Technology Navigators

Happy birthday to our Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Allen Goldsmith!

Allen's been firmly rooted in Austin tech since 1999, and the same relationship-first approach he brought to our very first placement is still the one our team carries into every call today.

Wishing you a great month, Allen. Thanks for 25+ years of steady leadership.

The bar for AI hiring has moved.

TechTarget's 2026 list of the top 10 AI jobs makes one thing clear: companies have stopped hiring for AI curiosity. They're hiring for AI expertise backed by real experience, people who've actually shipped AI into production.

A few of the roles on the list (AI ethics officer, AI for healthcare specialist, cybersecurity analyst with AI expertise) barely existed two years ago. Now they come with a budget.

Worth a read if you're hiring, or about to be:
https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/Top-AI-jobs

Our client is looking for an experienced Tax Manager to lead their tax function. Real ownership, a sharp team, and the chance to shape strategy from day one.

If you're a CPA ready for your next move, or you know someone who is, we'd love to connect.

Apply here: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4262596751

Know the perfect person? Tag them below.

The Austin tech job market isn't "down" right now. It isn't "up" either.

It's K-shaped, and if you're only reading the headlines, you're missing it.

Oracle and Expedia cut Austin roles this quarter. Nationally, nearly 80,000 tech jobs were eliminated in Q1, and almost half were tied directly to AI or automation (full breakdown linked below 👇).

Meanwhile, there are over 275,000 open U.S. roles right now that require AI skills. Senior and staff-level engineering openings are growing. Software job postings overall are down 33% from 2020, but the ones that remain are heavier on experience, not lighter.

What that means if you're hiring:

• Mid-level generalists are plentiful. The candidates you couldn't get near in 2022 are answering calls.

• Senior AI/ML, platform, and security engineers are harder to land than ever. Same few hundred people. Everyone's calling them.

• Speed and specificity win. The firms moving fast and knowing exactly who they want are filling roles in weeks. Everyone else is 90+ days in.

And if you're a tech professional in Austin, it's a market that rewards sharpening into a specialty, not broadening out.

We've been hiring in Central Texas since 1999. We've seen every version of this market. This one is different (but it's not bad), it's just bifurcated.

Hiring in Austin? Job hunting? Let's talk!