Digital India sparks rush for new-age software engineers

The report indicates that the demand for software engineers skilled in emerging technologies is on the rise, with an estimated 1 million additional job openings expected to be created over the next 18 months. This surge in demand is driven by the rapid advancement of technology and the increasing adoption of digital solutions across various industries.

The report highlights that this growth in opportunities is particularly evident in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and related areas, such as AI specialists and data scientists. The emergence of generative AI (GenAI) is enabling non-technical employees to take on the role of "citizen developers," further expanding the job market in these specialized domains.

Despite the recent slump in the broader tech job market and the declining demand for traditional "vanilla" coding skills, industry experts have noted that the demand for software engineers trained in emerging technologies is on the rise.

According to data from the staffing company Teamlease Digital, an estimated 9-10 lakh additional jobs for skilled software engineers will be created in the next 18 months. This surge in demand is driven by the rapid digitization taking place across both tech and non-tech sectors. The report projects that the demand for software engineers will increase by 22% in 2025, with particularly strong growth expected in sectors such as banking, finance, telecom, professional services, business consulting, global capability centers (GCCs), healthcare, and automotive/electric vehicles (EVs).

"In India, the demand for skilled software engineers remains robust, with 5.2 million professionals already active in the field...Our projections show a significant uptick in demand in the next one and a half years," said Krishna Vij, business head, Teamlease Digital. "This surge is fuelled by advancing technology and widespread digital adoption across industries, paving the way for fresh opportunities in AI and emerging technologies," she added.

"Despite fluctuations in the tech job market, software engineers retain their pivotal role, adept at navigating complex projects in an ever-evolving landscape. Moreover, this surge extends to non-tech sectors like retail, government, healthcare, entertainment and education, amplifying demand across diverse industries," said Vij.

According to the industry experts, some of the top emerging software engineering roles that are in high demand include AI Ethics Officer, Quantum Computing Engineer, Edge Computing Engineer, Blockchain Developer, Data Privacy Engineer, DevSecOps Engineer, Cloud Native Developer, Microsoft Azure Expert, MLOps Engineer, Robotics Control Engineer, and Robotics Engineer. These specialized positions focused on cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, edge computing, blockchain, and robotics are seeing a surge in demand as companies across various sectors look to leverage these transformative capabilities to drive innovation and stay competitive.

"The talent pool of software engineers in India continues to show promise across industries beyond the IT industry and its cohorts," said Sundar Eshwar, business head, IT staffing at Xpheno, a specialist staffing company.

"Sectors like banking, telecom, business consulting, media, healthcare and automotive continue to put out openings for software engineering roles. With a little over 90,000 active openings for different roles and associated skillsets, software engineering roles remain a significant one-third slice of the total active demand in the market," he said.

Eshwar, an industry expert, stated that software engineering is poised to remain highly relevant and significant in the technology plans of both IT and non-IT sectors alike. He projected a substantial year-over-year growth potential of 15-19% for software engineering roles. This indicates that the demand for skilled software engineers will continue to be strong as organizations across various industries look to build and operate their technology infrastructure and applications to drive innovation and stay competitive.

"Traditional coding tasks are dwindling but demand for artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, data science experts is soaring. Roles like AI specialist, cyber security analysts, data engineers are booming," said Adarsh Khandelwal, director at SGN Software.

"Companies now prioritise niche skills like natural language processing, computer vision, and blockchain development, which offer higher salaries and are less prone to automation," said Khandelwal.

According to industry experts, in the tech sector - including IT services, products, and tech-enabled startups - hiring remains selective and need-based. Within this landscape, the highest demand is for the new-age, emerging technology skills.

To further illustrate this trend, a survey of over 1,000 hiring managers and engineers conducted by the executive search firm Flexiple on in-demand skillsets found the following:

- 28% are actively looking to hire data scientists

- 26.5% want to hire AI engineers

- 24.5% are seeking frontend engineers

- 12.3% are looking for backend engineers

- 8.8% are hiring for DevOps roles

This data highlights the growing importance of specialized skills in areas like data science, artificial intelligence, frontend development, and DevOps, as tech organizations strive to stay at the forefront of technological advancements.

"Companies want to stay ahead of the AI trend," said Karthik Sridharan, cofounder and CEO, Flexiple. "They are prioritising skills that incorporate AI to avoid falling behind. This trend isn't restricted to tech-centric companies as even traditional companies are joining the bandwagon," he added.

There are two key trends impacting software engineering talent. "First, GenAI is enabling non-technical employees to become citizen developers who can build products without knowing how to code. Second, AI coding tools are changing the way developers build software," said Nitin Bhatt, Partner and Technology Sector Leader, EY India. "Specifically, they are enhancing developer and business productivity through automation and curation capabilities."

Bhatt, an industry expert, noted that while the demand for new-age skills is on the rise, traditional engineering acumen continues to be a critical component guiding the software development life cycle. This engineering expertise is essential across various engagement archetypes, such as:

- Legacy modernization

- Cloud-native buildout

- Middleware integrations

- Heterogeneous technology stack management across applications and data

In other words, seasoned software engineers with a strong foundation in core engineering principles remain in high demand, as their skills are vital in driving the successful delivery of complex software projects that often involve modernizing legacy systems, building cloud-native solutions, integrating different technologies, and managing diverse technology stacks.