The top ten fastest-growing jobs in Australia: Is your role on the list?

By MATT JONES, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 06:39, 29 April 2026 | Updated: 06:39, 29 April 2026 The fastest growing jobs in Australia are in the artificial intelligence and technology industries, according to new data.   LinkedIn research analysed millions of jobs started by members from January 1, 2023 to July 31, 2025 and calculated the growth rate for each job title.  AI engineers, who develop, train, and deploy algorithms and AI applications to build systems to perform several tasks, were the fastest growing roles. It was followed by chief risk officer, who is responsible for identifying, assessing, and mitigating an organisation's strategic, financial, operational, and reputational risks, including cybersecurity threats. The other fastest growing jobs included mechanical engineer, director of AI, development manager, legal director, founder, media director, regulatory affairs consultant and power system engineer. Associate Professor Niusha Shafiabady, who specialises in computational and AI at Australian Catholic University and Charles Darwin University, told Daily Mail the results were not surprising. 'These are just policies, in my view,' she said. 'The companies that are producing these jobs, basically, are producing users for their own software.' AI engineer positions have increased in the past year along with other tech-based roles (stock image) Professor Shafiabady predicted the role of prompt engineer will soon be extremely popular. Prompt engineering involves designing, refining, and optimising text prompts to guide AI models to produce accurate, relevant, and high-quality outputs. Professor Shafiabady said AI companies were working with governments around the world. 'In my view it is the policy of corporations that are being supported by the government,' she said. 'For example, some are doing what Trump's administration wants them to do. 'These companies are really rich and they're supporting the politicians and policy makers and they push forward their agenda. So, we will see AI jobs to be available more and more.' Professor Shafiabady did have a word of warning. 'Hopefully software doesn't destroy our world,' she said.  More Aussies were keen to start up a small business despite the cost of living crisis gripping the country (stock image) Associate Professor Niusha Shafiabady said the rise of AI jobs was not surprising Director of Artificial Intelligence Organisational Development Manager Salaries for AI engineers typically range from $125,000 for entry-level roles to more than $200,000 for senior positions.  The global economy has added roughly 1.3million new AI-related roles in just two years, with high demand for engineers to build and deploy these systems. The LinkedIn study found a 58 per cent surge in people wanting to start their own small businesses, despite the tough economic climate.  LinkedIn's Brendan Wong said AI was no longer a specialist skill, and is becoming part of everyday work and leadership. 'Whether you're in tech, business or creative industries, building AI literacy and staying open to new skills will be key to future-proofing your career,' Mr Wong said. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.