By Ringside Talent
September 27, 2025
The tech industry has been through several rollercoaster moments in the past five years: the pandemic surge, the massive downturn that followed, and now the AI boom.
A few weeks ago, Indeed shared data showing the overall trends in tech job postings since early 2020. While useful, that data mixed in multiple overlapping trends, making it hard to isolate the specific impact of generative AI on tech jobs.
So, how have these trends changed in the period since ChatGPT launched in November 2022. That would give us a clean two-year snapshot, running through November 2024, of how AI has reshaped employment prospects across the sector.
The results are eye-opening. Some of the most hyped roles of the past decade are falling, while a surprising mix of enterprise and system architecture jobs are exploding in demand.
Tech Roles on the Decline
The most dramatic declines are in software development roles that AI coding tools are quickly commoditizing:
- Mobile Developer (−72%) – App builders, once highly sought after, are seeing demand decrease as AI-assisted tools make it easier for non-specialists to ship apps.
- Java Developers (−70%) – Java’s close ties to mobile app development help explain this sharp drop.
- Front-End Developers (−69%) – With AI generating production-ready code for web interfaces, fewer humans are needed for routine UI work.
- Cloud Architects & Engineering Managers (−69%) – These higher-level roles are seeing steep declines as companies lean more on prebuilt cloud solutions and automated infrastructure.
- Site Reliability & DevOps Engineers (−68%) – Once core to scaling operations, AI-driven monitoring and deployment pipelines are reducing the need for large teams.
Taken together, these drops suggest that roles focused on building or orchestrating code at scale are being squeezed hardest by AI’s efficiencies.
Tech Roles on the Rise
While coding jobs are slipping, demand is surging in areas where AI creates more complexity or where the systems running companies simply can’t fail:
- Workday Integration Leads (+203%) – HR software isn’t glamorous, but it’s mission-critical. With hybrid work and compliance demands, specialists here are indispensable.
- SAP Leads (+105%) & SAP Consultants (+61%) – Enterprise resource planning is notoriously complex. Companies are doubling down on experts who can keep their operations running.
- Oracle HCM Managers (+101%) & Oracle Consultants (+5%) – Managing workforce and payroll data at scale remains a high-stakes job.
- AI Architects (+48%) – No surprise here. Firms need specialists who can design and deploy AI solutions responsibly.
- Data Center Technicians (+23%) – With AI workloads fueling a data center building spree, technicians are in demand to keep the physical infrastructure humming.
- Dynamics 365 Architects (+30%) – Business process automation is another area where specialists are thriving.
These jobs may not be on trending lists, but they are essential. They power the core systems that companies rely on to pay employees, manage resources, and handle customer data, areas where mistakes are costly and automation isn’t simple.
The Big Picture: Resilience Rises
The AI era is flipping the script on what it means to have a “hot” tech job. The traditional glamor roles like mobile, front-end, and software engineering are declining. Meanwhile, less flashy but highly resilient roles in enterprise systems, HR platforms, and databases are thriving.
This is about how companies are investing: they’re chasing efficiencies where AI helps them cut costs but doubling down on the systems that keep their businesses running.
For tech workers, here’s what that means:
- If you’re in a coding-heavy role, lean into AI as a tool and build skills that go beyond raw development.
- If you’re looking for stability, consider enterprise software, HR tech, or system architecture roles where complexity and criticality shield jobs from rapid automation.
The next few years could deepen this divide. For employers, the AI era is creating a two-speed job market. On one hand, some entry-level tech roles are becoming easier to fill because of oversupply. On the other hand, companies are scrambling to find people with expertise in enterprise systems, HR tech platforms, and AI architecture. These roles are highly specialized, difficult to hire for, and often require serious relationships or connections.