp | 39.3% | AI & Machine Learning |
| 10 | Stakeholder Mgmt | +39.1pp | 39.1% | Data & Analytics |
Emerging Skills
| Skill | Demand | QoQ Change | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Node.js | 18.3% | +18.3pp | Data & Analytics |
| Power BI | 3.8% | +3.8pp | Data & Analytics |
| Excel | 28.1% | +28.1pp | Data & Analytics |
| React | 3.3% | +3.3pp | Data & Analytics |
| Kafka | 7.7% | +7.7pp | Data & Analytics |
Salary Snapshot
Compensation data drawn from listings with published salary bands. Figures show the interquartile range and median for each category.
| Category | IQR Range | Median | Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data & Analytics | $144,000 – $201,650 | $166,500 | 61 listings |
| Software Engineering | $175,000 – $233,750 | $208,250 | 200 listings |
| Product & Design | $167,500 – $245,000 | $202,000 | 86 listings |
| DevOps & Infrastructure | $185,132 – $208,708 | $208,708 | 11 listings |
| Security | $183,150 – $237,262 | $216,000 | 24 listings |
| AI & Machine Learning | $158,400 – $231,000 | $208,708 | 12 listings |
Methodology
All figures come from continuously refreshed ATS job feeds (Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby). Skill demand is calculated as category-level mention rate across active listings, with salary metrics derived from postings that include compensation bands.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most in-demand tech skills in Q1 2026?
The top skills this quarter include Stakeholder Mgmt, AWS, Excel based on demand share across 3,147 active listings.
How have tech salaries changed in Q1 2026?
Salary medians range across categories, with published compensation data drawn from listings across 105 companies in Q1 2026.
Which tech categories are hiring the most right now?
Across 6 tracked categories, the highest volume comes from Software Engineering roles.
Published March 29, 2026. Data refreshed daily.