Tech Job Openings Shift: PM Roles Grow, Engineering Demand Plateaus, Design Hits Record Low
TLDR
Lenny's Newsletter's late-2026 tech job market report finds PM openings at a multi-year high while engineering openings have stalled and design roles sit at record lows.
Optimixed Overview
Optimixed's original report on this story.
Lenny's Newsletter reports that open product manager roles at tech companies are at their highest level in nearly four years, up 75% from the March 2023 low, while engineering openings have stalled. Design roles hit a record low, and user research hiring fell 66% from 2022 to the past year, based on TrueUp and Live Data Technologies data. The report is not an SEO or marketing story, so it is filed under career trends.
How we got here: earlier coverage
- Nov 6Bank of England Estimates AI Accounts for Almost 20% of UK Growth in 2026
The Bank of England puts AI at nearly a fifth of UK growth in 2026, while UK firms estimate a 0.5% productivity gain over three years and report almost no job losses so far.
- Oct 8LinkedIn VP Details Strategy for Detecting and Combating AI-Generated Spam
LinkedIn's VP of Engineering outlined the platform's approach to detecting and training AI systems to combat AI-generated spam.
- Sep 17Pew's 37-country survey finds more people expect AI to reduce jobs than add them
Pew Research finds a majority across 37 countries believe AI will cost more jobs than it creates, with the sentiment stronger in wealthy nations.
- Sep 3AI content cleanup job listings jump 87% as demand for removing AI-generated slop grows
Job postings for AI content cleanup have surged 87%, though freelancers report clients are underpaying for the work.