Most in demand tech jobs of 2020

                     

1. Cybersecurity engineer

Security is a major concern for companies and consumers alike in our connected world, said Marc Cenedella, CEO and founder of executive job search site Ladders.

"Because of this emphasis on organizational safety, we're seeing a huge upswing in the number of security engineer jobs meant to be the first line of defense to safeguard lucrative products and services," Cenedella said.

Internet of Things (IoT) security will become a particular area of focus, as connected devices become staples in daily life and cybercriminals look to exploit them, said Stephen Zafarino, vice president of national recruiting for recruiting agency Mondo. "Companies are definitely looking to figure out how we can protect these new products that we're putting online and make sure they're not a vulnerability," Zafarino said.

2. AI/machine learning engineer

The explosion in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies across the enterprise has led to increased demand for these professionals. "Everyone's trying to figure out ways to optimize their businesses and their practices, and how to automate and make their day-to-day lives a little bit easier, or a little bit more productive and functional," Zafarino said.

3. Full stack developer

Full stack developers are among the most in-demand by employers right now in terms of open job postings, according to data from job search site Indeed.

"Some companies are moving away from siloed back-end and front-end development teams, which requires hiring developers who can work on all levels of the application stack," said Paul Wallenberg, head of technology recruiting services at staffing and recruiting firm LaSalle Network.

SEE: Job description: Data scientist (Tech Pro Research)

4. Data scientist

Named the no. 1 best job in America by Glassdoor for the past three consecutive years, data scientists are expected to remain in high demand in 2019, as nearly every company now has the ability to collect data, and all need employees who can effectively organize and analyze this information.

"Companies are continuing to increase their own proprietary data, but are also looking at ways to incorporate third-party data to understand problems impacting their business, and having data science competencies internally enables them to do that," Wallenberg said.

5. Python developer

The rise of AI and machine learning technologies has led to increased demand for Python developers in the enterprise, Zafarino said. The fastest-growing programming language, Python is also relatively easy to learn, and has a large developer community.

SEE: Hiring kit: Python developer (Tech Pro Research)

6. Java developer

Java developers will remain in high demand in 2019, according to data from Indeed and Glassdoor. Despite the growth of programming languages like Python and R, Java continues to dominate the enterprise, with the growth of the cloud keeping it on top.

7. JavaScript developer

JavaScript also remains popular in the enterprise, and will continue to in the new year. "Companies that have development teams structured between front-end and back-end teams are hiring technologists whose strengths lie in using various JavaScript libraries and frameworks to deliver more compelling user interfaces," Wallenberg said.

8. Cloud engineer

Job postings that include the terms cloud computing or cloud engineer have gone up 27% since 2015, according to Indeed. "As companies move away from an on-premise infrastructure model to a cloud-first approach when upgrading or designing new environments, the need to hire technologists with cloud experience has increased dramatically," Wallenberg said.

9. Scrum master

Organizations are increasingly turning to Scrum to organize software development, and this method will break out even more in 2019, Cenedella said. "Thousands of companies are hiring so-called scrum masters for the purposes of achieving excellence in self-organization and making changes quickly in their Agile environments," he added.

10. DevOps engineer

As the DevOps workflow grows increasingly popular, more organizations are seeking DevOps engineers, according to Indeed. The number of job postings mentioning DevOps rose from less than 1% in 2012 to more than 24% in 2017, another Indeed report found. These professionals also ranked no. 2 on Glassdoor's 2018 Best Jobs in America list.