Remote Data & ML Engineer postings cool sharply after a September peak
New postings are down 53% over the last 30 days, and the weekly pace has eased 65% from its early September high.
is what the typical role asks for. 25% ask for 10 years or more.
33% of open roles state years50 new roles in the last 30 days, against 107 the 30 days before, at the same companies.
Companies read for 60 days or moreat 102 companies hiring in remote roles.
Issue of 2 November 2026This week's read
If you have been watching this market, you will have felt it slow down. The week of 7 September saw 43 new remote Data & ML Engineer roles posted, the high point of the last two months. By the week of 26 October that had fallen to 15, a drop of 65% from that peak. Zoom out to the last 30 days and the same story holds: 50 new roles appeared, down from 107 in the 30 days before that, a 53% fall.
That slowdown has not emptied the market. There are still 195 open remote roles right now, spread across 102 different companies, and all of them are remote. Roles sit open for a median of 37 days, so there is no sign employers are filling them overnight. The top 8 employers together hold 35% of all open roles, led by Prolific Academic Ltd with 19 openings and Madiffpl with 16, followed by Jobs at FyerX with 8.
Experience requirements are worth checking before you apply. The median minimum asked for is 6 years, and 1 in 4 open roles ask for 10 or more years. That said, only a third of roles actually state a years requirement at all, so plenty of postings leave it open.
On the technical side, Python shows up in 53% of postings and SQL in 45%, making them the two most common asks by far. AI and machine learning skills appear in 37% of roles, and cloud platforms matter too: AWS is named in 26%, Google Cloud in 21%, and Azure in 19%. Certifications barely register, Databricks certification appears in just 2% of postings and the AWS and Google Cloud data engineer certifications in 1% each.
By seniority, this is mostly a mid-level market: 53% of titles are mid-level, with senior roles at 20% and principal at 17%. Junior and lead titles are rare, at 4% and 6%. If you are earlier in your career, that mid-level majority is where most of the open doors are.
What this means for you
Three things you can act on this week
- Apply while roles are still open
New postings have slowed 53% in 30 days and the weekly pace is down 65% from its September peak, so fewer fresh roles are arriving. With a 37 day median time open, existing listings are not vanishing fast.
- Lead with Python and SQL
Python appears in 53% of postings and SQL in 45%, far ahead of any other skill. These are the two things worth making sure your application clearly shows.
- Check years required before applying
A quarter of open roles ask for 10 or more years of experience, and the median minimum is 6 years. Only a third of postings state a years requirement, so read the listing closely rather than assuming.
Momentum
New Data / ML roles each week
Last 30 days: 50 new roles, against 107 the 30 days before (-53%). Each week counts the same companies, and a role counts as new only in the week it was posted, so a careers site we start reading never shows up as growth.
See the numbers
| Week starting | New roles |
|---|---|
| 7 Sep | 43 |
| 14 Sep | 26 |
| 21 Sep | 16 |
| 28 Sep | 14 |
| 5 Oct | 18 |
| 12 Oct | 11 |
| 19 Oct | 8 |
| 26 Oct | 15 |
Who is hiring
The companies with the most open Data / ML roles
102 companies are hiring. The top eight hold 35% of the open roles.
| Company | Open roles | Change in new roles |
|---|---|---|
| Prolific Academic Ltd | 19 | |
| Madiffpl | 16 | |
| Jobs at FyerX | 8 | |
| Care Source | 6 | |
| Emplois sur GROUPE TEHORA | 6 | |
| 2ГИС | 5 | |
| Agency | 4 | |
| Kissolutions | 4 |
Change compares new roles in the last 30 days with the 30 days before, shown where a company posted 25 or more in the earlier 30 days. Staffing agencies are left out. A company name links to its Ashney company page where there is one.
What they ask for
The technology Data / ML roles ask for most
Ask Rate is the share of roles that name a skill, from 139 postings read in full. Ways of working (methods such as Agile, tools such as Jira) are listed apart; office tools and soft skills are left out.
Ways of working
Industries named most: Healthcare 8%, Financial services 4%, Fraud prevention 3%. Certifications named: Databricks certification 2%, AWS Certified Data Engineer 1%, Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer 1%. 100% of open roles say they are remote.
Cite this report