State of Tech Hiring — Q2 2026
Comprehensive hiring analysis for Q2 2026: 3,352 listings, 109 companies, salary data and skill movements.
3,352 listings analysed · 109 companies · April 01 – June 30, 2026
Executive Summary
Q2 2026 tech hiring spans 3,352 active listings across 109 companies, with DevOps & Infrastructure and Security roles driving the sharpest demand shifts of the quarter. AWS dominates the biggest movers, climbing +57.2 percentage points in Security and +48.0pp in DevOps & Infrastructure, while Kubernetes (+48.0pp) and Terraform (+45.3pp) signal accelerating infrastructure-as-code adoption across the job market. Emerging skills including Node.js, Redshift and PostgreSQL are gaining ground fast, with Node.js alone surging +17.0pp in Data & Analytics and AWS adding +31.8pp in Software Engineering — making cloud and infrastructure proficiency the clearest hiring priority this quarter.
Key movements this quarter:
- Node.js surged +17.0pp in Data & Analytics
- AWS surged +31.8pp in Software Engineering
- Spark surged +8.9pp in Product & Design
- AWS surged +48.0pp in DevOps & Infrastructure
- AWS surged +57.2pp in Security
By Category
Demand is spread across 6 categories, with 1,799 listings in the largest segment. Here is how each category breaks down.
Data & Analytics
383 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Node.js | 17.0% | +17.0pp |
| 2 | Tableau | 13.3% | +13.3pp |
| 3 | Spark | 13.1% | +13.1pp |
| 4 | Databricks | 11.5% | +11.5pp |
| 5 | Statistical Analysis | 11.0% | +11.0pp |
Software Engineering
1,799 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AWS | 31.8% | +31.8pp |
| 2 | Machine Learning | 9.7% | +9.7pp |
| 3 | Mlflow | 7.8% | +7.8pp |
| 4 | Rust | 7.3% | +7.3pp |
| 5 | A/b Testing | 4.8% | +4.8pp |
Product & Design
573 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spark | 8.9% | +8.9pp |
| 2 | Databricks | 7.0% | +7.0pp |
| 3 | Azure | 6.8% | +6.8pp |
| 4 | GCP | 6.6% | +6.6pp |
| 5 | Mlflow | 6.3% | +6.3pp |
DevOps & Infrastructure
150 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AWS | 48.0% | +48.0pp |
| 2 | Kubernetes | 48.0% | +48.0pp |
| 3 | Terraform | 45.3% | +45.3pp |
| 4 | CI/CD | 35.3% | +35.3pp |
| 5 | Excel | 29.3% | +29.3pp |
Security
166 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AWS | 57.2% | +57.2pp |
| 2 | Python | 38.6% | +38.6pp |
| 3 | Excel | 34.3% | +34.3pp |
| 4 | Node.js | 29.5% | +29.5pp |
| 5 | Go | 25.3% | +25.3pp |
AI & Machine Learning
281 active listings
| Rank | Skill | Demand | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fine Tuning | 26.3% | +26.3pp |
| 2 | Node.js | 17.4% | +17.4pp |
| 3 | Statistical Analysis | 14.6% | +14.6pp |
| 4 | Kubernetes | 11.7% | +11.7pp |
| 5 | Data Pipeline | 10.0% | +10.0pp |
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 | AWS | +57.2pp | 57.2% | Security |
| 2 | AWS | +48.0pp | 48.0% | DevOps & Infrastructure |
| 3 | Kubernetes | +48.0pp | 48.0% | DevOps & Infrastructure |
| 4 | Terraform | +45.3pp | 45.3% | DevOps & Infrastructure |
| 5 | Python | +38.6pp | 38.6% | Security |
| 6 | CI/CD | +35.3pp | 35.3% | DevOps & Infrastructure |
| 7 | Excel | +34.3pp | 34.3% | Security |
| 8 | AWS | +31.8pp | 31.8% | Software Engineering |
| 9 | Node.js | +29.5pp | 29.5% | Security |
| 10 | Excel | +29.3pp | 29.3% | DevOps & Infrastructure |
Emerging Skills
| Skill | Demand | QoQ Change | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Node.js | 17.0% | +17.0pp | Data & Analytics |
| Segment | 3.1% | +3.1pp | Data & Analytics |
| R | 6.0% | +6.0pp | Data & Analytics |
| Redshift | 4.2% | +4.2pp | Data & Analytics |
| Postgresql | 3.1% | +3.1pp | 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 – $185,220 | $166,500 | 66 listings |
| Software Engineering | $175,000 – $231,000 | $208,250 | 200 listings |
| Product & Design | $167,500 – $245,000 | $203,000 | 86 listings |
| DevOps & Infrastructure | $205,000 – $225,550 | $208,708 | 12 listings |
| Security | $193,500 – $221,500 | $216,000 | 21 listings |
| AI & Machine Learning | $158,400 – $231,000 | $208,708 | 12 listings |
Methodology
Data is sourced from public job listings on Greenhouse, Lever and Ashby career pages. Listings are ingested daily, normalized into six role categories and analyzed for skill-level demand share and quarter-over-quarter movement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most in-demand tech skills in Q2 2026?
The top skills this quarter include AWS, AWS, Kubernetes based on demand share across 3,352 active listings.
How have tech salaries changed in Q2 2026?
Salary medians range across categories, with published compensation data drawn from listings across 109 companies in Q2 2026.
Which tech categories are hiring the most right now?
Across 6 tracked categories, the highest volume comes from Software Engineering roles.
Published April 04, 2026. Data refreshed daily.