How to attract tomorrow’s Tech Talent: Global trends, U.S. insights

Explore the five most sought-after Tech roles in 2025, and how to hire smarter, backed by insights from our 2025 Hays Global Tech Talent Survey and data points from Horsefly Analytics.

Learn how our market intelligence platform, the Tech Talent Explorer, helps you align hiring strategies with local realities and build a deeper understanding of today’s evolving tech talent landscape.

Explore Tech Talent Explorer to guide your 2025 hiring strategy.

Top 5 most in demand Tech talent: Key insights

• Cloud Architects remote-first flexibility and strategic alignment are key to attracting them. 
• Cloud Solutions Engineers are in short supply in the U.S., especially in finance and healthcare, where demand is rising fast.
• DevSecOps professionals are growing in the U.S., but the talent pool is less mature than in Europe, with only 60% having 8+ years of experience.
• AI Engineers are in high demand globally, and in the U.S., they’re drawn to roles that emphasize ethical AI and innovation. AI job postings rose 27% in Q2 2024.
• RPA Developers are more experienced in Southern Europe, while U.S. demand is surging, especially in automation-heavy sectors like transportation and warehousing, which saw 18.3% tech job growth in 2023.

Use our Tech Talent Explorer to uncover role-specific insights, salary expectations, and candidate motivations in your market.

Understanding the future of tech hiring

Whether you're leading a global enterprise or scaling a high-growth startup, understanding your local talent landscape is essential.

The Tech Talent Explorer helps you rethink how and where you find tech talent by revealing:

• Where key roles are most available
• What professionals in each region value most
• How experience levels vary by location
• What a competitive offer looks like, whether permanent or contract

It’s not about guessing, it’s about acting on insight. Use the  data in our Tech Talent Explorer to make more targeted hiring decisions that reflect the realities of your market.

What the data tells us about 5 Key tech roles

Cloud Architects
Globally, Cloud Architects are among the most experienced professionals in tech, 81% have 8+ years of experience. That level of maturity is consistent across regions. But in the U.S., attracting this talent takes more than just a strong salary. Candidates are increasingly looking for strategic alignment and remote-first flexibility, they want to build more than just infrastructure; they want to build impact. Interestingly, only 15% of U.S. tech job postings offered fully remote options as of May 2024 (CBRE, 2024), which means flexibility is still a competitive edge for employers who offer it.

Explore how expectations vary by region in the Tech Talent Explorer.

Cloud Solutions Engineers
In markets like Australia and New Zealand, 88% of Cloud Solutions Engineers have over seven years of experience. The DACH region isn’t far behind at 82%. But in the U.S., these engineers are harder to find, especially in finance and healthcare, where demand is rising fast. That’s backed by the fact that the professional and business services sector, which includes finance and consulting—added nearly 50,000 tech jobs in 2023, growing at 7.1%, even faster than the high-tech sector (CBRE, 2024). The challenge here isn’t demand, it's supply.

Use the Tech Talent Explorer to identify high-supply regions and refine your approach.

DevSecOps Professionals
Globally, about two-thirds of DevSecOps professionals have 8+ years of experience. In the U.S., that number drops to 60%. It’s a small gap, but it matters, especially as security roles are expanding fastest in sectors like logistics and professional services (CBRE, 2024). With the U.S. talent pool still maturing, companies may need to invest in internal upskilling or look to more experienced international markets to stay ahead of security risks.

Plan ahead with localized insights from the Tech Talent Explorer.

AI Engineers
Globally, 55% of AI Engineers have under eight years of experience, showing just how young and fast-moving this field is. In the U.S., the momentum is even stronger. AI job postings jumped 27% in Q2 2024, and these roles now make up 14.3% of all U.S. tech job listings, up from just 8.4% in 2019 (CBRE, 2024). The San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and New York Metro alone account for 44% of AI-specialty jobs. U.S. candidates are drawn to roles that emphasize ethical innovation and purpose-driven work, and that’s where employers can really stand out as the Job growth projects to  17.9% by 2033.

Discover what motivates AI talent in your region with the Tech Talent Explorer.

RPA Developers
In Southern Europe, up to 76% of RPA developers are highly experienced. That’s a deep bench of automation talent. In the U.S., demand is rising fast, but the experience pool is still catching up. One clue? The transportation, warehousing & wholesale sector a major automation adopter, saw 18.3% tech job growth in 2023, the highest of any U.S. industry (CBRE, 2024). The opportunity is there, but so is the pressure to find or develop the right talent quickly.

Find the right markets to source RPA talent using the Tech Talent Explorer.

Tech Talent in 2025: What’s next for Your organization

While global tech trends provide a valuable roadmap, success in hiring depends on understanding your local market. Global insights help set the direction, but local data brings clarity. Our Tech Talent Explorer equips you with the insight, rather than answers so you can rethink, refine, and realign your talent strategy based on what’s happening in your market.

Explore our Tech Talent Explorer to start building your future-ready team.