Hardware

Hardware demand is growing fast, especially in DefTech, while candidate supply remains tight.

AI-assisted summary of published DOU and Djinni analytics

Salary from $1,482 Posted estimate · last 3 months
Salary to $3,381 Posted estimate · last 3 months
Jobs 583 Last 3 months
Applications per job 0.76 JobNote category match
01

Demand

Hardware
646 DefTech vacancies · Q2
281 all DOU vacancies · June
235 all DOU vacancies · March

Hiring Define the product and discipline first: electronics, PCB, RF, power, robotics, test, or production.

Candidate Show boards and products you brought up, tested, or shipped. State your exact technical ownership.

Data The 646 figure covers DefTech in Q2; 281 and 235 cover all DOU Hardware vacancies in June and March.

02

Supply

DefTech signal
10.2 applications / vacancy · DefTech Q2
+20% DefTech postings · Djinni QoQ
3.5× DefTech postings · Djinni YoY

Hiring Plan direct sourcing and screen for physical-product outcomes, not only tool names.

Candidate Make production evidence visible: schematics, bring-up, validation, certification, or manufacturing support.

Data The 10.2, +20%, and 3.5× figures cover all DefTech roles. DOU identifies Hardware as scarce but does not publish its exact competition value in the article text.

Most wanted skills

Counts of active jobs now and salaries.

SolidWorks 80 $1687–$2760 Altium Designer 72 $1760–$3764 PCB Design 57 $1389–$3765 Embedded 45 $1795–$4378 C/C++ 43 $1788–$4456 CAD 37 $1429–$2890

Where to hire

Sources

  1. DefTech labour market — Q2 2026 Demand ·
  2. IT job market in the first half of 2026 Demand ·
  3. IT job market — Q1 2026 Demand ·
  4. DefTech labour market — Q2 2026 Supply ·
  5. Djinni Q1 2026 — DefTech growth Supply ·
  6. Djinni Q1 2026 — DefTech growth Supply ·