Main image of article Employers' 10 Hardest-to-Fill Tech Roles Include Developers, Managers

Which are the hardest tech jobs for employers to fill? Based on a new analysis, it’s not always highly specialized ones like A.I. researcher; organizations everywhere are scrambling to find and hire software engineers, product managers, and other technologists who keep tech stacks operating. 

This analysis comes courtesy of Emsi Burning Glass, which collects and analyzes millions of job postings from across the country. We queried the platform for a list of technology jobs that took the longest time for employers to fill, and narrowed down our search to a mix of well-established and up-and-coming tech hubs:  

  • New York City
  • Seattle
  • Silicon Valley/San Francisco
  • Los Angeles
  • Austin
  • Chicago
  • Atlanta
  • Raleigh
  • Boston
  • Washington, DC

Here are the results; as you can see, software developer/engineer topped the list, with an average of 44 days needed for employers to fill an open role. It was also time-consuming for organizations to successfully source product managers, computer systems engineers/architects, and cybersecurity engineers:

Why is it so difficult for employers to find suitable tech talent? For starters, the tech unemployment rate hit 1.7 percent in January, according to the latest analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data by CompTIA. That month, there were 340,000 open tech positions, and the rate of open jobs tracked above the 12-month average by roughly 11 percent. With so many openings, it’s no wonder that time-to-fill has crept up to several weeks for many tech roles.

In a bid to hire and retain technologists, companies are offering generous compensation packages, including new and expanded benefits. For example, Amazon recently increased its maximum base pay for corporate employees (including technologists) to $350,000. But for many technologists, it’s about more than money—they want things like flexible work and a better work-life balance, and they know they can negotiate (and wait) for them. 

The demand for software developers and engineers isn’t restricted to tech companies. Organizations everywhere need developers and engineers who can do everything from setting up cloud-based architecture to designing new apps. For those technologists with the skills and experience, that means a plethora of opportunities across industries.