In 2025, demand for IT talent remains strong across core roles — and experts predict that the need for essential IT positions will continue to grow. Businesses face stiff competition for top talent in areas such as software engineering, cybersecurity, and data management.
And while AI dominates news coverage, a recent Deloitte report cites MIT economist Daron Acemoglu, who suggests only 5% of jobs are at risk from AI automation in the next decade — because of reliability challenges and the need for human oversight and judgment. IT pros aren’t so sure that AI isn’t going to make their skills obsolete. Either way, IT roles involved in fueling AI transformations are in high demand.
Deloitte’s report also suggests the business case for technology is evolving. Instead of viewing emerging technology primarily as a way to reduce costs — by cutting head count and ramping up automation — smart hiring strategies should focus on building long-term value across the entire organization.
Here’s a look at the IT positions that leaders say are driving business value and innovation in 2025, translating to higher demand and higher pay.
Data engineer
As organizations integrate AI into day-to-day operations, the demand for data engineers has increased dramatically. Ezequiel Ruiz, vice president of talent acquisition for software outsourcing firm BairesDev, says client demand for data-related hiring rose 77% in 2024.
“Companies across every industry are looking for data experts who can help fuel AI,” Ruiz says. “The demand is growing fast.”
Mike Loukides, vice president of emerging tech content at O’Reilly Media, echoes the emphasis on data science to succeed with AI.
“You need people who understand your data, its strengths, its weaknesses, and how to get better data,” Loukides says. “You also need people who can analyze AI’s output to make sure that it’s doing what you want and helping you to meet your goals. AI insiders call this ‘evals,’ and it’s one of the hottest topics of discussion right now.”
Cybersecurity specialist
Escalating cyberattacks have led to a steep rise in hiring for related roles, including systems security managers and information security analysts.
AI-driven attacks are part of the reason security roles are some of the most lucrative jobs you can have in 2025. With security threats growing more sophisticated, companies are expanding their hiring of ethical hackers and penetration testers, says Travis Lindemoen, managing director at Nexus IT Group.
“Reactive defense is obsolete,” Lindemoen says. “Attackers now leverage automated phishing, polymorphic malware, and ransomware-as-a-service platforms. Organizations now require offensive security capabilities — proactively stress-testing systems.”
Lindemoen points out that the global cybersecurity skills shortage represents a significant risk to many organizations, especially in areas such as cloud security and ethical hacking where hands-on experience remains difficult to find.
“Although most companies are doing more about security than they have in the past, security remains a big challenge,” says O’Reilly’s Loukides. “Particularly with AI both as a component in an attack, and as a vulnerability to be attacked — the challenges are multiplying faster than the people who know how to address them.”
Platform engineer
Nate Paynter, principal and human capital services leader at Deloitte, says there’s a growing need for platform engineers, who play a crucial role in building and integrating new features and platforms for use by other engineers. Platform engineering is seen by many early adopters as a future core for IT orgs.
“They essentially own the entire platform for others to build and provide business solutions,” Paynter says. “Infrastructure is having a heyday right now.”
Kevin Cochrane, CMO of Vultr, expects growing demand for platform engineers who can help make software development and deployment more efficient, consistent, and scalable.
“Gartner predicts that by 2026, 80% of software engineering organizations will establish platform engineering teams as internal providers of components and tools to facilitate application delivery,” Cochrane says. “These teams streamline software delivery, making it faster, easier, and more secure.”
Green tech roles
Hiring around sustainability will continue to grow, experts say, as more companies pair environmental goals with business objectives. Recruiters report steady demand for IT professionals who can help organizations improve energy efficiency, manage connected devices, and meet net-zero targets.
The need for these roles is largely driven by the significant costs of managing data, Paynter says. “I’m not surprised to see roles like green tech platform engineer in demand. Although in many cases we’re seeing that rolled into the data engineer role.”
In-demand roles include IoT developers and sustainability-focused cloud architects, says Matt Collingwood, founder and managing director at VIQU IT Recruitment.
“Despite tech layoffs and significant downturn, we have seen growing demand for professionals in the green energy sector,” Collingwood says. “Green tech is where the demand is.”
Product manager
Product managers continue to play an important role, as organizations rely on them to ensure that technology solutions meet customer and business needs — and organizations increasingly turn to product-based IT over traditional IT projects.
“In 2025 we’re seeing technology really is the business,” Deloitte’s Paynter says. “That means we need product managers who drive innovation.”
The demands are becoming more C-suite visible, he says. And today’s product managers need strong communication skills, a deep understanding of the product life cycle, and the ability to develop business cases that support broader company goals.
“I think we’re seeing the skills within the role pivot,” he says “There’s more of a focus on foundational human skills. And to thrive you have to be able to influence your peers.”
Software engineer
Software engineering remains one of the most important and difficult-to-fill roles in IT, even if the market is softening somewhat from previous heydays. Across key areas, including AI, networking, and cloud environments, demand is strong, experts say.
Instead of completely new positions appearing, Deloitte’s Paynter is seeing many software development roles evolve and become more specialized.
“We’re seeing a split in how engineering roles are defined — AI engineers are now viewed as distinct from network engineers, and general cloud engineers are seen as separate from cloud-native specialists.”
“Despite layoffs in the tech industries, we still need programmers,” says Loukides of O’Reilly Media. “What’s new is that we need people who are able to use AI well. And we’re learning that that’s not as simple as we were led to believe a year or two ago. Computers are still garbage in, garbage out, and a poorly worded natural language prompt is just as garbage as a badly written program.”
Cloud and DevOps engineers
Cloud adoption remains a priority for most organizations, and the need for engineers who can support, optimize, and automate these systems continues to grow. Cloud architects and DevOps engineers play a key role in managing systems, simplifying how applications are deployed, and keeping them running smoothly.
Nexus IT’s Lindemoen says that cloud architects can earn up to $194,000, and he’s seeing demand for DevOps engineers rise by 24% year-over-year.
Cloud architects are one of the most frequently listed tech jobs, along with security analyst, and data/AI engineer, says Brittany Lutes, research director at Info-Tech Research Group.
“These are also the hardest roles to hire for, with most organizations anticipating major struggles this year,” Lutes says. “They’re being added to many organizational charts.”
Loukides says he hears discussion about cloud repatriation, but he thinks companies are still moving in the opposite direction.
“If anything, AI is driving companies to the cloud,” he says. “It’s hard to build an on-premises data center that can run AI at scale. Companies will continue to need people who understand how to deploy and operate applications in the cloud. Cloud is an essential part of modern infrastructure.”
Eric Lund, head of global recruitment at Kaseya, also points out that DevOps roles remain highly sought after within his organization and across the industry.
“DevOps has been the most in-demand role in our organization this past year, and I anticipate it will continue to be crucial as we move forward,” Lund says. “While we expect this position to evolve with AI automation, it will remain highly sought after.”
Build skills, embrace change
For those just starting out in their IT careers, experts say the most successful candidates are those who show they can employ new skills as technology and industry evolves.
“You don’t need to feel locked into a specific path just because it’s currently in high demand,” says Angelic M. Gibson, CIO at AvidXchange. “Focus on building a strong foundation that will open doors across the IT landscape, particularly in areas shaping the future.”
Gibson recommends learning widely used programming languages such as Python, Java, or JavaScript and getting hands-on experience with cloud platforms. Certifications such as AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Certified Ethical Hacker, Google Data Engineer, or Azure cloud can help demonstrate the ability to hit the ground running.
In terms of emerging opportunities, O’Reilly’s Loukides points to the need for more efficient ways for teams within an organization to interact with AI.
“Ever since ChatGPT appeared, we’ve assumed that the right interface for AI is chat,” Loukides says. “I don’t think that’s a good assumption. Our current interfaces all assume a single user — but most work involves groups. Designing new user interfaces for AI is an important, exciting area that we’re only starting to explore.”
Ruiz of BairesDev emphasizes that career decisions shouldn’t be based on market trends alone. “Career choices aren’t just about demand — they’re also about passion,” he says. “I’d personally pursue Python, as it allows for more dynamic opportunities in software development, data science, and AI. Ultimately, the best career move is to find the intersection of demand and interest. That’s where long-term success happens.”
Lutes points out that entry-level roles such as service desk or desktop technician are becoming harder to find. She advises those just starting out to go beyond earning certifications and show they can quickly put what they learn into practice.
“The technical skills we often demonstrate today aren’t always what organizations will need in 18 months,” she says. “Rather than focusing on a single skillset, show that you can evolve, learn new tools, and translate those skills into different areas.”
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Source: News