Top Tech Jobs of 2026: The Fastest-Growing Roles and What They Pay

Every year brings a new batch of “hottest tech jobs” lists, most of them guesses. This one sticks to two sources that measure real data: LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise 2026 list, which ranks US job titles by how fast hiring grew between January 2023 and July 2025, and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projections for 2025 to 2035, which also publish median pay. We’ve pulled out the tech roles from both, and added two engineering titles that are growing fast in job postings but aren’t tracked yet.

The short answer: the top tech jobs of 2026 are:

1. AI engineer
2. AI and machine learning researcher
3. AI consultant and strategist
4. Data scientist
5. Information security analyst
6. Data annotator and AI trainer
7. Data center technician
8. Software developer
9. QA engineer and SDET
10. IT and engineering manager (computer and information systems manager)
11. Forward deployed engineer (a hiring trend, not on the official lists yet)
12. GTM engineer (a hiring trend, not on the official lists yet)

AI roles lead the growth, data and security pay well and keep growing, and AI’s hardware needs are creating hands-on jobs in data centers.

What’s driving tech hiring in 2026

Four forces explain almost every role on this list:

• AI moving into real products. Companies need people to build AI systems, research better models, advise on where to use them and label the data they learn from.
• Data everywhere. Every AI system and every business decision depends on clean, analysed data.
• Security. More software, more data and more AI means more to protect.
• Infrastructure. Every model runs in a data center, and new ones are being built fast.

1. AI engineer

Source: number 1 on LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise 2026.

AI engineers build products on top of large language models and other machine learning models: retrieval systems, agents, evaluation pipelines and the plumbing that connects models to real data. Most come from software engineering rather than research. Pay usually tracks or beats senior software engineering; the BLS median for software developers is about $136,000.

Best for: software engineers ready to specialise. Start with what an AI engineer does and how to get started with AI engineering, and prepare with AI engineer interview questions.

2. AI and machine learning researcher

Source: number 5 on LinkedIn’s list. The closest BLS category, computer and information research scientists, is projected to grow about 21.8% with a median of about $140,000.

Researchers design and train new models, improve how they reason and run experiments that product teams later build on. Most roles ask for a graduate degree or a strong publication or open-source record.

Best for: people with deep maths and machine learning skills who like open research problems.

3. AI consultant and strategist

Source: number 2 on LinkedIn’s list.

These people help companies decide where AI is worth using, choose tools, run pilots and change how teams work. It suits consultants, product managers and operations people who understand a business deeply and can learn the technology well enough to advise on it.

Best for: consultants, PMs and ops leaders who like both the business and the tech.

4. Data scientist

Source: BLS projects about 34.6% growth from 2025 to 2035, the fastest of any tech occupation it tracks, with a median wage of about $120,000.

Data scientists build models and analyses that drive decisions: forecasting, experimentation, recommendation and risk. Not sure which data role fits you? Read data analyst vs data scientist vs data engineer, and brush up with SQL interview questions.

Best for: people with statistics, Python and SQL who like open-ended problems.

5. Information security analyst

Source: BLS projects about 21% growth, median about $129,000.

Security analysts monitor systems, investigate incidents, run vulnerability scans and harden infrastructure. Demand is steady across every industry, and many people move in from IT support or networking with a certification.

Best for: IT and systems people who like investigation.

6. Data annotator and AI trainer

Source: number 4 on LinkedIn’s list.

Annotators label text, images, audio and model outputs so AI systems can learn and be evaluated. Entry-level work is often contract-based, but specialist annotation for coding, maths, law and medicine pays far better and is growing fast.

Best for: people with domain expertise who want flexible, often remote work, and a way into AI without an engineering background.

7. Data center technician

Source: number 17 on LinkedIn’s list.

Technicians install, maintain and repair the servers, networking and power systems inside data centers. AI has set off a wave of new data center construction, and many roles need hardware skills and certifications rather than a degree.

Best for: hands-on people with IT or electrical skills.

8. Software developer

Source: BLS projects about 10% growth for software developers, QA analysts and testers from 2025 to 2035, much faster than average, with a median of about $136,000 for developers.

Software development isn’t on LinkedIn’s fastest-growing list because it’s already huge, but it’s still one of the largest sources of new tech jobs. Generalist entry-level roles are more competitive than they were, so pairing development skills with AI, data, security or a specific industry helps a lot.

Best for: anyone who enjoys building. See how to ace your technical interview.

9. QA engineer and SDET

Source: part of the same BLS group as software developers (about 10% growth), with a median of about $104,000 for QA analysts and testers.

Testing has shifted toward automation and toward testing AI features, which behave less predictably than ordinary code. SDETs who can build frameworks and test AI outputs are in particular demand. Compare the two paths in QA engineer vs SDET, then prepare with SDET interview questions.

Best for: detail-oriented people who like breaking things on purpose.

10. IT and engineering manager

Source: BLS projects about 15.8% growth for computer and information systems managers, with a median of about $175,000, the highest-paid role on its fastest-growing list.

These managers plan and run technology for an organisation or lead engineering teams. It’s a destination role, usually reached after several years as an engineer, analyst or security specialist.

Best for: experienced technologists ready to lead teams.

11. Forward deployed engineer

Source: not yet tracked by LinkedIn’s list or the BLS, but one of the most visible new engineering titles in AI company hiring.

Forward deployed engineers work directly with customers to get a product working in their systems. Read what a forward deployed engineer is and how to become one.

Best for: engineers who enjoy customers as much as code.

12. GTM engineer

Source: not yet tracked by LinkedIn’s list or the BLS, but increasingly common in startup and B2B software hiring.

GTM engineers build the automations, data pipelines and tools a sales and marketing team runs on. It’s a good bridge for technical people who like revenue work. Read what a GTM engineer is and GTM interview questions.

Best for: technical people who want to work close to sales and growth.

Comparison table

Job	Growth signal	US median pay	CS degree usually needed
AI engineer	LinkedIn #1	Not tracked separately	Often, or equivalent experience
AI and ML researcher	LinkedIn #5, BLS +21.8%	~$140,000	Usually, often graduate
AI consultant	LinkedIn #2	Varies widely	No, but technical fluency
Data scientist	BLS +34.6%	~$120,000	Usually a quantitative degree
Information security analyst	BLS +21%	~$129,000	Often, certifications count
Data annotator	LinkedIn #4	Varies widely	No
Data center technician	LinkedIn #17	Varies	No
Software developer	BLS +10%	~$136,000	Often, or equivalent experience
QA engineer and SDET	BLS +10%	~$104,000	No for QA, often for SDET
IT and engineering manager	BLS +15.8%	~$175,000	Usually
Forward deployed engineer	Hiring trend	High, varies	Often
GTM engineer	Hiring trend	Varies	No

How to use this list

A growing job isn’t automatically the right job for you. Pick from this list using three questions:

1. What’s adjacent to what I do now? The fastest switches are one step over: IT support to security analyst, analyst to data scientist, backend engineer to AI engineer, manual tester to SDET.
2. What can I prove in three months? One course plus two real projects beats a long certificate you haven’t finished.
3. Do the listings match? Read 20 job posts for the role and count which skills repeat. That’s your learning plan.

Then apply in a focused way. When a listing asks for specific tools and outcomes, your resume should show them clearly, without inventing anything. Tailr is a Chrome extension that tailors your resume to the job listing you’re viewing, writes a matching cover letter and tracks every application, which helps when you’re applying to a new kind of role. If you’re coming from outside tech, read how to switch careers into tech and our list of non-coding jobs in tech.

Try Tailr

Conclusion

The top tech jobs of 2026 cluster around AI, data, security and the infrastructure behind it all. AI engineers top LinkedIn’s growth list, data scientists top the BLS tech projections, IT managers earn the most, and roles like data center technician and data annotator offer ways in without a CS degree. Pick the one closest to what you already do, build proof of the core skills, and tailor every application to the listing in front of you.