LinkedIn report: AI and people skills top engineering demands for 2025

LinkedIn’s latest Skills on the Rise report reveals the critical engineering competencies that will dominate the job market in 2025, highlighting a blend of technical expertise and soft skills. This evolution reflects how AI integration, cloud technologies, and interpersonal abilities are reshaping engineering careers, creating new opportunities for professionals who can adapt to these changing demands.

The big picture: LinkedIn’s 2025 Engineering Skills report identifies Large Language Model development as the top rising skill, signaling AI’s central role in tomorrow’s engineering landscape.

• The report emphasizes that successful engineers will need to combine AI and cloud technical expertise with strong communication and people management capabilities.
• Engineering professionals must now master a diverse skill set spanning from technical AI strategy to interpersonal competencies to remain competitive.

Key skills in demand: Nine critical skills topped LinkedIn’s engineering forecast, with AI and human-centered abilities leading the pack.

• LLM development and AI strategy ranked among the most valuable technical skills, alongside cloud applications and Azure SQL expertise.
• People management emerged as the second most important skill overall, underscoring that technical knowledge alone is insufficient in modern engineering roles.
• Data science tools like Scikit-Learn and Matplotlib made the list, highlighting the continued importance of data analysis capabilities.

Behind the numbers: The skill distribution reveals a fundamental shift in engineering job requirements toward a balanced technical-human hybrid profile.

• Communication and documentation abilities ranked sixth and eighth respectively, reflecting employers’ need for engineers who can clearly explain complex technical concepts.
• Agile problem-solving’s third-place ranking shows organizations value adaptable thinkers who can navigate constantly changing technological landscapes.

Practical recommendations: LinkedIn’s report suggests engineers focus on three key career development areas to maximize employability.

• Building AI capabilities at multiple levels—from basic prompt engineering to strategic implementation—provides versatility in the evolving job market.
• Developing strong people skills has become non-negotiable as engineering increasingly involves cross-functional collaboration.
• Learning to document work effectively serves both as a technical skill and communication enhancer.

Where we go from here: Engineers who proactively develop this balanced skill profile will be positioned for the most competitive roles in 2025 and beyond.

• Python programming appears to be a foundational skill that complements many of the top-ranking competencies.
• Engineers should view skill development as an ongoing process rather than a one-time achievement to remain competitive.