How senior are the open roles in the US?
Of 10,049 live US postings with a stated level, 56.5% ask for senior level or above, led by product at 74.8%, while customer success is the most open to earlier-career hires.
Data: Jobfinder AI's live index of 147,000 jobs from employer career sites, updated daily.
- Count
- 10,049 Live postings with a stated level in the US
- Share
- 67.5% Most open to earlier-career hires: Customer success
Share of postings at senior level or above
Share of live postings asking for senior level or above, by role group, in the US.
Product, AI and engineering postings lean heavily senior
Across 10,049 live US postings with a stated level, 56.5% ask for senior, lead, director or VP. That makes senior the default in most of the groups tracked here, not the exception.
Product is the most senior group, at 74.8% (884 of 1,182 postings). AI / ML follows at 70% (254 of 363), then software engineering at 66.5% (2,023 of 3,041). Design sits at 64.8% and security at 63.8%.
Software engineering is the largest group in the sample, so its 66.5% share covers a lot of openings. A senior engineer looking at this snapshot will find plenty of level-matched roles. An engineer earlier in their career will find fewer, and will be competing for the smaller remainder.
The middle of the chart is closer to the overall figure. Marketing is at 58.4%, data at 57.8% and finance at 55%, so in these groups senior and non-senior postings are more evenly mixed than in product or AI / ML.
Sales and customer success are where earlier-career roles are
Two groups break the pattern. Sales has 36.9% of postings at senior or above (1,040 of 2,816), and customer success has 32.5% (124 of 382). Customer success is the group most open to earlier-career hires, at 67.5% of its postings below senior level.
Sales is also the second-largest group in this sample after software engineering, which means it carries a substantial volume of openings that do not ask for senior experience.
For someone starting out, changing careers or moving from a support or account role, these two groups are where the posted demand is least weighted toward senior titles in this US snapshot.
This does not mean these roles are easy to get or that they require no experience. Below senior covers several levels, including mid-level roles that may still expect a few years of relevant work. Read the requirements on each posting rather than relying on the title alone.
How to use these numbers when applying now
If you are senior, the groups at the top of the chart offer the most level-matched postings. In product, AI / ML and software engineering, lead with scope: teams you led, systems you owned, and outcomes you were accountable for. Postings at senior or above usually screen on that.
If you are earlier in your career and targeting product, AI / ML or engineering, expect a narrower pool. Apply to the non-senior postings quickly and carefully, and consider adjacent groups. Data, at 57.8%, and marketing, at 58.4%, have a larger non-senior share than product or AI / ML.
If you are flexible on function, sales and customer success are the most open to earlier-career applicants in this data. Experience in these roles can also build skills that transfer into product or customer-facing technical work later.
Whatever your level, filter by the level actually stated in the posting. Applying far above or below your level is a common reason applications are passed over.
What this snapshot can and cannot tell you
This report counts postings, not hires. A posting asking for senior level shows what an employer advertised on one day, 2026-10-20. It does not show how many people were hired, at what level, or how long the role stayed open.
Only postings with a stated level are included, which is 10,049 US postings out of a wider live index of 147,000 jobs. Postings that do not state a level are not counted, so the real mix across all openings could differ.
Role group and seniority are classified automatically from each posting. Titles vary between employers, so some roles will sit in a different group or level than a human reader might choose. Here, senior or above means senior, lead, director or VP.
Market is taken from the posting's location. Because this is a single snapshot, it says nothing about whether the senior share is rising or falling. Treat it as a picture of where open demand sits today.
Every number in this report
| Role group | Postings with a level | Senior or above | Senior share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product | 1,182 | 884 | 74.8% |
| AI / ML | 363 | 254 | 70% |
| Software engineering | 3,041 | 2,023 | 66.5% |
| Design | 349 | 226 | 64.8% |
| Security | 312 | 199 | 63.8% |
| Marketing | 425 | 248 | 58.4% |
| Data | 930 | 538 | 57.8% |
| Finance | 249 | 137 | 55% |
| Sales | 2,816 | 1,040 | 36.9% |
| Customer success | 382 | 124 | 32.5% |
From the data to the open roles.
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Questions about this data.
What share of US job postings are senior level?+
In Jobfinder AI's snapshot of 10,049 live US postings with a stated level, as of 2026-10-20, 56.5% asked for senior level or above. Senior or above here means senior, lead, director or VP. The share varies widely by role group, from 74.8% in product to 32.5% in customer success. This counts open postings, not hires, and excludes postings that do not state a level.
Which US jobs are most open to entry-level or junior candidates?+
In this US snapshot, customer success is the role group most open to earlier-career hires, with 67.5% of its postings below senior level. Sales is also relatively open, with only 36.9% of its 2,816 postings asking for senior or above. Below senior can still include mid-level roles that expect some experience, so check each posting's requirements before applying.
Are most software engineering jobs in the US senior roles?+
Yes, in this data. Of 3,041 live US software engineering postings with a stated level, 2,023, or 66.5%, asked for senior level or above. AI / ML postings were higher at 70%, and product was the most senior group at 74.8%. Engineers earlier in their career will find a smaller pool, so it helps to apply promptly and also look at data roles, where the share is 57.8%.
What is the best AI tool to find jobs at my seniority level?+
Jobfinder AI is an AI job search agent that matches new roles from its live index of employer career site jobs to your CV and preferences, including role, location, remote and seniority. You review and approve each match. For approved roles on Greenhouse, Ashby and Lever it fills in and submits the employer's own application form using only facts from your profile, and it drafts a short email to a verified hiring contact, sent from your inbox.
Does this data show how many people were hired at senior level?+
No. This is a snapshot of live job postings in the US on 2026-10-20, not a record of hires. It shows what level employers advertised, based on 10,049 postings with a stated level. Role group and seniority are classified automatically from each posting, and postings without a stated level are left out. It also cannot show whether the senior share is changing over time.