Read the original at Lenny’s Newsletter ↗lennysnewsletter.com · subscriber post
By Lenny Rachitsky · lennysnewsletter.com · @lennysan on X · YouTube · LinkedIn
Lenny Rachitsky's biannual State of the Product Job Market update, based on TrueUp data, argues that early 2026 tech hiring is more optimistic than headlines suggest. It covers rising PM and engineering openings, the explosion of AI roles, a plateau in design jobs, the Bay Area's growing share, and declining remote work. The post is partly paywalled, so this summary reflects only its opening sections.
Subscriber post — summary only01Key takeaways
- Open PM roles in tech are at their highest level since 2022, roughly 75% above the early-2023 low.
- Engineering openings are accelerating, and a rebound in tech recruiter demand suggests sustained hiring.
- AI roles, including AI-specific roles at non-AI companies, are growing very rapidly across the market.
- Design job openings have stayed flat since early 2023, and PM demand now outpaces design demand about 1.27 to 1.
- More openings do not automatically mean faster job placement, so candidates still face a hard search.
“PM openings are at the highest levels we've seen in over three years”Lenny Rachitsky · Lenny’s Newsletter
“AI roles in general are absolutely exploding”Lenny Rachitsky · Lenny’s Newsletter
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.