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👋 Welcome, Jobseekers

If you want an edge in this market, this is your cheat sheet. We have ALL the signals, so pay attention. AI is breaking into our physical world, Big Tech legends are launching startups, Google is throwing billions at cloud security, and new money is flowing into agents, climate, defense, and global hubs like India. Postings just hit a four-year low and layoffs keep shuffling the deck, but if you know where AI, automation, and hiring are actually moving, you can outrun the averages and get to interviews faster.

• 📡 Career Radar: The AI trend that will reshape the job market for the next 20 years. Plus many other trends to stay ahead of the market.

• 📉 Layoff Report: Synopsys plans to cut 2,000 after Ansys deal closure, Sonder, Indeed, and more cuts

• 📈 Trends & Data: Job postings hit 4-year low as government shutdown drags on

• 🔧 Jobseeker Tools: MockMe AI, Sonara AI

🔥 Signals to keep an eye on this week

Below is a roundup from this week of signals to stay on top of from top AI talent leaving to start their own companies, to macroeconomic trends pointing at where the next hiring sprees will occur. Don’t say we didn’t tell you!

🏃‍♂️ AI Talent is on the Move! Where are experts going?

• Meta’s chief AI scientist Yann LeCun is reportedly leaving to start his own venture. Top experts spinning out of Big Tech to found startups can signal burgeoning opportunities at their new companies (and vacancies at the old!). If luminaries like LeCun are launching startups, those ventures will likely seek researchers, engineers, and early business hires who want to build cutting-edge AI from the ground up.

• Google just added generative “AI Mode” features in Maps, Chrome and Photos. Mainstream integration of AI means even non-AI-focused roles (product managers, marketers, designers) should become comfortable working with AI-driven features.

• The CEO of Pinterest touted how using open-source AI models delivered “tremendous performance” with sharply reduced costs. Companies may favor candidates who understand open-source AI tools, since many firms prefer them over expensive proprietary systems.

💰️ Major Funding, IPOs and Acquisitions Signal Hiring Sprees

Wonderful AI - AI Agents for Enterprise

• This Israeli AI startup raised a $100M Series A (a remarkably large round for such a young company) to grow its AI customer service agents. Investors believe Wonderful is “not just another GPT wrapper” but a platform that could put AI agents on the front lines of customer support. The company claims its bots already handle tens of thousands of requests daily with ~80% resolve rates, across markets from Europe to the UAE. With fresh funding, Wonderful is launching in new countries in 2025 and expanding to Asia-Pacific by 2026.

• For jobseekers, this means hiring in multiple regions – from AI research roles to customer success – as they staff local teams to tailor the product for each market. If you have language or localization skills (or enterprise sales experience in the customer support domain), a company like Wonderful could be a great opportunity.

• Wonderful secures $100m to drive adoption of AI agents, globally

Google’s $32B acquisition of Wiz (Cloud Security)

• Google received the U.S. government’s green light to acquire Wiz, a cloud security startup, for a massive $32 billion price. Wiz famously walked away from an initial $23B offer in 2024 only to have Google come back with a higher bid in 2025. For context, Wiz was one of the fastest-growing startups (reaching huge revenues in just a couple years), so Google’s cloud division clearly sees its value. As the deal finalizes (expected in early 2026), Google Cloud will likely absorb Wiz’s technology and talent.

• Jobseekers might find new openings on Google’s security teams or, conversely, openings at competitors (as rivals beef up their cloud security after seeing Google’s move). It also signals that cloud security skills are golden – a company built by experts in that niche became a multi-billion-dollar acquisition. If that’s your field, know that demand (and compensation) for cloud security architects, engineers, and product managers will be strong across the industry.

🌏️ Global Expansion: New Markets and Talent Hotspots

• India is booming. Figma opened a new Bengaluru office and is actively hiring to support one of the world’s largest developer communities. With nearly 22 million developers on GitHub, India has become a prime market for dev tools, AI companies, and global multinationals expanding their talent footprint. If you’re open to remote or global roles, this is a strong region to watch.

• Asia more broadly is heating up. Microsoft and Nvidia are backing India’s next wave of deep-tech startups, and SoftBank’s new OpenAI joint venture signals growing demand for AI talent in Japan. Companies expanding into these markets increasingly look for candidates with cross-cultural experience or regional familiarity.

• Europe and Israel are quietly catching up to the US. They now raise two-thirds as much cloud and AI capital as US startups and are producing hyper-efficient category leaders like Lovable and Synthesia. Many hire globally or operate remote-first.

Sector Hotspots: Where Hiring Heat Is Rising

Several industries signaled this week where tech talent will be most in demand.

• Climate tech and energy are gaining serious momentum. Australia’s massive solar boom is on track to give millions free electricity by 2026, a sign that renewable energy infrastructure, grid software, and installation tech are about to scale fast.

• Space and defense tech continue to surge. Blue Origin is preparing the second launch of its New Glenn mega-rocket, and new defense-focused startups are emerging from military and aerospace veterans. These companies need engineers, PMs, and specialists with both technical and domain experience.

• Consumer and creator tech also saw activity, with Threads rolling out new podcasting features (a signal Meta is still investing in that product) creating ongoing demand for mobile engineers, product designers, and community managers.

AI is expanding into the physical world - fast.

Not just AI software, not just chatbots, not just models. It’s AI moving into factories, vehicles, robotics, energy systems, and aerospace. That shift is why this moment feels different.

Here’s why this trend stands out above everything else:

1. Multiple industries are converging around AI-powered automation - Rivian spinning out Mind Robotics, climate tech scaling solar infrastructure, aerospace startups building autonomous systems, defense tech using AI for space-based tools. These aren’t isolated events. They’re signals that major capital and talent are pouring into AI for physical operations, not just digital products.

2. These sectors have long timelines and deep budgets - Automotive, energy, aerospace and defense don’t chase hype cycles. When they invest, they invest for decades. That means long-term hiring demand, stability, and high compensation for skilled workers.

3. The job opportunities are broadening beyond classic software roles - Robotics engineers, automation specialists, systems designers, PMs, manufacturing engineers, climate analysts, hardware-software integrators — all now sit at the center of AI’s expansion.

4. It signals a shift in tech’s next big wave - AI has conquered the screen. Now it’s coming for the real world.

This trend will likely reshape tech careers for the next 10 to 20 years, SO PAY ATTENTION.

Synopsys plans to cut 2,000 after Ansys deal closure

Synopsys will lay off about 10% of its workforce, or roughly 2,000 employees, as the chip-design software maker looks to redirect investment towards growth opportunities, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

• Synopsys plans 10% (2,000 people) job cuts after Ansys deal closure 

• Private equity group Vista to cut staff in favour of AI 

• Sonder Shuts Down After Marriott Termination, Marking the End of a Hospitality Experiment 

• Gameskraft’s Layoff Count Climbs To 400 

• Rad Power Bikes faces shutdown in January without new funding 

• Cyber unicorn Axonius cuts more than 10% of staff amid restructuring 

• American software giant SAS exits China after 25 years; layoffs 400 employees over video call 

• Indeed lays off a 'very small' number of employees months after summer job cuts 

• Square Enix announces more layoffs as part of US and Europe restructuring 

• German tech firm trims Silicon Valley workforce 

Job postings hit 4-year low as government shutdown drags on

Overview

Overview. U.S. job postings fell to their lowest since 2021, and posted wages cooled to 2.5% YoY, per the latest [Indeed Hiring Lab, Nov 6, 2025]. Shutdown uncertainty is amplifying the slump in D.C. and tech hubs.

The Details

• As of Oct 31, postings were just 1.7% above Feb 2020 baseline, the lowest since 2021.

• 49% of sectors are below pre-pandemic baseline. All but four show YoY declines.

• Posted wage growth slowed to 2.5% YoY in September.

• Inflation is now running faster than posted wage growth.

• Postings vs Feb 2020: California −17%, Washington −24%, D.C. −35%.

• Idaho and Tennessee remain well above early-2020 norms, with milder recent declines.

• The shutdown, which began Oct 1, has reached record length and is weighing on hiring and data releases. [Reuters, Oct 29, 2025; AP, Nov 10, 2025].

Nerd note: Indeed’s index sets Feb 1, 2020 = 100. Wage tracker measures YoY change in posted pay.

Why It Matters

Signal check: demand is cooling, budgets are tighter, and pay growth is lagging inflation. Effects are sharpest in D.C. and tech states. That means fewer reqs and more competition for white-collar roles.

• Engineers and PMs: Fewer net new roles in CA and WA. Expect more backfills and infrastructure roles than greenfield.

• Design, Content, Marketing: Automation pressure rises. Portfolios need ROI proof, not just craft.

• Ops and G&A: D.C. slump hits gov-adjacent vendors. Pivot to states and private mid-market buyers.

MockMe AI

Practice Mock Interviews with AI

MockMe.ai provides AI-powered mock interviews. Practice common interview questions, receive actionable feedback instantly, and enter your interview confident and prepared.

Sonara AI

Cast a wider net — 10x your job applications1

Their AI-powered job search automation platform continuously finds and applies to relevant job openings until you're hired

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