Despite thousands of column inches devoted to tech job losses over the past 18 months, things aren’t all doom and gloom. In fact, according to data from Companies House, the number of newly incorporated tech companies across the UK rose from 38,240 in 2021 to 46,474 in 2022, representing a healthy 22 per cent increase.
The industry is also experiencing a global talent shortage. It is at a 16-year-high, and research from Korn Ferry indicates that there could be an 85-million-person shortage by 2030. While this is an obvious pinch-point for companies and organisations, it also represents a hiring environment that is working in favour of talented tech workers who have in-demand skills.
In demand jobs
A number of key areas have emerged as most in-demand. Sought-after specialities include web development, DevOps and database software, according to data from Statista. Those skills are closely followed by AI and machine learning (ML), mobile development, cloud computing and user experience (UI/UX).
AI needs specific talent for roles such as prompt engineering, and those with skills in augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) are also required, feeding into the requirements of Internet of Things companies, the metaverse, or Industry 4.0.
Software developers and engineers are also always in demand. Despite layoffs and market volatility, engineers remain optimistic, according to Hired’s most recent State of Software Engineers report.
It found that 68 per cent of surveyed software engineers are not concerned they will lose their jobs in the next six months, while 40 per cent said demand for engineering talent increased in 2022 and expect that to continue throughout 2023.
Career progression
If you are thinking about a job move this year then the Growth Business job board is an ideal place to start your search. Thousands of UK tech jobs are available in fast-growing companies, like the three below.
Machine Learning Engineer, Octopus Energy, London
Octopus Energy Group expanded into several new regions last year which included retail acquisitions in Spain, Italy and France and an entrance into the Polish market. The Octopus footprint is now in 13 countries across four continents and is growing.
To support the rapid progress in language modelling over the last year, it is working hard to make sure that it can leverage this new technology to bring better service to customers. The machine learning engineer will join a global ML/AI team, and focus on bringing this next generation of AI-powered features to the company.
You’ll work across the whole product lifecycle: identifying uses of new technologies via exploration, working closely with operations teams to validate that your ideas will bring value, implementing them in collaboration with front and backend engineers, and creating systems to monitor their ongoing performance. Interested? Get all the details here.
Senior Software Engineer – Monetisation & Ad-Tech, Roku, Cambridge
The number one TV streaming platform in the US, Roku pioneered streaming to the TV and has set its sights on powering every television in the world. The company’s annual revenue for 2022 was $3.1bn (£2.4bn) – a 13 per cent increase from the previous year.
It is hiring for a number of roles in the UK, which include a senior software engineer in Cambridge. You will be part of the engineering team that builds core monetisation, commerce and ad tech features of the Roku OS and will have experience building high-performing applications and SDK components.
This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys a high level of visibility, thrives on having a critical business impact, and is excited to work on a component that touches almost everything streamed on the Roku platform.
To be considered, you’ll need strong senior-level programming skills with OOP languages like C++ and Java, plus experience with scripting languages like Lua, Python, JavaScript and derivatives. Get all the information here.
Senior ML Ops Engineer, Zilch UK, London
Zilch is growing rapidly and is Europeʼs fastest ever fintech unicorn, valued at $2bn (£1.6bn). The London-based virtual card company is now expanding into the US market where it launched with more than 150,000 pre-registered customers. To support its expansion it is hiring for roles including a senior ML ops engineer.
You’ll design the data pipelines and engineering infrastructure to support enterprise machine learning systems at scale, and work with data scientists to turn offline models into a real machine learning production system.
To apply, you’ll need five years’ experience building end-to-end systems as a platform engineer, MLOPs engineer, or data engineer (or equivalent), and the same level of experience in software engineering in complex, Python systems, plus three years’ experience working with AWS tech stack and database systems. Find out more here.
For thousands more UK tech jobs in growing companies, visit the Growth Business job board today.
Kirstie McDermott works for our job board partner, Jobbio. Based in Dublin, she has been a writer and editor across print and digital platforms for over 15 years.
More on UK tech jobs
4 fast-growing fintechs hiring now – The fintech sector is ripe with opportunity and there are currently more than 2,500 fintech companies across the UK to choose from, says Jobbio’s Aoibhinn McBride
UK tech investment sees fall of 57 per cent – Atomico research reveals that UK tech companies raised $7.4bn (£5.9bn) during the first half of 2023, in the sharpest investment decline across Europe
