American software giant Atlassian CEO says company is hiring more new engineers this year compared to previous years because…

Atlassian is bucking the trend of tech industry uncertainty by ramping up its engineering workforce, with CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes revealing the company is hiring more new graduates in 2025 than in the previous two years combined.

Speaking on the "20VC" podcast this week, Cannon-Brookes projected that his company will employ more engineers five years from now than it does today, despite the efficiency gains from AI-assisted coding tools. The Australian-American software giant, best known for its project management platform Jira, currently employs 13,813 full-time workers—a 14% increase from last year.

Growing tech demands drive need for more human engineers

The CEO's optimism stems from his belief that technology creation isn't output-bound.

As more and better technology gets developed, demand for software developers will continue growing, he explained. Cannon-Brookes emphasised that while engineers will become more efficient with AI tools, people will keep generating new ideas requiring human expertise to build."Maybe crap ideas, maybe good ideas," he said. "I like to be an optimist and think we will end up with far more technology, firstly, and secondly, far better technology.”

The hiring push targets Atlassian's research, development, and engineering teams specifically. Cannon-Brookes sees fresh graduates bringing valuable new perspectives on software development that could positively disrupt existing talent approaches.

Vibe coding complements rather than replaces core engineers

The Atlassian chief joins other tech leaders downplaying fears that AI-assisted "vibe coding" will eliminate engineering positions. He argued that finance or marketing professionals using these tools to build simple applications doesn't reduce work for core technologists.This stance aligns with recent comments from Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, who both characterise AI as an accelerator rather than a replacement for human workers. Pichai noted Google saw 10% productivity gains from AI while still planning to expand engineering headcount.Atlassian, founded by Cannon-Brookes in 2002, did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment on its hiring plans.