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Artificial intelligence has changed how many technology companies discuss hiring, productivity, and workforce planning. Software engineering has often been seen as one of the job categories most exposed to automation because AI tools can help write, review, and debug code.
New hiring data suggests a different picture. Engineering roles remained more resilient than many other job functions in the technology industry.
SignalFire, a venture firm that tracks employment trends across millions of workers and more than 80 million companies, analyzed hiring patterns across the technology sector.
Its data found that engineering was the most resilient job function in 2025. The report focused on hiring trends rather than layoffs because hiring data can provide a clearer view of current workforce demand.
Layoff data can be harder to measure in real time because workers may not immediately update their employment status after leaving a company.
Across large technology companies, total hiring fell 25 percent compared with 2019 levels. Engineering hiring declined by 11 percent over the same period.
That means engineering hiring dropped less sharply than overall hiring at major tech companies.
Engineers also made up a larger share of new hires. In 2025, engineers represented 55 percent of all new hires across companies SignalFire classifies as Tech Majors. In 2019, engineers accounted for 46 percent of new hires at those companies.
The Tech Majors group includes Alphabet, Meta, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, Tesla, Uber, Airbnb, Block, and Stripe.
The trend was also visible at early-stage startups. SignalFire found that startups hired 7 percent more engineers in 2025 than they did in 2019.
This suggests that smaller companies continued to prioritize technical talent even as AI coding tools became more common in software development.
The data contrasts with the idea that AI coding tools are already replacing large numbers of software engineers. Instead, the hiring numbers show that companies are still adding engineers, especially for roles tied to product development, infrastructure, and AI-supported workflows.
Technology companies have continued to conduct layoffs, and some have cited AI as a factor in workforce changes. At the same time, SignalFire's data shows that demand for engineering talent has not fallen as sharply as broader technology hiring.
AI tools can increase the speed of coding and related tasks, but companies still need engineers to design systems, make technical decisions, test products, manage infrastructure, and turn business goals into working software.
Executives have also described AI as a tool that changes engineering work rather than eliminates it. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said engineers at Nvidia are using agentic AI and are busier than before.
The available hiring data shows that software engineering remains one of the strongest job categories in technology.
AI is changing how engineers work, but it has not removed the need for engineering talent across major technology companies and startups. For now, the data suggests that engineering roles are adapting to AI rather than being replaced by it.
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