Every company wants top engineers and brilliant developers. Job boards are packed with listings for cloud architects and software leads. But here’s the thing: some of the most important jobs in tech aren’t the ones everyone is scrambling to fill. 

There are roles that don’t make headlines or sit at the top of hiring wish lists, yet they quietly keep everything running. When they’re missing, projects stall, teams get frustrated, and the cracks start to show. 

In 2025, with tech teams running leaner, AI tools reshaping workflows, and timelines getting tighter, these overlooked roles matter more than ever. If you’re building your team this year, here are five jobs you can’t afford to ignore. 

1. Technical Writer 

Most people don’t think of a writer as a critical IT hire. But the best technical writers are the bridge between your product and the people using it. 

They make complicated tools understandable. They create documentation that saves your engineers hours of answering repeat questions. They make onboarding smoother for both customers and new employees. 

A good technical writer can: 

  • Turn developer notes into clear, usable guides
  • Document APIs so they’re easy to follow
  • Keep internal systems from becoming a maze of tribal knowledge
  • Prevent downtime by making fixes easier to follow 

Here’s a question: if your senior dev walked out tomorrow, could someone else jump in without chaos? If the answer is no, a technical writer might be the missing piece. 

2. Release Manager 

Releases are where things can go wrong fast. Too often, teams rush code into production without anyone fully owning the process. That’s where a release manager comes in. 

They’re the calm in the middle of the storm, making sure everything going live is ready. 

Their job is to: 

  • Coordinate changes across teams
  • Catch version conflicts before they blow up
  • Build rollback plans so a bad release doesn’t become a crisis
  • Keep release timelines realistic (and prevent Friday night emergencies) 

With more teams moving to rapid release cycles, this role isn’t optional anymore. If you don’t have a release manager, chances are your engineers are doing this work off the side of their desk, which means it’s not getting the focus it deserves. 

3. Accessibility Specialist 

Accessibility isn’t just about compliance. It’s about building products that work for everyone. 

An accessibility specialist looks at your app or website with a different perspective. They spot things that most developers don’t see color contrasts that make text hard to read, buttons that can’t be reached with a keyboard, screen readers that miss half the content. 

A strong accessibility hire can: 

  • Audit products for real-world usability
  • Train your team on best practices
  • Help you avoid lawsuits tied to accessibility failures
  • Open your product to customers who are often left out 

Accessibility isn’t a “nice to have” anymore. It’s good design. It’s good business. And it’s quickly becoming the standard that separates products people love from the ones they leave behind. 

4. Advanced IT Support Engineer 

We’re not talking about someone who resets passwords all day. We’re talking about high-level IT support engineers who can keep hybrid and remote teams running without skipping a beat. 

Modern IT support isn’t just fixing what’s broken. It’s proactive. It keeps your team moving no matter where they work. 

These engineers: 

  • Solve complex technical problems quickly
  • Handle device setup and rollouts without chaos
  • Train teams to avoid common issues before they start
  • Support software launches and updates with minimal downtime 

When support is weak, productivity drops, and frustration rises. A strong IT support engineer can be the difference between a smooth day and a team that can’t get anything done. 

5. Change Manager 

Change is constant in tech: New tools, new systems, mergers, migrations. Yet most companies underestimate how much change impacts their teams. 

A change manager helps everyone navigate the chaos. They make transitions smoother, communication clearer, and adoption faster. 

They focus on: 

  • Preparing teams before changes hit 
  • Helping leaders guide people through transitions 
  • Training users on new systems without overwhelming them 
  • Tracking adoption and adjusting where needed 

You won’t see a change manager writing code or designing infrastructure, but they might be the one person preventing your team from burning out during major shifts. 

Why These Roles Get Missed 

So why don’t more companies hire for these roles? 

They’re not flashy. They don’t come with buzzword-heavy job titles or immediately show ROI on a dashboard. They’re the quiet support beams holding the structure up. 

Most teams skip them because: 

  • They don’t know where to find qualified candidates 
  • The value feels hard to measure until something breaks 
  • Internal teams assume they can “cover it” with existing staff 

But when these roles are missing, you feel it. Work slows down, knowledge gets stuck, releases break and customers leave. 

Filling the Gaps 

If you read through this list and felt a pang of recognition, you’re not alone. Many companies realize too late that they’ve been overlooking the wrong roles. 

This is where a good IT staffing partner can make a huge difference. They know how to find talent for jobs that don’t always show up on traditional job boards. They’ve filled these gaps before. And they know how to match the right person to your team without slowing everything down. 

Final Thought 

Not every critical hire wears the title of engineer or architect. Sometimes the most valuable people are the ones quietly making sure everything else works. 

If your team feels stretched thin or like something’s missing, it might not be more developers you need. It might be one of these overlooked roles. 

Don’t wait until things break to figure that out. Hire the glue before the cracks show.