In 2025, engineers are facing a deepening career paradox: More talent than ever, fewer open roles.
Take OpenAI for example: They’ve had thousands of applications for 23 open roles, many with elite credentials. They’re not the outlier. Across the industry, the supply of highly-skilled engineers is far outpacing hiring needs, creating a high-selectivity, low-demand environment that’s reshaping what it takes to advance in technical careers.
(We covered this and other tech talent trends in our recent 2025 State of Tech Talent Report.)
Meanwhile, layoffs across Big Tech and government-affiliated agencies continue to flood our LinkedIn feeds even as the number of open roles shrinks. Even when new roles are posted, many applicants report being ghosted, and employers are flooded with applications they need to sift through with an increasingly lean recruiting team.
This isn’t fear-mongering, it’s a wake-up call. In today’s market, standing still means falling behind. This post isn’t just about applying to more jobs, it’s about strategically repositioning yourself for what’s next. Because the game is changing, and so should your approach.
The pressure is everywhere: layoffs, saturation, and hiring freezes
Over the past two years, nearly every corner of the engineering world has felt the squeeze. From FAANG incumbents to early-stage startups, layoffs, automation, and shrinking budgets have reshaped teams and roadmaps. Even government and public-sector tech programs, which traditionally offered stability, experienced hiring freezes, contracting backlogs, and funding slowdowns.
But it’s not just fewer jobs. It’s more engineers chasing fewer jobs.
According to live market signals from SignalFire’s proprietary AI platform, Beacon, the average number of inbound applicants per active engineering job in the U.S. now ranges between 90 and 100. That’s not an exaggeration, it’s a reflection of verified LinkedIn applicant volume across actual, open roles. Whether you're early-career, mid-senior, or even applying for internships, the density of competition is astonishingly consistent.
Now let’s zoom out to the top AI companies to see how this is playing out:
Within the top AI labs, the average number of applicants per role is three times higher than the U.S. average, with over 250 applicants per software engineering role.
The message is clear: engineering roles haven't disappeared, but they’ve compressed, particularly at the most visible, coveted AI companies. The market isn’t just tight; it’s more loaded than a single CPU running Docker, Slack, and Chrome all at once.
This is the climate engineers are navigating today. If the old advice was to stand out, the new advice is to stop standing still.
Transition strategy #1: From big tech to startups
For years, Big Tech was the safest bet for software engineers. But as margins tighten and demand for “generalists” cools, those golden handcuffs aren’t looking so secure. I’ve been in that world and never once worried about making my mortgage, but that’s changing.
If you're in Big Tech and thinking about your next move, here's the truth:
It’s not about tweaking your résumé. It’s about shipping something that matters and embodying the tenacity, grit, and ingenuity required in a software world that’s moving at the speed of light.
The engineers who stand out now? They're out there building.
1. Build, don’t just apply
Job boards are flooded, and startups aren’t hiring based on the most polished résumé. They're hiring the clearest signal. So stop obsessing over your cover letter and start shipping. Build an internal tool and share it. Open-source something useful. Launch a microproduct. Drop a teardown. Create the kind of work that gets passed around in group chats, not filtered out by ATS software.
2. Use the tools startups actually use
Startups move fast and expect engineers to be fluent in whatever’s driving their current stack forward. That means open-source models, LangChain, serverless infra, and AI-native workflows.
Want to stand out? Don’t just show that you’re familiar, show that you’re already playing on the edge and thinking critically about where the field is headed. The most compelling candidates aren’t just building, they’re forming sharp opinions about what’s working, what isn’t, and why. That signal matters more than ever in a market flooded with resumes.
Even casual “vibe coding” on nights and weekends sends a stronger signal than another line on your résumé.
If you’re looking to brush up on LLMs and experiment with today’s most popular AI tools, here are some good places to start:
- YouTube channels to help you dive deeper into the developer AI stack:
- Assembly AI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtolixa9XTg&ab_channel=AssemblyAI
- LangChain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd7TZ4w1mSw
- Tutorials to help you get started with AI-native tools:
Another great idea from our head of talent, Heather Doshay, is to connect with tech recruiters from these companies on LinkedIn. A lot of today's AI recruiting tools integrate with LinkedIn and allow recruiters to start sourcing from their connections and networks first. So, make a new friend and make your profile more visible.
Transition strategy #2: Breaking into tech when the doors are half-closed
Our latest State of Tech Talent Report reveals a stark reality: New grad hiring has dropped 50% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Even top grads from elite engineering schools are struggling to land offers.
At the same time, waves of experienced government employees, with plenty of real-world experience, are facing mass layoffs and pivoting to tech industry roles. They're bringing years of experience and leadership into an already crowded job market, so how can you possibly stand out in this battle for the best jobs? It’s not about having the perfect background. It’s about reframing the experience you already have and upskilling in the tools that matter right now.
Learn the tech stacks startups are hiring for, build in public, connect with recruiters and companies you admire, and show how your past roles map to real product impact. The goal isn’t to blend in with career techies, it’s to show why your path makes you different and valuable.
Translate your experience into startup language
Whether you’ve deployed at scale inside an agency or managed critical civic infrastructure, your work matters, but you need to reframe it. Instead of “legacy system maintenance,” say “maintain high-uptime environments under budget constraints.” Focus on outcomes: reliability, access, optimization, speed. In tech, it’s not where you worked, it’s what shipped and why it mattered.
Don't make your resume a laundry list of everything you've ever done; it dilutes the relevant experience recruiters care about. Share what makes you relevant and qualified for the role.
Master the tech stack startups are building with today
College CS programs and government tech stacks rarely reflect what hiring managers actually want today. If you’re making the leap into tech, you need to close that gap, fast. Start by learning the tools startups actually use: AWS, GitHub Actions, Docker, Next.js, TypeScript. Then go further: build with open-source LLMs, spin up CI/CD pipelines, and deploy APIs on serverless infra. It’s not just about proving you’re technical, it’s about showing you can ship in the environment modern teams run on.
Ready to level up? These resources will get you fluent in the frameworks startups actually use:
- Google Cloud Skills Boost: Hands-on labs for GCP fundamentals, Kubernetes, and AI APIs
- Docker Mastery on Udemy: A widely recommended crash course on Docker, containers, and deployment
- NextJS creator JamesQuick: I’m a big fan of James's open learning style. I found his NextJS content very helpful when I ran into vibe-coding issues.
- Typescript Tutorial for Beginners: Programming with Mosh has some good stuff. I think this is a very complete intro to TypeScript.
Take control of your next chapter before the market decides it for you.
This market isn’t broken, it’s evolving. The rules have changed, and so has the path to getting hired. Good jobs are still out there, but they’re going to the engineers who build first, adapt fast, and move early.
Whether you’re trying to shake off Big Tech inertia or break free from a bureaucratic stack, the smartest time to make a move is before you’re forced to.
Now’s the moment to reinvest in your skillset, learn the tools that matter, and build in public.
Put yourself in the flow of momentum, not where it used to be, but where it's heading next.
Ready to make a move? Join SignalFire’s talent network
We’re actively connecting top engineers with high-signal roles across AI, dev tools, and next-gen infrastructure.
Whether you're leaving Big Tech, looking to break into startups, or looking for your next role in tech, join our Talent Network and let the right companies find you.
Join our Talent Network here for a chance to work with cutting-edge companies like these:
*Portfolio company founders listed above have not received any compensation for this feedback and may or may not have invested in a SignalFire fund. These founders may or may not serve as Affiliate Advisors, Retained Advisors, or consultants to provide their expertise on a formal or ad hoc basis. They are not employed by SignalFire and do not provide investment advisory services to clients on behalf of SignalFire. Please refer to our disclosures page for additional disclosures.
Related posts
AI is reshaping B2B GTM with signals you’re still ignoring
From code to capital: Engineering at the heart of venture
The SignalFire State of Talent Report - 2025
