India's AI boom is rewarding engineers more than coders

For nearly two decades, India's best-paying careers have been closely associated with software development. But as artificial intelligence, semiconductor manufacturing, electric vehicles and advanced factories reshape the economy, the biggest salary gains are increasingly going to a different group of professionals.

Electrical engineers, project engineers, quality specialists, system administrators and IT support executives—not software developers—are emerging as some of the biggest winners in India's changing labour market, according to TeamLease's Jobs and Salaries Primer FY2026-27.

The shift comes as India pushes ahead with large-scale investments in electronics manufacturing, semiconductor fabrication, renewable energy, data centres and global capability centres (GCCs), all of which require skilled engineering and technical talent to build and operate.


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The factory floor is fighting back

One of the clearest signals in the report is the growing strength of manufacturing.

Salary increments in Manufacturing, Engineering & Infrastructure are projected to rise to 9.4% in FY2026-27, up sharply from 7.9% a year earlier. The report attributes the improvement to recovering project activity, semiconductor-linked investments and the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies.

By comparison, the Information Technology sector is expected to see salary increments of 8.9%, up from 8.3%, indicating that hiring remains healthy but increasingly selective.

Rather than broad-based hiring, companies are rewarding specialised technical skills that support AI adoption, automation and industrial expansion.

The trend mirrors the government's broader manufacturing ambitions.

India recently approved the Semicon 2.0 programme worth Rs 1.27 lakh crore, aimed at expanding semiconductor manufacturing and design. The government says the programme now supports semiconductor fabrication units, design projects and startups developing chip technologies. Separately, the electronics manufacturing production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme has generated more than 1.78 lakh direct jobs, according to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

AI still needs someone to tighten the bolts

The TeamLease data shows that the biggest salary gains are no longer concentrated among traditional software developers.

Among the highest projected salary increments are:

• Electrical Engineer — 11.2%
• Quality Control Inspector — 10.9%
• Project Engineer — 10.7%
• System Administrator — 10.4%
• IT Support Executive — 10.3%
• Quality Assurance Engineer — 10.2%
• Site Engineer — 10.2%

By comparison, Associate Software Engineers are projected to receive salary increments of 9.7%, respectable but below many engineering and infrastructure-focused roles.

The pattern reflects how AI is changing business demand.

Every AI application ultimately depends on physical infrastructure—servers, chips, factories, networks, power systems and industrial automation. That is increasing demand for professionals who install, maintain and optimise these systems.

The new IT star isn't writing code

One of the report's most striking findings is how frequently IT Support Executives and System Administrators appear among the fastest-growing roles across industries.

IT Support Executives are among the highest-growth roles in EV and EV Infrastructure, Information Technology, Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Power & Energy, Banking, Logistics, Telecommunications and Educational Services. System Administrators also feature prominently across sectors ranging from FinTech and manufacturing to retail and logistics.

Instead of rewarding only software creation, employers are placing greater value on professionals who keep increasingly digital businesses running.

As companies deploy AI across operations, maintaining systems, managing infrastructure and ensuring uptime are becoming business-critical functions.

From chips to chargers

The strongest salary growth is also concentrated in industries closely linked to India's industrial policy.

EV & EV Infrastructure continues to lead all sectors with projected salary increments of 10.2%, followed by FinTech (10%), Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals (9.7%) and Power & Energy (9.6%).

Within these sectors, engineering and technical roles dominate.

Electrical Engineers lead salary growth in EV, while Project Engineers top Manufacturing. Quality Assurance Engineers and Site Engineers feature prominently in Power & Energy, reflecting continued investments in renewable energy, charging infrastructure and industrial projects.

The GCC effect is changing the hiring playbook

Technology remains an important engine of salary growth, but the nature of demand is evolving.

Among functional areas, Engineering leads projected salary increments at 9.9%, narrowly ahead of Information Technology at 9.8%, followed by Sales & Marketing at 9.7%. Finance stands at 9.5%, while HR & Admin and Customer Service & Back Office trail at 9% and 8.9%, respectively.

Within IT itself, Bengaluru continues to dominate with projected salary growth of 12.7%, followed by Hyderabad (11.7%), Chennai (11.5%) and Pune (11.3%), largely supported by expanding GCC operations.

These centres increasingly require infrastructure engineers, cybersecurity specialists, cloud administrators and support professionals alongside software developers.

The AI economy has more winners than coders

The TeamLease findings suggest India's labour market is entering a new phase.

The software developer remains central to the country's technology story, but the next wave of salary growth is becoming far more diverse.

As India invests in semiconductor manufacturing, electronics production, electric mobility, industrial automation and AI-enabled businesses, the strongest pay premiums are increasingly flowing to professionals who design factories, maintain digital infrastructure, manage quality systems and keep complex operations running.

In other words, India's AI economy is not just creating demand for people who write algorithms. It is rewarding those who build—and sustain—the systems that make those algorithms work.