Artificial Intelligence Developer Hiring Trends in Sofia, Bulgaria

This report was last updated on Aug 9, 2025

Bence Gedai

Founder

I analyze live hiring data and tech job trends across Europe to give CTOs and Product Leaders a strategic edge. By tracking tens of thousands of open roles each week, I uncover which skills, roles, and locations are in highest demand — potential competitors, typical time to hire, talent pool sizes, and more to help you prioritize hiring, benchmark and stay competitive in a fast-moving market.

Key learnings from this report

The Artificial Intelligence Engineers job market in Bulgaria, particularly in Sofia, is characterized by a talent pool that is currently challenged by a high number of job openings, reaching a peak of 12 new roles in week 27 over the past 12 weeks.
Despite the robust demand for Artificial Intelligence roles, the hiring landscape is competitive, with significant fluctuations and a notable 26 job closures in week 31, indicating potential challenges for recruitment strategies in Bulgaria Sofia's tech sector.
Sofia accounts for 88% of all Artificial Intelligence Engineer job openings in Bulgaria, solidifying its position as the primary city for AI job opportunities within the country.
The hiring trends reveal that 65% of AI engineering roles are at the Mid-Senior level, alongside a median time to hire of 34 days for such positions, emphasizing the demand for experienced candidates in the market.
Key companies driving recruitment in Bulgaria include Canonical, EPAM Systems, and Progress, which are leading the way in hiring for Artificial Intelligence Engineers, highlighting potential avenues for candidates seeking opportunities in Sofia.

Number of roles opened and closed for Artificial Intelligence Engineers in Sofia in the last 3 months

Over the past 12 weeks, the Artificial Intelligence Engineer job market in Bulgaria Sofia has demonstrated notable fluctuations, with a peak in openings observed in week 27, totaling 12 new jobs. This period also recorded a concerning trend in job closures, culminating in a high of 26 closed positions in week 31. Comparing these figures with other regions in Europe, the demand for Artificial Intelligence roles appears robust, yet the significant number of closures suggests a competitive landscape that hiring managers must navigate. As such, recruitment strategies for CTOs and engineering leaders must adapt to accommodate these dynamics, ensuring a focus on attracting and retaining top talent in this evolving sector.

Who else is hiring for ai Engineers in Bulgaria:

Company name	Country	Industry	Founded	# Job openings
Canonical	United Kingdom	Information Technology & Services	2004	7
EPAM Systems	United States	Information Technology & Services	1993	6
Progress	United States	Information Technology & Services	1981	6
Axelera AI	Netherlands	Semiconductors	2021	5
Exadel	United States	Information Technology & Services	1998	4
UKG	United States	Information Technology & Services	2020	3
SoftServe	United States	Information Technology & Services	1993	3
Ocado Technology	null	null	null	3
Pwrteams	Estonia	Information Technology & Services	2007	2
Workato	United States	Information Technology & Services	2013	2

Here are a few specialized ai agencies you can trust:

Want to get personalized matches? Get started

Talent pool vs job openings for Artificial Intelligence Engineers in Bulgaria

How competitive it is to hire Artificial Intelligence Engineers in Bulgaria

The Artificial Intelligence Engineers job market trends indicate a competitive hiring environment in Bulgaria. With a limited talent pool compared to the number of job openings, the jobs-to-talent ratio suggests that hiring talent can be challenging. For example, while Bulgaria experiences robust demand for AI professionals, countries like Germany, France, and the Netherlands exhibit larger talent pools, slightly alleviating the pressure for recruiters. In Sofia, with its increasing focus on technology, CTOs and hiring managers must adapt their recruitment strategies to effectively attract top-tier Artificial Intelligence talent. As the demand continues to surge, especially for Senior Artificial Intelligence Developers, understanding these dynamics is crucial for companies aiming to secure the best candidates.

Seniority distribution of Artificial Intelligence Engineer job openings in Sofia

Seniority Distribution of Artificial Intelligence Engineering Jobs in Sofia

In the competitive landscape of the Artificial Intelligence job market in Bulgaria, particularly in Sofia, the seniority distribution reveals significant insights for hiring managers. Currently, 65% of AI engineering positions are at the Mid-Senior level, followed by 23% classified as Entry level, and 6% as Associate. Understanding these trends is crucial for effective recruitment strategies, as the demand for experienced professionals dominates the market.

Preferred employment type for Engineering roles in Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, the employment type distribution for engineering roles reveals a significant preference for full-time positions, comprising 96% of total jobs. Contract roles follow with 4%, while part-time opportunities account for just 3%. This data highlights the concentrated demand for full-time Artificial Intelligence Engineers in the Bulgarian job market, particularly in Sofia.

Time to Hire Distribution for Artificial Intelligence in Bulgaria

How long does it take to hire Artificial Intelligence Engineers

The time to hire for Artificial Intelligence Engineer positions in Bulgaria reflects a diverse range of recruitment timelines. Notably, the majority of candidates, accounting for 68 positions, were hired within a 30-day framework, highlighting a competitive recruitment landscape. As hiring managers and CTOs strategize for the future demand for AI Engineers in Bulgaria Sofia, a significant 36 candidates were secured within a 15-day window, indicating a critical period for attracting top talent. Furthermore, the distribution shows that while the majority are hired quickly, approximately 17 candidates took up to 40 days, emphasizing the need for effective recruitment strategies to minimize time to hire. Understanding these hiring trends is essential for tech leads and engineering managers navigating the hiring process in the evolving artificial intelligence job market.

Expolore reports from other European Developer talent pools

View All Job Reports

Most popular cities in Bulgaria to hire Artificial Intelligence Engineers

Top 5 cities in Bulgaria to hire Artificial Intelligence Engineers

In Bulgaria, the job market for Artificial Intelligence Engineers is predominantly centered in Sofia, which accounts for a significant 88% of the total job openings in this sector. Following Sofia, the distribution shows that the broader classification of 'Bulgaria' encompasses 12%, while Plovdiv contributes a lesser 6%. This concentration in the capital city underscores Sofia's pivotal role as the epicenter of Artificial Intelligence job opportunities in Bulgaria, as illustrated in the accompanying chart.

Most sought after technologies in Sofia for Artificial Intelligence

Key technologies for Artificial Intelligence Engineers

The Artificial Intelligence job market in Bulgaria, particularly in Sofia, is dominated by several key technologies that hiring managers should consider when recruiting talent. Among these, Python stands out as the most prevalent language, with a frequency of 8028 mentions, underscoring its critical role in AI development. Following closely are machine learning frameworks, which have been referenced 5052 times, indicating that candidates familiar with this area are in high demand. Additionally, SQL is essential for managing and querying data, with a frequency of 3076, while data science and analysis skills are equally important, with 1623 and 1647 mentions respectively. Lastly, cloud services like AWS are also gaining traction, noted 918 times, suggesting an inclination towards cloud-based AI solutions. Please refer to the accompanying chart for a visual representation of these trends.

Have a great project in mind?

We've identified 100+ world-class agencies, drop us a line if you'd like to work with them.