The IT recruitment market in 2024 is structured around specific technical specialties. Companies are no longer looking for generalist profiles: they are targeting skills related to artificial intelligence, system security, and infrastructure automation. Understanding which jobs concentrate demand allows for a clearer view of the real tensions in the digital sector.
Cybersecurity Architect and CISO: Strategic Profiles Beyond Technicians
Competing content often refers to “cybersecurity expert” without distinguishing levels. The reality of recruitment in 2024 is more segmented. The hardest positions to fill are not those of network technician or SOC analyst, but those of cybersecurity architect and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).
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These two roles sit at the intersection of technical and governance. The architect designs the entire protection system of an information system. The CISO bears responsibility to senior management and regulators.
The Randstad barometer ranks the cybersecurity architect among the highest-paid IT jobs, which directly reflects the difficulty in recruiting these profiles. The double-digit increase in cyberattacks between 2024 and 2025 has pushed executive committees to consider cybersecurity as a strategic issue, not just an operational one.
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Understanding the most recruited IT jobs requires distinguishing these levels of responsibility, as the tension in the market is not evenly distributed.
AI Engineer and NLP Engineer: Specialization that Sets 2024 Apart from Previous Years
Until 2023, the term “data scientist” was sufficient to cover most job offers related to data and artificial intelligence. This is no longer the case. Recruiters are now looking for AI specialists with vertical skills: NLP engineer (natural language processing), computer vision engineer, AI product manager.
This fragmentation reflects the growing maturity of AI projects within companies. Generic “data projects” are no longer launched. Instead, a language model is deployed, an image recognition system is integrated, and a data pipeline is industrialized. Each step requires distinct skills.
Three AI Roles in High Demand
- NLP Engineer: designing and training language processing models, adapting large models to specific business cases
- Computer Vision Engineer: developing algorithms for image detection and classification for industry, healthcare, or logistics
- AI Ethics Officer: an emerging profile responsible for auditing algorithmic biases and ensuring regulatory compliance of deployed systems
Demand for developers in general remains strong, but it is shifting. According to data reported by Developpez.com, the demand for developers will be stronger to support the rise of AI during the 2024-2034 period. Traditional web development, without an AI or cloud component, generates less tension in the market.
DevOps Engineer and Cloud Skills: Automation as a Foundation
The role of DevOps engineer has been featured in all rankings for several years. Its recurring presence does not mean that the profile is stagnant: expectations are evolving. In 2024, recruiters are looking for profiles capable of combining deployment automation, cloud infrastructure management, and data pipeline integration.
The boundary between DevOps and cloud engineer is blurring. A candidate who only masters continuous integration tools without experience on major cloud platforms sees their opportunities diminish. Companies want hybrid profiles capable of managing the complete cycle, from code to production monitoring.
What Distinguishes a Sought-After DevOps Profile in 2024
The basic technical skill set (containerization, orchestration, scripting) remains a prerequisite. What makes a difference in the market is the ability to work in multi-cloud environments and to integrate security constraints from the design phase, an approach sometimes referred to as DevSecOps.
Profiles that combine this dual skill set (automation and security) are among the highest-paid in the sector, just behind cybersecurity architects.
IT Jobs Threatened by AI: A Redistribution, Not a Disappearance
Some IT jobs are seeing their volume of offers decrease due to automation by AI. Repetitive development tasks, first-level technical support, and certain standardized data analysis functions are gradually being absorbed by generative tools.
This redistribution does not mean that the sector is recruiting less. It means that the sought-after skills are shifting towards the management and supervision of automated systems. A developer who knows how to use an AI code assistant to speed up their production remains in high demand. A developer who limits themselves to tasks that AI already performs well sees their market value decline.
- Design roles (software architecture, cloud architecture, cybersecurity architecture) are gaining importance
- Pure execution roles (standard code entry, repetitive manual testing) are losing ground
- Hybrid roles combining technical skills and business understanding (tech product manager, IT business analyst) remain in demand
IT recruitment in 2024 rewards sharp technical specialization and the ability to evolve with tools. Profiles that combine vertical expertise (AI, cybersecurity, cloud) with a cross-functional project vision are those that recruiters find most challenging to locate. This trend shows no signs of slowing down in the coming years.