The Most In-Demand Tech Jobs for 2020 — and How to Recruit Them

The demand for talent with advanced tech skills is skyrocketing, but the job marketing continues to tighten - leading to a major skills gap that recruiters and the C-Suite alike are grappling with at the top of 2020. 80% of Americans agree there is a skills gap, and 35% say it affects them personally. Many companies are putting more resources into recruiting, hiring, and nurturing tech talent to remain competitive. So what does it take to hire for the most in-demand tech positions? The ability to recognize the hard skill sets, soft skills, and attitude to fit in these high-demand positions.

Here are the most in-demand tech jobs expected throughout 2020, and the skills and experience to seek out if you want to stay competitive:

1. AI architect

What to look for:

• Experience in Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing
• AI application programming knowledge
• Change management experience
• High-level of organization, time management, and strategic thinking

At this point, Artificial Intelligence is commonplace in both our personal and professional lives. Throughout 2020, companies will be on the hunt for skilled talent to help meet the demand for AI-enabled products and services. This requires the expertise of an AI Architect. Most companies look for those with a master’s degree in data science, computer science, or specifically, AI. Although, as goes with many tech jobs, equivalent experience won’t take them out of the running!

It’s important to hire an AI Architect who will understand technical concepts — but soft skills are needed, too. Since this position could require continuous buy-in from senior leadership to make big decisions or groundbreaking tech changes in your organization, they need the communication skills necessary to persuade the senior level.

Bonus: See how IQTalent Partners scaled a startup from 3 employees to 18 on a limited budget

2. Business Intelligence Analyst

What to look for:

• Database experience queries experience
• Online analytical processing (OLAP)
• Stored procedure writing
• Excellent written and verbal skills

Organizations often seek out bachelor’s degree-level candidates, often geared toward computer science, engineering, or information systems. They’ll need experience in database technology, reporting, and analytics. For soft skills, they’ll need to fully understand your organization’s unique data and subsequently communicate the data to the highest level of leadership. These positions are growing in necessity as organizations push the importance to gather and make sense of large amounts of data.

3. Cloud Architect

What to look for:

• Up-to-date knowledge of the latest cloud technologies
• Experience scaling cloud applications
• Ability to analyze the performance and cost of cloud systems
• Collaboration and communication skills

Cloud architects head up an organization’s cloud computing strategy. They deploy, support, and manage cloud applications. They should have a strong understanding of various operating systems. They also need experience in programming and security. It would be a good bet to seek out candidates with knowledge of cloud services like Amazon Web Services (AWS).

4. Data specialists

What to look for:

• Experience gathering, processing, and making sense of raw data
• Ability to communicate findings to leadership
• Ability (and curious mindset) to find new sources of data

Companies are gathering more data than ever. They need data scientists, engineers, and analysts to help store and make sense of otherwise meaningless numbers. Look for candidates with degrees in computer science, data science, or even candidates with PhDs with a programming background. This is a position where the experience will need to be uniquely tailored to the position and possibly the data subject matter.

5. Developer

What to look for:

• Full-stack development experience
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or code school certificate (relevant experience can be enough in some cases!)
• Strong analytical, technical, and communication skills

Last but not least, the classic, full-stack developer position. These are the people responsible for designing, testing, troubleshooting, and maintaining software systems. These job descriptions ask for a lot — full stack experience, coding and building applications for desktop and mobile, and experience in multiple languages. And, this position is constantly changing and growing. They need to be a resource of up-to-date best practices for their organization to meet their needs. Don’t limit your candidate pool to 4-year degree talent. Candidates for this position, in particular, could impress with relevant experience (they could be self-taught!), and code schools are popping up all over the country.

Usually, organizations hire for tech roles to have an expert in something their current team doesn’t have experience in. However, you still need to know what to look for. But what organization has the time to research the tech field enough to know exactly what to look for? IQTalent Partners knows how to recruit for tech positions. From big data to analytics, we know what to look for in the tight tech market and how to entice top talent to come on board.

Reach out and see how we’re revolutionizing talent acquisition with a transparent, scalable, and adaptable model and how we can reach the tech talent you need to stay competitive.