Expert Labor market in IT: January 2026

Deep Transformations and New Priorities

The end of 2025 saw the IT market in a state of mature adaptation to the new technological reality. A period of sharp fluctuations and “gold rush” for any specialty with a prefix IT IT He's gone.

Today's market - It is a market of balance and rational demand, narrow specialization and symbiosis of man with artificial intelligence. Quantitative growth was replaced by qualitative selection, and the key skill was the ability to solve complex business problems in a hybrid environment.

Demand landscape: AI-centric world

The undisputed leader in demand remains specialists associated with artificial intelligence and machine learning. However, the focus has shifted significantly.

What changed?

The market needs not just ML engineers, but specialists in the implementation and optimization of LLM (large language models). Companies have learned to use basic models, and now they need experts who can:

• develop models;
• Customize them for business purposes;
• Effectively integrate into complex processes;
• ensure data security;
• Reduce computing costs.

Rising costs, additional tax burden and falling demand have forced businesses to look at optimization differently. Hence the growing demand for prompt engineers and programmers with practical experience in using AI (wibe coding).

With the widespread adoption of AI, questions have become acute:

• control and transfer of data;
• management of business processes;
• Effective “communication” with neural networks.

These roles are becoming critical in regulated industries. - Finance, medicine, industry.

Increased demand for hybrid specialists

Separately, it is worth noting the increase in value. hybrid profiles.
At peak demand:

• Developers who understand MLOps;
• data scientists with deep knowledge of the subject area (e.g. bioinformatics, fintech, industrial analytics).

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is experiencing a real renaissance, shifting the focus to:

• protection of AI systems;
• Hybrid and cloud infrastructures.

Demand for DevSecOps and Cloud Security (AWS, Azure, GCP) specialists is consistently high - including within the framework of Russian ecosystems (Yandex, VK/Mail.ru).

Technological trends

There is a strong trend towards consolidation and full-stack with a bias in AI/ML. Developers are in demand who can create applications originally designed for integration with AI services.

• Rust and Go Strengthen positions in highly loaded and safe systems.
• Python It gradually fades into the background and is increasingly used in data-centric projects (for example, Telegram-bots and analytics).

Requirements for applicants

Juniors: the entry bar has risen sharply

Sometimes it really gets scary: will the Juns die out as a class?
Today, basic programming skills and template projects in a portfolio are no longer enough.

Candidates are expected to demonstrate:

• Skills of working with AI tools
  The ability to use Copilot, ChatGPT, Midjourney, and analogues to improve performance has become as imperative as knowing Git.
• Deep fundamental knowledge
  With routine automation, the value of understanding algorithms, architecture, networks, and databases has only grown.
• Business thinking and soft skills
  Ability to understand a business task, communicate with non-technical teams, and work in Agile/Product approaches - critical.
• Ecosystem thinking
  Understanding not only your stack, but also related areas: how code affects infrastructure, security, and scalability.

Recruitment processes: efficiency and automation

(I really want to close my eyes with my hands.)

What's happening?

• AI at all stages
  Neural networks are widely used for initial screening resumes, profile analysis, checking test tasks and even imitating the first interviews.
• Focus on relevant experiences
  Instead of abstract algorithmic problems - case interview, live coding and tasks that are as close as possible to the real projects of the company.
• Hybrid as the New Norm
  Most companies offer a hybrid format (2-3 days in the office).
  It's a trade-off between the removal desired by candidates and teamwork more effective for the business.

Full removal is available mainly:

• for highly qualified experts;
• in a limited number of international companies.

In general, there is a trend of returning to the offices.

Recommendations for professionals

Junior.

Don't chase fashionable frameworks. Get into the basics.
Create. complexIt solves a real problem using modern tools and AI assistants. Consider internships and mentorship programs.

Middleam and senoram

Invest time in developing expertise in related areas.
Developers - Learn the basics of MLOps, architects - Go deep into cloud solutions. Become a hybrid.

All right.

Develop. soft skillsCritical thinking, creativity, project management. They remain outside the zone of complete automation.

Instead of inference

IT market of early 2026 - It's not a crisis or a boom. This is the next stage of growing up: the transition to a segmented, highly competitive market in the new realities.- to a new technological transition.

He no longer forgives poor training, as he did during a period of severe staff starvation, but generously rewards:

• Deep expertise,
• adaptability
• strategy (And yes, I really want to stress it twenty times.) - It's something that people think about.

The golden years of easy entry are over. An era has begun. careerSuccess is determined not just by knowledge of technology, but by the ability to create unique value in tandem with artificial intelligence.

We in BGStaff.ru We work daily with the IT market both in Russia and abroad, see what is happening in different industries and companies, monitor new and emerging trends and are always ready to share useful analytics with you.

Expert contact:

Anton Durnetsov
CEO of BGStaff

Telegram: @antondurnetsov
Mail: promo@bgstaff.ru