The 2026 report on early-career software engineering roles

AI literacy, product sense and system design fluency are showing up in 78% of fresher JDs this year.

A joint report from Naukri and LinkedIn examines 40,000 fresher software JDs from India-based employers in H1 2026. Three shifts stand out: AI literacy is now table stakes, product thinking is being tested even for backend roles, and system design fundamentals appear earlier in interview loops.