Short answer: US software development job postings were still 27.5% below their February 2020 level in 2026, according to Indeed Hiring Lab, but they have grown almost 15% since early 2025. The recovery is almost entirely senior: senior roles made up 69.3% of software postings in Q1 2026, while entry-level roles made up 4.5%.

Key engineering hiring data at a glance

• 27.5% fewer US software development postings than in February 2020 (Indeed Hiring Lab).
• 69.3% of software postings are senior roles and 4.5% are entry level (Q1 2026).
• 71% of the posting growth between May 2025 and May 2026 came from senior roles.
• 2.5% of all US postings mention AI skills, up 55% in a year (Stanford AI Index 2026, Lightcast data).
• AI Engineer is the fastest-growing US job on LinkedIn's 2026 Jobs on the Rise list.

[Table 1]

Why is engineering hiring tilting toward senior roles?

• AI absorbs entry-level tasks. Coding agents handle much of the routine work that used to train junior engineers.
• Review capacity is the bottleneck. Teams need experienced engineers who can judge AI output, design systems and own production reliability.
• Leaner teams. Companies that cut headcount in 2023 to 2025 rebuilt with fewer, more experienced people.
• Fewer new graduates hired. SignalFire found new graduates make up just 7% of Big Tech hires, down more than 50% from 2019.

Which engineering roles are growing?

[Table 2]

Demand concentrates in AI engineering, senior platform and infrastructure roles, security and leaders who have shipped AI products at scale. For the debate on entry-level hiring, see Should Engineering Teams Still Hire Junior Developers in 2026?

What should CTOs and VPs of Engineering do with this data?

1. Budget for longer senior searches. When most openings target the same senior pool, time to hire rises.
2. Hire for judgment, not output. Test candidates on system design, code review of AI-generated code and production incident handling.
3. Protect the pipeline. A team that hires only seniors today faces a gap in 3 to 5 years.
4. Use the larger junior applicant pool. With few entry-level openings, the quality of available junior candidates is unusually high.
5. Benchmark leadership pay. Senior scarcity flows up to leadership roles. See the compensation benchmarks.

Frequently asked questions

Is the software engineering job market recovering in 2026?

Partly. Postings have grown almost 15% since early 2025 but remain 27.5% below February 2020, according to Indeed Hiring Lab.

What share of software job postings are senior?

69.3% in Q1 2026, compared with 4.5% for entry-level roles.

Which tech job is growing fastest?

AI Engineer, ranked first on LinkedIn's 2026 Jobs on the Rise list for the US.

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