Recruits Lab Proprietary Index

    The Recruits Lab Hiring Intelligence Index™

    A directional editorial view of hiring conditions across the sectors we recruit in — synthesized from active engagements, candidate conversations, compensation trends, published research, and years of executive recruiting experience.

    This is not real-time labor market data. It is Recruits Lab's proprietary read on where each market is trending, refreshed quarterly.

    Snapshot
    Q3 2026
    Overall Climate
    74Improving
    Last reviewed: 2026-07-15Next review: 2026-10-15
    How the Index is builtHiring ReportsSalary Guides

    Overall Hiring Climate

    The composite reading across every market Recruits Lab tracks. Use it as a directional benchmark, then read the individual sector cards below for detail.

    Overall Hiring Climate

    Composite view across all Recruits Lab practices.

    74
    Index
    Q3 2025ImprovingQ3 2026
    Hiring DemandHigh
    Talent AvailabilityLimited
    Hiring CompetitionHigh
    Compensation PressureHigh
    Time-to-Hire OutlookModerate
    Directional Trend↑ Improving

    Hiring is selective but active. Founders are prioritizing fewer, higher-leverage hires. Compensation for senior operators and technical leaders remains elevated.

    What's driving it
    • Sustained demand for senior technical and commercial leaders
    • Longer diligence cycles from candidates evaluating equity and burn
    • Compression at mid-levels as teams stay lean post-2024 reset
    Supporting research
    Research CenterHiring ReportsSalary GuidesCase Studies

    Sector Signals

    Directional intelligence for each sector Recruits Lab recruits in. Every card links to the underlying reports, salary data, case studies, and specialty pages that inform our editorial read.

    Methodology

    AI & Machine Learning

    Frontier labs, applied AI startups, foundation model teams.

    94
    Index
    Q3 2025ImprovingQ3 2026
    Hiring DemandVery High
    Talent AvailabilityVery Limited
    Hiring CompetitionExtreme
    Compensation PressureVery High
    Time-to-Hire OutlookSlow
    Directional Trend↑ Improving

    The tightest talent market Recruits Lab tracks. Founding engineers and research leads command multiple competing offers. Equity ranges have widened dramatically at seed and Series A.

    What's driving it
    • Foundation model labs pulling senior IC talent from applied startups
    • Founding AI engineer packages compressing Series A and B hiring
    • Candidates optimizing for compute access and research autonomy, not just cash
    Supporting research
    2026 AI Engineer Hiring ReportAI Recruiting FirmFounding Engineer RecruitersTop Mistakes Hiring AI Engineers

    Biotechnology

    Discovery, translational, and platform biotech companies.

    68
    Index
    Q3 2025ImprovingQ3 2026
    Hiring DemandHigh
    Talent AvailabilityLimited
    Hiring CompetitionHigh
    Compensation PressureHigh
    Time-to-Hire OutlookModerate
    Directional Trend↑ Improving

    Hiring is recovering off 2024 lows. Well-capitalized platform companies are rebuilding scientific leadership benches. Cell and gene therapy demand remains disproportionately strong.

    What's driving it
    • Series B+ biotechs restaffing after 2024 reductions
    • Cell and gene therapy platforms competing for CMC and process talent
    • Principal Scientist and Director-level roles taking 90–120 days to close
    Supporting research
    Biotech Recruiting FirmCell & Gene Therapy RecruitersPrincipal Scientist RecruitersState of Life Sciences Hiring — Q2 2026

    Pharmaceuticals

    Clinical development, regulatory, medical affairs.

    62
    Index
    Q3 2025StableQ3 2026
    Hiring DemandModerate
    Talent AvailabilityModerate
    Hiring CompetitionModerate
    Compensation PressureHigh
    Time-to-Hire OutlookModerate
    Directional Trend→ Stable

    Steady, selective hiring. Regulatory and clinical operations roles remain durable. Medical Affairs continues to see quiet compensation inflation for MSLs with therapeutic-area depth.

    What's driving it
    • Ongoing rebuild of clinical operations teams after outsourcing pullback
    • MSL packages climbing in oncology, immunology, and rare disease
    • Regulatory Affairs supply constrained at Senior Manager and Director levels
    Supporting research
    Clinical Development RecruitersRegulatory Affairs RecruitersMedical Science Liaison RecruitersLife Sciences Recruiting Firm

    Medical Devices

    Device manufacturers, diagnostics, and surgical technology.

    66
    Index
    Q3 2025ImprovingQ3 2026
    Hiring DemandHigh
    Talent AvailabilityLimited
    Hiring CompetitionHigh
    Compensation PressureHigh
    Time-to-Hire OutlookModerate
    Directional Trend↑ Improving

    Commercial hiring is the dominant story. Area Sales Managers and Regional Sales Directors with device or diagnostics experience are the most contested profiles in life sciences commercial.

    What's driving it
    • Aggressive territory expansion by mid-cap device companies
    • Cross-poaching between diagnostics, surgical, and cardiovascular franchises
    • OTE inflation for top-quartile ASMs and RSMs
    Supporting research
    Life Sciences SalesLife Sciences Sales RecruitersAcro Regional Sales Manager — Case StudyHistowiz ASM Case Studies

    Healthcare Technology

    Health tech platforms, digital health, provider software.

    70
    Index
    Q3 2025ImprovingQ3 2026
    Hiring DemandHigh
    Talent AvailabilityLimited
    Hiring CompetitionHigh
    Compensation PressureHigh
    Time-to-Hire OutlookModerate
    Directional Trend↑ Improving

    AI-enabled clinical workflow, revenue cycle, and payer-facing platforms are hiring aggressively. Product and engineering leaders with regulated healthcare context are scarce.

    What's driving it
    • AI-native health tech pulling engineering leaders from general SaaS
    • Payer and provider platforms scaling GTM benches
    • Compensation pressure on VP Engineering profiles with HIPAA/regulated experience
    Supporting research
    AI Recruiting FirmStaff Software Engineer RecruitersVP Sales RecruitersHiring Guides

    SaaS

    B2B SaaS, developer tools, vertical software.

    72
    Index
    Q3 2025ImprovingQ3 2026
    Hiring DemandHigh
    Talent AvailabilityModerate
    Hiring CompetitionHigh
    Compensation PressureHigh
    Time-to-Hire OutlookModerate
    Directional Trend↑ Improving

    Founder-led hiring is back at pre-2023 velocity for revenue-generating roles. Enterprise AEs with net-new logo history remain the most competitive commercial profile.

    What's driving it
    • Renewed Series B/C hiring for VP Sales, VP Marketing, and RevOps
    • Enterprise AE OTEs holding well above 2023 medians
    • Product Engineering leaders in short supply relative to open searches
    Supporting research
    SaaS RecruitersVP Sales RecruitersEnterprise AE RecruitersSaaS Recruiting Hub

    Cybersecurity

    IAM, cloud security, product security, and detection & response.

    82
    Index
    Q3 2025ImprovingQ3 2026
    Hiring DemandVery High
    Talent AvailabilityVery Limited
    Hiring CompetitionExtreme
    Compensation PressureVery High
    Time-to-Hire OutlookSlow
    Directional Trend↑ Improving

    Persistent structural undersupply. IAM, CyberArk, and cloud security engineers command premium comp and short interview cycles. Product security leadership is the tightest sub-market we track outside of AI.

    What's driving it
    • IAM and privileged access engineers turning down 3+ competing offers
    • Cloud security architects with multi-cloud depth in acute shortage
    • CISO-adjacent leadership packages continuing to climb
    Supporting research
    Cybersecurity RecruitersCyberArk RecruitersAvantor CyberArk IAM — Case Study

    Directional intelligence — not real-time labor data

    The Hiring Intelligence Index™ is an editorial synthesis. It reflects Recruits Lab's read on hiring conditions based on active engagements, candidate conversations, compensation trends observed in offer negotiations, published Recruits Lab research, and executive recruiting experience across AI, life sciences, healthcare technology, SaaS, cybersecurity, and venture-backed executive search.

    It does not represent live labor market statistics, government employment data, or automated aggregation of external job postings. Scores, ratings, and trend arrows are directional signals intended to help founders, CEOs, CTOs, Chief Scientific Officers, Chief Medical Officers, and boards frame hiring strategy — not to replace primary market research or professional advice.

    Read the full methodology