According to the latest from BairesDev, senior software developers are preparing for a major change in the way they work as artificial intelligence becomes central to their workflow. Dev Barometer The report was published today. VentureBeat was given an exclusive early look and the findings below come directly from that report.
The quarterly global survey, which surveyed 501 developers and 19 project managers across 92 software initiatives, found that nearly two-thirds (65%) of senior developers expect their roles to be redefined by AI in 2026.
The data highlights ongoing change in software development: less routine coding work, greater emphasis on design and strategy, and a growing need for AI fluency.
From coders to strategists
Of those who anticipate change, 74% say they expect to shift from practical coding to designing solutions.
Another 61% plan to integrate AI-generated code into their workflow, and half are expecting to spend more time on system strategy and architecture.
“It’s not about lines of code anymore,” Justice Erolin, chief technology officer at BarredDev, said in a recent interview. venturebeat Held over video call. “It’s about the quality and type of code, and what kind of work the developers are doing.”
Erolin said the company is seeing developers evolve from individual contributors to systems thinkers.
“AI is very good at creating code scaffolding and unit tests, saving developers about eight hours a week,” he explains. “That time can now be used for solution architecture and strategy work – areas where AI still falls short.”
Survey data reflects this change. Developers are moving toward higher-value tasks, while automation has taken over much of the repetitive coding that was once the occupation of junior engineers.
Erolin said BarresDev’s internal data reflected these findings. “We are seeing a shift where senior engineers with AI tools are outperforming, and even replacing, the traditional senior-plus-junior team setup,” he said.
Realism about the limits of AI
Despite widespread enthusiasm, developers remain cautious about the reliability of AI.
More than half (56%) described AI-generated code as “somewhat reliable” and said it still needed validation for accuracy and security. only 9% Trust it enough to use it without human supervision.
Erolin agreed with that sentiment. “AI cannot replace human supervision,” he said. “Although devices are improving, developers still need to understand how individual components fit into larger systems.”
He said that the biggest limitation of large language models today is “their context window” – their limited ability to maintain and reason across the entire system. “Engineers need to think about the architecture holistically, not just about individual lines of code,” he said.
The CTO described 2025 as a turning point for how engineers use AI tools like GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Cloud, and OpenAI’s models. “We’re tracking what tools and models our engineers use,” he said. “But the bigger story is how these tools impact learning, productivity and supervision.”
That tempered optimism aligns with Barresdev’s past. Dev Barometer The findings, which revealed that 92% of developers were already using AI-assisted coding by the third quarter of 2025, saving an average of 7.3 hours per week.
a year of upskilling
In 2025, AI integration has already brought tangible business benefits. 74% of developers said technology has strengthened their technical skills, 50% reported better work-life balance, and 37% said AI tools have expanded their career opportunities.
Erolin said the company sees AI emerging as “a top use case for upskilling.” Developers use it to “learn new technologies faster and fill knowledge gaps,” he said. “When developers understand how AI works and its limitations, they can use it to enhance, not replace, their critical thinking. They take cues better and learn more efficiently.”
Still, he warned of potential long-term risks to the industry’s current trajectory. “If junior engineers are being replaced or not hired, in ten years we will face a shortage of qualified senior engineers as existing engineers retire,” Erolin said.
Dev Barometer The findings echo that concern. Developers expect thinner teams, but many also worry that fewer entry-level opportunities could lead to long-term talent pipeline issues.
Lean teams, new priorities
The developers hope to introduce smaller, more specialized teams in 2026. 58% say automation will reduce entry-level tasks, while 63% expect new career paths to emerge as AI redefines team structures. 59% predict that AI will create entirely new specialized roles.
According to data from BairesDev, developers currently split their time between writing code (48%), debugging (42%) and documentation (35%). Only 19% report focusing primarily on creative problem-solving and innovation – a share that is expected to grow as AI replaces lower-level coding tasks.
The report also highlights where developers see the fastest-growing areas for 2026: AI/ML (67%), data analytics (46%), and cybersecurity (45%). In parallel, 63% of project managers said developers will need more training in AI, cloud, and security.
Erolin described the next generation of developers as “T-shaped engineers” – people with broad systems knowledge and deep expertise in one or more areas. “The most important developer going forward will be the T-shaped engineer,” he said. “Broad in understanding, deep in skill.”
AI as an industry standard
Q4 Dev Barometer Frames AI not as an experiment but as the foundation of how teams will work in 2026. Developers are moving beyond using AI as a coding shortcut and instead incorporating it into architecture, validation, and design decisions.
Erolin emphasized that Bairdsdev is already adapting its internal teams to this new reality. “Our engineers are with us full-time and we deploy them where they are needed,” he said. “Some customers need help for six months to a year; others outsource their entire development team to us.”
He said BarresDev “provides approximately 5,000 software engineers from Latin America, providing clients with time-zone-aligned, culturally aligned and highly fluent English-speaking talent.”
As developers integrate AI deeper into their daily operations, Erolin believes the competitive advantage will lie with those who understand both the technology’s capabilities and its constraints. “When developers learn to collaborate with AI rather than compete against it, that’s when real productivity and creativity gains occur,” he said.
Background: Who is Bearsdave?
Founded in Buenos Aires in 2009 by Nacho de Marco and Paul Azorín, BarredDev started with the mission of connecting the “top 1%” of Latin American developers with global companies seeking high-quality software solutions. The company evolved from those early roots into a leading nearshore software development and staffing provider, offering everything from individual developer placement to full end-to-end project outsourcing.
Today, BairesDev claims to have delivered over 1,200 projects in over 130 industries, serving hundreds of thousands of clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 firms like Google, Adobe, and Rolls-Royce. It operates with a remote-first model and a workforce of more than 4,000 professionals in more than 40 countries, aligning its teams across North American time zones.
The company emphasizes three main benefits: access to specialized technical talent across more than 100 technologies, rapid scalability to project needs, and close proximity for real-time collaboration. It reports an average customer relationship of more than three years and a satisfaction rate of approximately 91%.
BairesDev’s unique position – connecting Latin American talent with global enterprise clients – gives it an unusually data-rich perspective on how AI is transforming software development at scale.
takeaway
Dev BarometerQ4 2025 results suggest that 2026 will be a turning point for software engineering. Developers are becoming systems architects rather than pure coders, AI literacy is becoming a foundational requirement, and traditional entry-level roles may give way to new, specialized positions.
As AI becomes incorporated into every stage of development – from design to testing – developers who can combine technical fluency with strategic thinking are poised to lead the next era of software creation.