Who gets hired, and why
Test
Embedded firmware
Java backend and full-stack
.NET
Platform
GenAI
Data
Cloud and DevOps
Frontend
Generalist software
Also present
Test engineers. Design software, control systems and machine software have to work before they reach a factory. Test engineers check them at Caterpillar, the process-industry software company Aspen Technology, Autodesk, Rockwell Automation and the air-conditioning maker Trane Technologies, in Java and Python with Playwright, Selenium and Cypress, and some on embedded testing. They are above their usual weight, and they take the most juniors here.
Embedded firmware engineers. Drives, pumps, valves, dispensers and machines on the line all run on software inside them. Firmware engineers write it in C and C++ on microcontrollers with RTOS, and connect machines over CAN bus, Modbus and Ethernet, often with an oscilloscope and logic analyser at hand. Caterpillar, the drives and controls maker Danfoss, the dispensing-equipment maker Nordson and the automation maker Festo hire them. They are above their usual weight, and a part of the work is for engines and vehicles.
Java backend and full-stack engineers. Caterpillar's digital services for machines in the field, and Autodesk's cloud products, run on Java. Java engineers build them in Spring Boot on AWS, often full-stack with Angular or React. Java is less common here than at most product companies.
.NET engineers. Much industrial and building software runs on the Microsoft stack. .NET engineers build it in C# with React or Angular, SQL Server and Azure, at Autodesk, Caterpillar, Rockwell Automation, the building-systems company Johnson Controls and the automation-equipment maker ATS. They are above their usual weight.
Platform developers. Caterpillar runs its dealers, sales and service on Salesforce, Oracle and Microsoft Power Platform, and Autodesk runs parts of its business the same way. Platform developers build on these systems in C#, .NET and Java, with Power BI, Power Apps and Power Automate. Power Platform developers are several times as common here as at a typical product company, almost all at Caterpillar.
GenAI engineers. Autodesk and the industrial-software company AVEVA hire most of the GenAI engineers here, building AI assistants and agents into design and plant software, in Python with SageMaker, MCP, A2A and Semantic Kernel. Many postings require AI-governance and responsible-AI skills. GenAI holds about its usual place, and well above it in the factory's control room.
Data engineers. Heavy machines in the field send back a constant stream of data. Caterpillar hires most of the data engineers here to collect and use it, in Python and SQL with Kafka, Kinesis and Snowflake on AWS. They are above their usual weight.
Cloud and DevOps engineers. Autodesk and Caterpillar hire most of the cloud engineers, in Python with Kubernetes and Terraform on AWS and Azure. Cloud engineers are below their usual weight, but they take juniors readily.
Frontend engineers. Caterpillar and the data-centre power and cooling company Vertiv hire frontend engineers in React and Angular. They hold about their usual place.
Generalist software engineers. Caterpillar, Esko, the water-technology company Xylem and the CAM software company Mastercam hire engineers who work across C#, Python, Java and C++, often on Windows desktop software with WPF. They are about twice as common here as elsewhere.
Also present. Node engineers at Autodesk, C/C++ systems engineers, Salesforce and SAP developers, generalist software engineers in Manufacturing tech, Software Engineer, Security roles on sign-in and identity, Python engineers, a few ML engineers for robots and machine monitoring, and mobile engineers.
Rare here. Go, Android and VLSI work barely appear.
Where in the Industry Vertical the work is
Market Segment 37.2CAD and PLM software hires the most. Designing the product hires Java, GenAI, cloud, Node and .NET engineers at Autodesk in Pune and Bengaluru, Esko and Mastercam, and the 3D-design companies, like Dassault Systèmes and PTC. Designing the plant hires mostly testers, at Aspen Technology. This is one of the most open corners for juniors.
Market Segment 37.10Heavy equipment and farm machinery is almost as large, through Caterpillar in Chennai and Bengaluru, hiring Java, data, test, platform, frontend and Power Platform engineers. It is the most closed to juniors.
Market Segment 37.5Industrial machinery and robotics hires firmware, test and .NET engineers. Robots and the automated line and Drives, motors, pumps and air are the largest parts, through Danfoss, ATS, the robot-arm maker Universal Robots, Xylem and Festo.
Market Segment 37.9Building technology and HVAC hires .NET, test, firmware and frontend engineers at the building-systems, data-centre cooling, air-conditioning, lock and fire-alarm companies.
Market Segment 37.1Industrial automation and control software hires GenAI and .NET engineers at Rockwell Automation and AVEVA. It is open to juniors.
Market Segments 37.6, 37.3, 37.4, 37.7, 37.8 and 37.11 hire less. The connector and sensor makers, like TE Connectivity, nVent and Molex, hire firmware, test and cloud engineers. Shop-floor software companies, like CAI Software and ePS, hire a mix at senior level. The machine-monitoring start-ups, like Octave and Falkonry, hire data engineers and many juniors. The companies making parts to order, like Fictiv and Xometry, the materials makers, like Buckman and Coherent, and the inspection makers, like ZEISS and Cognex, hire little.
Some companies listed here have their main home elsewhere. They are Trimble and Bentley Systems (Market Segment 41.1, in Industry Vertical 41, Proptech), Wabtec (Market Segment 38.9, in Industry Vertical 38, Automotive and mobility), Cognite (Market Segment 8.1, in Industry Vertical 8, Analytics and data providers), Align Technology (Market Segment 24.4, in Industry Vertical 24, Hospitals, diagnostics and medical devices) and MathWorks (Market Segment 6.1, in Industry Vertical 6, Devtools companies), with several smaller names. Their hiring is described where they live, not here.
Bengaluru leads, through Caterpillar, Autodesk, Esko and AVEVA. Pune is a strong second, through Autodesk, Rockwell Automation, Vertiv and Danfoss. Chennai is mostly Caterpillar, with the lock maker ASSA ABLOY and Trane Technologies, and Hyderabad appears through the fire-alarm maker Kidde Global Solutions, the machine-monitoring start-up Octave and Hexagon R&D India.