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The Most In-Demand Software Engineering Jobs Right Now (November 2026)

DataUpdated 3 min read

In 3,428 open software-engineering roles we counted on 8 November 2026, AI and machine learning engineering was the largest specialty (16%), just ahead of infrastructure, platform and reliability work (15%). More than half of all roles were senior or staff level; frontend-only and junior roles were scarce.

Below are the findings, then the counts by specialty, seniority and location, then how we counted. This is one dated snapshot of who is hiring, not a trend: it shows where the open roles are today.

AI and machine learning engineering is the largest specialty

556 of the 3,428 roles, 16%, are AI or machine learning engineering: model training, inference, applied AI and the infrastructure under it. Only titles that just say "Software Engineer" are more common (1,242, 36%).

The demand is concentrated. OpenAI alone has 86 of these roles, then Pinterest (27), SpaceX and Scale AI (25 each). Many AI roles ask for strong general engineering first: in our separate count of software engineer postings, Python was named in 93 of 217 and large language models in 46.

Source: Resymetry hiring snapshot (CSV), read 8 November 2026; Resymetry job-postings counts (CSV), read 6 November 2026

Infrastructure, platform and reliability work is close behind

498 roles, 15%, are infrastructure, platform, cloud, DevOps or site reliability engineering. SpaceX (50), Anduril (41) and Okta (29) have the most.

These roles reward production experience. If you have run systems people depend on, say so plainly: what you operated, how big it was, and what you improved.

Source: Resymetry hiring snapshot (CSV), read 8 November 2026

Security and engineering management are steady niches

Security engineering accounts for 239 roles (7%) and engineering management for 241 (7%). Security roles cluster at SpaceX (30), Anduril (16) and OpenAI (13).

Both reward specific evidence: incidents handled and controls built for security; teams grown and delivery improved for management.

Source: Resymetry hiring snapshot (CSV), read 8 November 2026

Frontend-only roles are scarce

Only 56 titles, 2%, are frontend-only. Full-stack (163) and backend (168) titles are each about three times as common, and many general "Software Engineer" roles include frontend work.

If your strength is the frontend, show the parts of the stack you also touch: the APIs you call or build, the data you model, how you test and ship.

Source: Resymetry hiring snapshot (CSV), read 8 November 2026

Most open roles are senior

Senior and lead titles make up 1,060 roles (31%) and staff or principal titles 868 (25%): more than half together. Internships and entry-level titles are 114, about 3%. The other 40% of titles give no level.

For early-career engineers this means fewer roles labelled for you, and more general roles where your CV has to show you can already do the work.

Source: Resymetry hiring snapshot (CSV), read 8 November 2026

What this means for your CV

Specialty counts tell you where the openings are; the posting tells you what one employer wants. Use both.

  • Name your specialty in your headline and summary, in the employer's words: "platform engineer", not just "engineer".
  • Put production evidence in your bullets: systems you ran, scale, incidents, results.
  • For AI roles, name the models, tools and training or inference work you have actually done.
  • Check your CV against the posting you apply to. Resymetry's free check reads both and quotes the lines that match or are missing.

Source: Resymetry hiring snapshot (CSV), read 8 November 2026

Which software roles are open

Open roles counted once per title, from the public job boards of the companies below.

Open roles by specialty

3,428 software-engineering roles at 94 companies

  • General software engineering1,242 · 36%
  • AI / machine learning556 · 16%
  • Infrastructure / platform / SRE498 · 15%
  • Engineering management241 · 7%
  • Security239 · 7%
  • Backend168 · 5%
  • Full-stack163 · 5%
  • Data engineering97 · 3%
  • Mobile90 · 3%
  • Frontend56 · 2%
  • Embedded / firmware55 · 2%
  • QA / test23 · 1%

Open roles by seniority in the title

  • Not stated1,386 · 40%
  • Senior / lead1,060 · 31%
  • Staff / principal868 · 25%
  • Intern91 · 3%
  • Entry level / junior23 · 1%

Open roles by location

598 roles (17%) list remote as an option

  • US2,225 · 65%
  • Other270 · 8%
  • UK226 · 7%
  • India224 · 7%
  • Canada208 · 6%
  • Europe (excl. UK)185 · 5%
  • Not stated / remote90 · 3%

How we counted

We make Resymetry, a CV checker. We counted these roles ourselves from public job boards; no employer is affiliated with us.

We read the public Greenhouse, Lever and Ashby job boards of 101 companies, mostly tech, on 8 November 2026: job titles and locations only. 94 companies had open software-engineering roles.

A role is software engineering when its title names software work. Each role goes into the first specialty its title matches (for example, "Senior ML Infrastructure Engineer" counts as AI / machine learning), and into one seniority band read from the title. Titles that only say "Software Engineer" form the general group.

A role listed in several cities counts once. The boards lean towards larger tech companies and the US, and Google, Meta, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft are not in the sample because they use their own hiring systems.

Download the counts: CSV. Counts only, no posting text. Free to reuse with credit to Resymetry (CC BY 4.0).

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Questions people ask

What software engineering jobs are most in demand in 2026?

In 3,428 open roles we counted on 8 November 2026, the largest specialties were AI and machine learning engineering (16%) and infrastructure, platform and reliability engineering (15%), after general software engineer titles (36%).

Source: Resymetry hiring snapshot (CSV), read 8 November 2026

Are AI and machine learning engineers in demand?

Yes, in this sample: 556 of 3,428 open software roles were AI or machine learning engineering. They were concentrated at a few employers, led by OpenAI with 86.

Source: Resymetry hiring snapshot (CSV), read 8 November 2026

Are there jobs for frontend developers?

Frontend-only titles were rare: 56 of 3,428 roles. Full-stack and backend titles were each about three times as common, and many general software roles include frontend work.

Source: Resymetry hiring snapshot (CSV), read 8 November 2026

Are companies hiring junior software engineers?

Few roles say so: internships and entry-level titles were 114 of 3,428, about 3%. 40% of titles gave no level, so read postings before ruling them out.

Source: Resymetry hiring snapshot (CSV), read 8 November 2026

How was this counted?

We read job titles and locations on the public Greenhouse, Lever and Ashby boards of 101 companies on 8 November 2026, counting each role once however many cities it is listed in. The counts are free to download.

Source: Resymetry hiring snapshot (CSV), read 8 November 2026; Greenhouse Job Board API, read 8 November 2026; Lever Postings API, read 8 November 2026; Ashby public job posting API, read 8 November 2026

Sources

Every page used above, with the date it was read.

Resymetry is not affiliated with the other products named here. Product names belong to their owners. Prices and free plans change without notice, so check each product’s own page before deciding. All articles

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