Saudi Arabia’s tech hiring has cooled into “execution mode,” with scarce Saudi and AI talent setting the price

Saudi Arabia’s AI and tech companies are still adding headcount, but the hiring rush is over. “The market has moved into execution mode, so hiring managers now have to explain why a role exists, what it will deliver in its first year, and whether someone already in the team could step into it,” Unicorn Talent CEO Zeina Karrit tells EnterpriseAM. Packages are being negotiated much more carefully, and Karrit calls the shift healthy: rushed hiring breeds mistakes on both sides, and firms that hire more deliberately usually know what they need.

Plans are intact, but fewer roles are getting through: “Saudi firms are growing their teams, so most hiring plans are still there. What's changed is which roles make it to the budget approval,” Karrit says, with the slowdown clearest in construction, infrastructure, and engineering-led projects, and in demand for consultants.

What are tech companies actually after?

The most sought-after people are those who make AI work — the data engineers, cloud architects, and cybersecurity specialists, she says. The data centers going up across the Kingdom are lifting the value of anyone who can design and run that infrastructure.

AI is raising the bar on experience too: “As the tools take over more repetitive work, companies need fewer people doing tasks and more people who can make decisions and own the outcome,” Karrit says. “It’s also no longer just a tech skill, because people in HR, finance, sales, and operations are now expected to actually use these tools in their daily work.”

A local track record is the other big edge: Employers want proof that candidates have done similar work before, ideally in Saudi Arabia. The talent gap widens where a role needs a Saudi national or an Arabic speaker since the pool of experienced professionals there is still small.

The local talent premium

Saudization sits at the core of hiring here, and it’s expensive. The talent pool is small, Karrit says, so companies compete for the same people and pay a premium.

Keeping the talent takes more than salary. Pay gets people through the door, Karrit says, but a clear next step, real responsibility, and a feeling of being invested are what keep them. The companies that do well will treat Saudization as part of their talent plan rather than a box to tick. That means graduate programs, knowledge transfer from expat specialists, and planning a few years ahead.

Upskilling matters as much as hiring: There aren’t enough experienced AI specialists for every company to hire its way out of the gap, Karrit says, so she favors upskilling people who already know the business and bringing in a few senior specialists to lead.

REMEMBER- Private-sector employment rose 7% y-o-y to 13.6 mn at the end of 2Q, with Saudi nationals up 8.2% to 2.689 mn, or 19.8% of the total. The Kingdom has been steadily encouraging Saudization over the past couple of years, raising the minimum salaries for Saudi workers and expanding their quotas. Since then, foreign talent premiums have been narrowing, and GCC employers pivoted toward more local hiring amid regional uncertainty.

The firms best placed for 2027 have a clear long-term direction and a solid commercial business behind them, Karrit says — AI and data infrastructure companies, telecom operators, fintechs, and manufacturers investing in digital operations.