AI Job Market Report
AI Jobs Report 2026
A live, data-driven overview of the AI job market. Tracking 1,629 open positions across 57 companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Databricks, and more. Updated weekly.
Top AI Companies Hiring Now
AI Job Categories
cloud AI Infrastructure & Platform Engineer
335Build and scale the underlying infrastructure for AI training and deployment
briefcase AI Product Manager
119Define AI product strategy, manage model evaluation, bridge research and product.
shield Mission Systems & Defense Software Engineer
112Build software for military systems, command and control, and defense applications
lock DevSecOps & Security Engineer
94Implement security practices in development pipelines and protect AI/defense systems
chart Data & Analytics Engineer
75Build data pipelines and analytics systems for AI training and operational insights
microscope Research Scientist
67Push the frontier of AI. Publish papers, develop new architectures, advance capabilities.
brain Machine Learning Engineer - Applied AI
61Implement and deploy machine learning models for specific applications and products
lock AI Security & Governance
55Secure AI systems, prevent prompt injection, manage model governance and compliance.
server ML Infrastructure & Training
52Build the infrastructure for training and serving models at scale. GPU clusters, distributed systems, MLOps.
robot AI Agent Developer
47Design and build autonomous AI agents that use tools, plan, and execute multi-step tasks.
Most In-Demand AI Skills
| Rank | Skill | Mentions | % of Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Agentic AI | 57 | 3.2% |
| #2 | sensor fusion | 64 | 3.6% |
| #3 | Apache Spark | 34 | 1.9% |
| #4 | AI-Assisted Code Generation | 23 | 1.3% |
| #5 | MLOps | 22 | 1.2% |
| #6 | Claude Code | 19 | 1.1% |
| #7 | PyTorch | 20 | 1.1% |
| #9 | computer vision | 28 | 1.6% |
| #11 | threat modeling | 14 | 0.8% |
| #12 | NLP | 29 | 1.6% |
Emerging AI Roles
Staff Technical Program Manager, Connected Warfare (Active Clearance)
This is a new, hybrid role that merges defense-specific program management with deep technical oversight of autonomous, networked systems (the "Connected Warfare" domain). It's emerging because modern defense contracts now require managing live, AI-driven systems (like drone swarms and sensor networks) that continuously learn and update—a radical shift from managing traditional, static hardware platforms. The role demands both a security clearance and the agility to oversee software-like development cycles within the rigid defense procurement environment.
Manager of Solutions Architecture, Applied AI (Industries)
This is a strategic hybrid role that merges deep industry-specific expertise with applied AI solution design and team leadership. It's new because it's not just about implementing generic AI tools, but about architecting custom, end-to-end AI systems that transform core business operations within a specific vertical (e.g., finance, healthcare, manufacturing). The role is emerging now because enterprises are moving beyond pilot projects and require leaders who can translate complex industry workflows into scalable, reliable, and ethical AI solutions, ensuring they deliver tangible business value while managing cross-functional teams of AI engineers, domain experts, and stakeholders.
Senior Threat and Attack Research Engineer
This is a next-generation cybersecurity role focused on proactively hunting for and exploiting vulnerabilities in AI/ML systems—a field known as adversarial machine learning. It's new because it moves beyond defending traditional IT infrastructure to offensively testing and breaking the AI models and autonomous systems that are now central to defense and security products. The role is emerging urgently because as AI becomes embedded in critical military and security applications (like Anduril's autonomous drones), understanding and hardening these systems against novel AI-specific attacks has become a national security priority.
Forward Deployed Engineer, Applied AI
A Forward Deployed Engineer in Applied AI is a hybrid role that combines AI solution engineering with direct, on-site client implementation—unlike traditional AI engineers who typically build models in-house or data scientists who focus on analysis. This role is emerging because enterprises need tailored, real-world deployment of cutting-edge AI (like large language models) directly into their specific workflows and systems, requiring professionals who can both adapt AI tools to unique business constraints and rapidly iterate based on live feedback. The rise of powerful, API-accessible AI models has created demand for engineers who can bridge the gap between generic AI capabilities and production-ready, client-specific applications.
Strategic AI/BI Account Executive
The Strategic AI/BI Account Executive is a new sales role specifically designed to sell complex AI and business intelligence platforms to enterprise clients, focusing on how these technologies can transform core business operations and strategy. It differs from traditional software sales by requiring deep technical fluency in AI/ML workflows and data architectures, as the executive must consult on how to operationalize AI, not just license software. This role is emerging now because enterprises are shifting from experimental AI projects to strategic, company-wide deployments, creating demand for sellers who can bridge executive strategy, data engineering, and ROI-driven use cases.
Senior Engineering Manager - Trust and Safety
This is a new, specialized leadership role focused on proactively designing and implementing technical guardrails for AI systems, rather than just reacting to content moderation issues. It merges deep engineering expertise with ethical AI governance, requiring someone who can build scalable systems for model safety, bias detection, and misuse prevention directly into the AI development lifecycle. It's emerging now because as generative AI moves into enterprise production, companies need leaders who can technically enforce safety, compliance, and ethical standards at the platform level—shifting trust and safety from a policy team to a core engineering function.
Methodology
This report is compiled from 1,629 active job postings scraped from 57 AI and technology companies. Jobs are categorized using NLP into role clusters, and skills are extracted and ranked by frequency. Company hiring trends are tracked weekly with growth indicators. Data is refreshed every week.
Explore detailed job listings, company profiles, and skill deep-dives on the AI Jobs Radar.