Rising pressures with AI, cybersecurity and borderless hiring

Hiring volumes in 2025 ticked up as more IT shared services, global business services, and global capabilities centres came to be based in Kuala Lumpur. According to Florie Mae Salazar, Senior Manager at Robert Walters Malaysia, businesses took a more strategic, holistic approach, opting to find better matches instead of simply filling roles in bulk.

There was also a healthy appetite for talent in advanced technologies such as AI. With more of such roles in the market, candidates have begun to shift their career trajectories to meet this demand. “More candidates embarked on AI training to upskill themselves, on top of indicating a preference for AI roles,” she adds.

Read on to find out more about the labour market and hiring trends for Malaysia’s Tech & Transformation professionals in 2026.

AI fluency becomes a baseline

“In 2026, AI will become everyone’s job – not just the data team’s,” states Florie.

Once seen as a niche skillset, AI fluency will become a core competency across roles. Marketers will be expected to use generative AI for campaigns, while developers will use automation tools to speed up coding. Hybrid roles like AI product manager, prompt engineer and AI trainer will begin emerging in the coming year. Florie highlights that candidates looking to stand out will need to show that they can apply AI meaningfully, beyond simply knowing how the technology works.

Within cybersecurity, the emphasis will shift from protection to digital trust. There will be sustained demand for talent in cyber risk, governance and compliance, there is a growing need for professionals who can align with regulatory expectations and deploy AI responsibly. The market will seek out talent who can balance risk, regulation and innovation.

In the coming year, Florie believes that hiring will truly be borderless, especially as remote and hybrid work models are now mainstays. Malaysian talent will gain more access to global roles, but also tougher competition. Within country borders, the government will press on with national initiatives that promote upskilling in tech, creating a wider pool of talent. Abroad, candidates will go up against talent from other countries.

“The simple way to ‘AI-proof’ a career is for professionals to embrace AI and strengthen their human-centric skills. Use the technology to enhance your work, and get good at what it can’t do.”

Top roles and skills in demand

In 2026, hiring demand will be AI-driven, security-focused and cloud-powered, reflecting how businesses are reinventing themselves for scalability, security and intelligence. The most in-demand positions will be cloud specialists, AI/ML learning experts, and cybersecurity specialists.

Soft skills will be a key differentiator in hiring in the year ahead. The key attributes that employers are looking for include adaptability and continuous learning, communication and storytelling, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence and collaboration. These qualities will help professionals keep pace with rapid technological change, bridge the gap between tech and business, make sound, human-led decisions, and work well in hybrid teams.

“The top candidates are those who can blend AI fluency with human depth,” surmises Florie.

Strengthening career capital in the AI age

Routine, predictable, and process-based tasks are most at risk of replacement by AI. Within the Tech & Transformation industry, roles such as manual QA testers, junior developers and basic data analysts are traditionally responsible for tasks that can be automated.

These roles will likely evolve rather than disappear completely. “The simple way to ‘AI-proof’ a career is for professionals to embrace AI and strengthen their human-centric skills,” states Florie. “Use the technology to enhance your work, and get good at what it can’t do.”

Advice for talent attraction and retention

After several years of market uncertainty and rapid AI disruption, industry professionals are now cautious and intentional about switching jobs. Most candidates prioritise stability, career growth and skills relevance over quick salary jumps.

“Top talent remains open to new opportunities, but they’re increasingly selective. Before making a move, they assess a company’s work culture, leadership vision, growth pathways and AI adoption. It’s clear they switch jobs for meaning and development – not just for money,” divulges Florie.

As such, Florie emphasises that companies must go beyond compensation to appeal to top tech talent in 2026. Retention now hinges on purpose, progression and trust, so it is essential to develop opportunities for continuous learning, AI upskilling, and flexible work cultures.

Salaries remain competitive

The industry will continue to enjoy positive salary growth, though salaries will be pegged to performance and skill, instead of job title. Increments may also be subdued for mid-level roles as AI and automation improves efficiency.

Compensation will continue to rise for niche and high-impact roles such as AI engineers, cybersecurity specialists and cloud architects.

Employers will also be willing to pay a premium for professionals who can combine technical expertise with business acumen and AI fluency.

Find out more

Request access to our 2026 Salary Survey to benchmark salaries and to find out more about key hiring trends in the Tech & Transformation industry in Malaysia.