Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning roles now account for the largest share of job openings at major United States companies, according to a February 2026 report on corporate hiring trends.
The study, conducted by digital business card provider Wave Connect, reviewed 400 recent job postings across eight large employers.
These include NVIDIA, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Mastercard. Researchers analysed 50 openings from each company, grouped the roles into standard categories and compared salaries, availability and search interest.
Research, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) roles make up 18.25% of all openings reviewed. That equals 73 roles, or nearly one in five vacancies.
Across the U.S. job market, there are 5,736 such roles available. These jobs offer the highest average pay at $275,000 a year. Employers commonly ask for skills in Python, TensorFlow or PyTorch, data analysis and deep learning. The report also shows 75,200 monthly searches for these roles.
Software engineering follows, accounting for 17.5% of openings, with 70 roles listed by the companies studied. The average salary stands at $260,000. However, competition is far higher. More than 700,000 people search for software engineering jobs each month.
Hardware and engineering roles, including silicon and chip design, represent 14.25% of vacancies. The companies reviewed posted 57 such roles, with average pay of $245,000.
Nationwide, nearly 40,000 similar jobs are available. However, only about 33,000 people search for them monthly. That gap suggests demand outpaces interest.
Product and programme management roles account for 11.25% of openings. The eight companies listed 45 positions in this category. Average salaries reach $230,000. Beyond these firms, almost 27,000 similar jobs are open across the country. Search interest is high, with close to 350,000 monthly queries.
Infrastructure, IT, cloud, network, security and data centre roles make up 8.5% of corporate hiring. The companies posted 34 openings, with average pay of $235,000. The market shows around 4,000 comparable roles. Still, roughly 250,000 people search for these jobs each month, making entry difficult.
Other categories show lower demand. Customer support and service roles account for 7.5% of openings, with average salaries of $95,000.
Operations, manufacturing and quality roles follow at 7.25%, paying about $135,000. Sales and business development positions make up 6.25%, with average pay of $210,000.
Data and analytics roles represent 3.25% of openings, offering around $220,000. Legal, corporate, HR, policy and compliance roles rank lowest at 3%, with average salaries of $200,000.
George El-Hage, founder and CEO of Wave Connect, said more than one million Americans are searching for jobs in legal, HR, and compliance fields each month. But these roles make up just 3% of corporate openings, and the broader market doesn’t show much demand either.
“What this tells us is that jobs that were hot a few years ago aren’t necessarily hiring now. However, many of us still haven’t realised this. So it might be worth looking at where companies are actually posting openings and adjusting your job search accordingly.”
