Most In-Demand Software Engineering Skills · freehire
The most in-demand skills for Software Engineering roles right now are ai, cloud, api — ranked across 373002 open postings.
Updated August 20, 2026
| # | Skill | Open postings | 30-day growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ai | 23,300 | +23,300 |
| 2 | cloud | 22,657 | +22,657 |
| 3 | api | 19,801 | +19,801 |
| 4 | python | 18,077 | +18,077 |
| 5 | java | 15,487 | +15,487 |
| 6 | ci-cd | 15,478 | +15,478 |
| 7 | aws | 14,264 | +14,264 |
| 8 | agile | 13,226 | +13,226 |
| 9 | automation | 13,028 | +13,028 |
| 10 | kubernetes | 10,821 | +10,821 |
| 11 | sql | 10,305 | +10,305 |
| 12 | cpp | 10,133 | +10,133 |
| 13 | distributed-systems | 9,366 | +9,366 |
| 14 | docker | 9,013 | +9,013 |
| 15 | typescript | 8,844 | +8,844 |
| 16 | azure | 8,468 | +8,468 |
| 17 | react | 8,305 | +8,305 |
| 18 | observability | 8,161 | +8,161 |
| 19 | machine-learning | 7,902 | +7,902 |
| 20 | rest | 7,777 | +7,777 |
| 21 | git | 7,731 | +7,731 |
| 22 | javascript | 7,677 | +7,677 |
| 23 | microservices | 7,544 | +7,544 |
| 24 | devops | 7,422 | +7,422 |
| 25 | linux | 7,193 | +7,193 |
| 26 | gcp | 6,594 | +6,594 |
| 27 | csharp | 6,487 | +6,487 |
| 28 | agentic-ai | 6,314 | +6,314 |
| 29 | postgresql | 5,841 | +5,841 |
| 30 | analytics | 5,708 | +5,708 |
| 31 | test-automation | 5,487 | +5,487 |
| 32 | llm | 5,398 | +5,398 |
| 33 | cloud-native | 5,371 | +5,371 |
| 34 | github | 5,348 | +5,348 |
| 35 | networking | 5,050 | +5,050 |
| 36 | kafka | 5,020 | +5,020 |
| 37 | spring | 4,884 | +4,884 |
| 38 | dotnet | 4,696 | +4,696 |
| 39 | design-patterns | 4,510 | +4,510 |
| 40 | scrum | 4,314 | +4,314 |