As we continue into 2026, businesses are dialed in on hiring roles centered around AI, cybersecurity, data management, and network and system management, according to Robert Half Technology’s 2026 IT salary report. Data from the report shows these 10 tech positions have experienced above-average sequential growth and consistent demand throughout the past 12 months, based off an analysis of thousands of job postings and placements.
Top priorities for business leaders during the year include AI and ML (45%), IT operations and infrastructure (36%), IT governance and compliance (25%), cloud architecture and operations (24%), and data engineering and analytics (22%). The report also shows that only 7% of leaders say they have the necessary capabilities to complete prioritized projects, and 65% said they expect to upskill their current team members to meet skills gaps in these key areas.
Here are 10 jobs expected to be in high demand throughout 2026, the skills and experience you should look for when hiring, and expected salary ranges to stay competitive in the marketplace, as well as average pay based off experience.
The 10 most in-demand tech jobs for 2026
| Job | 25th percentile | 50th percentile | 75th percentile |
| AI/ML engineer | $134,000 | $170,750 | $179,500 |
| Cybersecurity engineer | $118,500 | $144,000 | $190,750 |
| Data analyst | $96,250 | $117,250 | $138,500 |
| Data scientist | $121,750 | $153,750 | $182,500 |
| DevOps engineer | $118,000 | $145,750 | $173,750 |
| ERP business analyst | $101,000 | $123,250 | $142,250 |
| IT project manager | $103,500 | $122,750 | $147,000 |
| Network/cloud engineer | $110,000 | $132,000 | $155,000 |
| Software engineer | $109,250 | $142,000 | $175,500 |
| Systems administrator | $80,250 | $98,000 | $118,000 |
- 25th percentile: new to the type of role, still acquiring relevant skills
- 50th percentile: average experience, has most necessary skills
- 75th percentile: above average experience, has all needed skills
AI/ML engineer
An AI/ML engineer is responsible for overseeing the design and implementation of innovation AI solutions in the enterprise using ML systems. These professionals are expected to oversee the AI systems they built to identify opportunities for improvement, ways to better automate processes, and how to better inform decision-making across the organization. This role is becoming increasingly in-demand as more organizations across every industry embrace AI in their tools, services, products, and work environments.
Experience and skills to look for:
- Knowledge of AI tools and ML algorithms to design and develop AI and ML learning systems and deploy them in the organization.
- Ability to work collaboratively on a team and alongside data scientists to develop effective code.
- A continuous learning mindset to evolve with AI technology.
Cybersecurity engineer
Whether organizations are looking to integrate AI into cybersecurity solutions or help prevent new sophisticated attacks that use AI to breach systems, security remains paramount for organizations as they move forward with AI. Cybersecurity engineers help organizations by designing, implementing, and monitoring effective security measures. These security pros are also tasked with working closely with IT teams across the organization, and staying on top of all the latest security threats and vulnerabilities.
Experience and skills to look for:
- Knowledge of security tools, firewalls, IDS/IPS, and SIEM systems, as well as a general understanding of compliance and industry-relevant standards and regulations.
- Experience with designing and implementing security architecture in an organization, along with maintaining the security of IT infrastructure and identifying future and potential cybersecurity threats.
Data analyst
Data analysts are responsible for taking an organization’s data and analyzing it in a way that helps others make sense of important trends and other information. These pros are tasked with developing dashboards, reports, and other visualizations to help key stakeholders better understand complex technical performance metrics. They need to identify trends, patterns, and other consistencies or inconsistences in the data to help inform important business decisions.
Experience and skills to look for:
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills to communicate complex data-driven metrics to people outside the IT department.
- Experience using data metrics to help inform business decisions, identify potential issues, and to ensure there’s consistent data practices across the organization.
Data scientist
Organizations collect massive amounts of data in the modern workplace, and data scientists are at the helm of developing solutions to help businesses manage, access, and secure large datasets. These IT pros work closely with data, managing multiple data sets across the organization, and merging them together to generate relevant reports. They’re focused on the optimization side of data storage, ensuring the organization collects the right data, stores it effectively, and that everyone has quick access to the data they need.
Experience and skills to look for:
- Experience with writing and developing algorithms to process large-scale data models, and presenting complex analyses of that data to stakeholders.
- Knowledge and skills around developing, planning, executing, and maintaining large-scale data projects that support business growth.
DevOps engineer
DevOps engineers focus on blending IT operations with the development process to improve IT systems, and act as intermediaries to maintain communication flow between coding and engineering teams. It’s a role that focuses on the deployment of automated applications, maintenance of IT and cloud infrastructure, and identifying the potential risks and benefits of new software and systems.
Skills and experience to look for:
- Knowledge of coding languages including C++, Java, Perl, Python, and Ruby, and experience with implementing IT automation tools such as Ansible, Chef, Puppet, and SaltStack.
- Understanding of agile software development methodologies, and strong analytical, problem solving, and collaboration skills.
ERP business analyst
ERP business analysts are expected to help manage the relationships and project lists between colleagues across different technical and business units in the organization. These IT pros help navigate the complex dynamics required to ensure all requirements of a project are understood, documented, and align with business goals. They help drive purchasing decisions around software solutions and align expectations with what’s realistic in terms of timelines and budgets.
Skills and experience to look for:
- Strong communication and organizational skills to work cross-collaboratively with different departments involved in key projects.
- Ability to document different policies, procedures, workflows and user guides to help create clear processes around different resource requirements.
IT project manager
IT project managers are tasked with overseeing the organization, planning, and execution of IT projects with a focus on budgets and schedules. They’re responsible for leading teams, working with stakeholders, defining requirements, and ensuring a project goes smoothly from start to finish. It’s an in-demand role across every industry as organizations undertake massive AI projects, and need an internal point-person to make sure AI projects involving different departments run smoothly.
Skills and experience to look for:
- Experience managing large, complex, multi-scale IT application development projects, and setting deliverables, deadlines, and overall expectations.
- Collaboration and communication skills to work across different departments and with key stakeholders to realize business goals.
Network/cloud engineer
Network/cloud engineers are responsible for the design, implementation, and management of an organization’s cloud-based networks. These IT pros are tasked with overseeing network management, virtualization and virtual LAN, wide area networks (WAN), TCP/IP, HTTP, network security, and the integration of hybrid cloud and multi-cloud deployments. In this role, engineers are focused on installing, overseeing, supporting, optimizing, and analyzing and resolving network and cloud issues as they arise.
Skills and experience to look for:
- Knowledge of cloud platforms such as Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud.
- Networking fundamentals along with skills such as virtualization, project management, security, automation and scripting, and collaboration.
Software engineer
Software engineers design and creating software programs and applications to suit business needs. It’s a role that requires cross-collaboration and communication skills, and the ability to work in a team environment. Software engineers are tasked with producing quality source code that’s well documented and organized, and then work closely with quality assurance to make sure software is properly tested.
Skills and experience to look for:
- Programming languages including C#, C++, and Java, and experience with the .NET Framework.
- Ability to collaborate across teams to test hardware and software integration and create documentation for software specifications.
Systems administrator
Systems administrators are responsible for managing an organization’s complex systems hardware and software, with size and scope dependent on the organization. Regardless, they’re charged with installing, patching, and upgrading operating systems, identifying hardware and software issues, and configuring operating systems software.
Skills and experience to look for:
- Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.
- Technical skills in configuring, optimizing, monitoring, and upgrading operating system software and servers.
- Ensuring organizations have strong backup and recovery measures in place.
- Experience installing operating system software, patches and upgrades, as well as troubleshooting and resolving system hardware, software and networking issues.
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