As of October 27, 2026, About 1 in 3 software engineer jobs posted in the last 90 days ask you to use AI tools or work on AI. Out of 12,326 postings, 1,703 are Builds AI, 1,443 are Works on AI, 1,177 are Uses AI, 8,003 are Little AI. Up from 33% in the 90 days before that: 35% of software engineer jobs posted in the last 90 days ask for AI, 2 points more.
AI in Software engineer jobs
About 1 in 3 software engineer jobs posted in the last 90 days ask you to use AI tools or work on AI.
Updated Oct 27, 2026
12,326 software engineer jobs, by AI level
Jobs posted in the last 90 days, grouped by how much AI is in the work the person hired would do.
| Level | Share of postings | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| 14%1,703 jobs | ||
| 12%1,443 jobs | ||
| 10%1,177 jobs | ||
| 65%8,003 jobs |
Up from 33% in the 90 days before that: 35% of software engineer jobs posted in the last 90 days ask for AI, 2 points more.
The job is building AI systems.
The daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
An ordinary role that requires AI tools.
AI is not part of the work.
AI skills named in software engineer jobs
- AI agents13% (1,574 jobs)
- Claude6% (743 jobs)
- Copilot5% (608 jobs)
- RAG4% (524 jobs)
- Cursor3% (412 jobs)
- Claude Code3% (408 jobs)
Starting pay by AI level
Among software engineer jobs that publish a salary range in US dollars, the median starting salary is $168,000 for Builds AI, $168,000 for Works on AI, $158,000 for Uses AI and $161,000 for Little AI.
- $168,000 (1,243 jobs with a salary)
- $168,000 (892 jobs with a salary)
- $158,000 (405 jobs with a salary)
- $161,000 (3,785 jobs with a salary)
Recent software engineer jobs that ask for AI
IND - Chennai, Neville Towers9h ago
chatgptcopilotcursor+11
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Questions about AI in software engineer jobs
How many software engineer jobs ask for AI?
Which AI skills do software engineer jobs name?
As of October 27, 2026, the AI tools and skills named most often in software engineer job postings are AI agents (13% of postings), Claude (6% of postings), Copilot (5% of postings) and RAG (4% of postings).
Do software engineer jobs that ask for AI pay more?
As of October 27, 2026. Among software engineer jobs that publish a salary range in US dollars, the median starting salary is $168,000 for Builds AI, $168,000 for Works on AI, $158,000 for Uses AI and $161,000 for Little AI. Only postings that publish a salary range count, and the figure is the lower end of the range.
What do the four AI levels mean for a software engineer job?
Builds AI: The job is building AI systems. Works on AI: The daily work is on AI products, without building the model. Uses AI: An ordinary role that requires AI tools. Little AI: AI is not part of the work. Each posting is rated on what the person hired would do day to day, not on what the employer sells.
Method: every job posted on Level in the last 90 days under this title is counted once, open or closed, on its posting date. Each job is rated on the work the person hired would do and placed at one of four levels, see our method. AI skills come from a fixed list of tools and skills named in the posting. Pay is the lower end of published salary ranges in dollars, median per level, shown only with at least 10 jobs. Postings change with coverage and sources, so comparisons with the earlier period describe postings, not the job itself.
Cite this page
Level (jobsbylevel.com), "AI in Software engineer jobs". Share of job postings at each AI level, last 90 days. Data measured on October 27, 2026. License CC BY 4.0. https://jobsbylevel.com/ai-in-your-job/software-engineer