Software Developer Hiring Trends in Croatia

This report was last updated on Sep 6, 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 software engineering job market in Croatia has demonstrated dynamic growth, with a total of 2,686 job openings for Software Engineers over recent months, highlighting the sustained demand for skilled professionals.
Zagreb remains the dominant city for software job opportunities, accounting for 80% of all openings, followed by Split and Osijek, further emphasizing the need for recruitment strategies focused on geographic targeting.
The talent pool for Software Engineers in Croatia faces competition, with a median time to hire of 33 days. This suggests the necessity for efficient and innovative recruitment strategies to attract top talent in a competitive landscape.
Mid-Senior level roles comprise 58% of job openings, demonstrating the ongoing demand for experienced Software Engineers, which should inform the focus of hiring managers and CTOs in their talent acquisition efforts.
Leading companies hiring Software Engineers in Croatia include ENT - Ericsson Nikola Tesla, Canonical, and EPAM Systems, showcasing the companies that are shaping the tech landscape and strategically vying for top engineering talent.

Number of roles opened and closed for Software Engineers in Croatia in the last 3 months

Over the past 12 weeks, the software engineering job market in Croatia has exhibited significant fluctuations. Starting with only 8 new positions in week 23, the number of new software developer roles surged to a high of 174 in week 32, illustrating a clear upward trend. However, alongside this growth, job closures remained notably high, peaking at 149 in week 24 and averaging around 90 closures per week. In comparison to other roles in Croatia, software developer positions have outperformed many sectors in terms of new openings, indicating a robust demand for talent in the tech industry. These insights suggest that hiring managers should adopt agile recruitment strategies to capitalize on the emerging opportunities while navigating the competitive landscape of software engineering jobs in Croatia.

Who else is hiring for software Engineers in Croatia:

Company name	Country	Industry	Founded	# Job openings
Canonical	United Kingdom	Information Technology & Services	2004	109
EPAM Systems	United States	Information Technology & Services	1993	53
GlobalLogic	United States	Information Technology & Services	2000	26
Endava	United Kingdom	Information Technology & Services	2000	21
ENT - Ericsson Nikola Tesla	Croatia	Information Technology & Services	null	20
Q agency	Croatia	Information Technology & Services	2013	14
The Flex	United Kingdom	Real Estate	2019	12
Abysalto	null	null	null	12
Happening	United Kingdom	Information Technology & Services	2022	10
Siemens Energy	null	Renewable Energy Power Generation	2020	10

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Talent pool vs job openings for Software Engineers in Croatia

How competitive it is to hire Software Engineers in Croatia

The software engineer job market trends in Croatia reveal a competitive landscape for hiring managers. With a current ratio of talent pool to job openings, Croatia shows a promising yet somewhat challenging environment for recruitment. Compared to neighboring countries like Poland, which has a more favorable hiring ratio, and Germany and France, where the competition intensifies due to a larger number of job openings, hiring software engineers in Croatia may require focused recruitment strategies. The limited number of available software developer opportunities in Croatia suggests that while the market has talent, securing the right candidates may necessitate innovative approaches by CTOs and engineering managers.

Seniority distribution of Software Engineer job openings in Croatia

Seniority Distribution of Software Engineering Jobs in Croatia

In the Croatian software job market, the dominance of different seniority levels reflects current hiring trends. The Mid-Senior level comprises 58% of job openings, making it the most sought-after category. Entry level positions account for 37% of the opportunities, while Associate roles represent 7%. This distribution highlights the ongoing demand for experienced Software Engineers, pointing to potential recruitment strategies for CTOs in Croatia's tech sector.

Preferred employment type for Engineering roles in Croatia

The employment type distribution for engineering roles in Croatia reveals significant insights for hiring managers. Full-time positions dominate the software job market in Croatia, comprising 93% of the total roles, while contract roles account for 6% and part-time roles make up 3%. This data underscores the trend toward stable, full-time employment in the software engineering sector, essential for CTOs and tech leads to consider when developing their recruitment strategies.

Time to Hire Distribution for Software in Croatia

How long does it take to hire Software Engineers

The time to hire distribution for Software jobs in Croatia reveals important trends for hiring managers and CTOs navigating the local job market. Notably, the largest proportion of candidates, accounting for 324 instances, were hired within a 30-day timeframe, indicating a competitive landscape where rapid recruitment is essential. Furthermore, 231 candidates were brought on board in the 25-day range, while those taking 15 to 20 days to hire comprised a combined total of 243 candidates. This data underscores a significant demand for efficiency in recruitment strategies amid a dynamic software job market in Croatia, critical for Engineering Managers and recruiters aiming to secure top talent quickly.

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Most popular cities in Croatia to hire Software Engineers

Top 5 cities in Croatia to hire Software Engineers

The distribution of Software Engineer job openings in Croatia reveals a clear concentration of opportunities within key cities. Zagreb stands out significantly with 80% of the total job postings, totaling 2,149 positions. Following Zagreb, Split accounts for 4% with 103 openings, while Osijek contributes 3% of job opportunities with 79 listings. This data underscores Zagreb's pivotal role as the primary hub for Software Developer opportunities in Croatia, as further illustrated in the accompanying chart.

Most sought after technologies in Croatia for Software

Key technologies for Software Engineers

The software job market in Croatia is characterized by a diverse range of technologies that are critical for hiring managers seeking to recruit top talent. Java leads the landscape with a frequency of 10,875 usages, indicating a robust demand for Java developers in the region. Following closely are Python and JavaScript, with frequencies of 10,977 and 8,244 respectively, showcasing their popularity among employers. Other noteworthy technologies include PHP, .NET, and TypeScript, with frequencies of 6,396, 5,985, and 5,477 correspondingly. This data, as illustrated in the accompanying chart, underlines the essential technologies that recruitment strategies should consider when targeting Software Engineer positions in Croatia's competitive tech sector.

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