2025 Remote Hiring Wrapped: How SMBs Built and Scaled Remote Teams 🌍
Remote hiring became a more established part of how SMBs built teams in 2025. Over the year, clear patterns emerged in the roles founders chose to hire remotely. These roles increasingly went beyond basic support, with founders placing trusted operators across operations, marketing, product, finance, and executive support.
This year-end wrap brings those patterns together. A look at which roles were most in demand in 2025, based on real placements and the hiring decisions founders made as they built lean teams.
Thinking about your next remote hire? Book a Free Consultation to see how Goodwork can help you scale with the right talent for your team.
Hiring Trends: Roles Most in Demand in 2025 📊
Looking across the year, several hiring categories consistently emerged as priorities for SMB founders. These roles weren’t task-based support; they reflected where teams were investing to drive growth, stability, and scale.
These role categories stood out consistently across the year:
Executive Support & Operations 🧩
Founders weren’t hiring for basic admin coverage. They were placing executive assistants and operations-focused hires who could own workflows, manage priorities, and use tools and automation to free up leadership time.
This category increasingly included roles that blended operations with systems thinking and AI-enabled execution, such as:
- Executive Operations Managers
- Startup Operations and Growth Leads
- AI Operations and Automation Leads
- CRM and Automation Specialists
- Operations Managers
For many SMBs, these roles became foundational hires. Not just supporting leadership, but actively improving how work gets done and freeing up time to focus on growth.
Growth, Marketing & Creative Roles 🎨
Growth, marketing, and creative roles remained a core hiring category throughout the year. These roles supported both demand generation and brand-building, with teams relying on remote talent to own execution and decision-making across channels.
Founders increasingly hired senior and specialized marketers who combined strong creative judgment with AI-enabled tools to produce, test, and scale content more efficiently.
Roles included:
Growth & Performance
- Global Demand Generation Leads
- Performance Marketing and AI Insights Analysts
- Marketing and Project Managers
- Paid Media and Growth Specialists
- Lead Nurturing and Automation Specialists
Content & Campaign
- Digital Content and Campaign Managers
- Social Media and Community Engagement Specialists
Video & Creative Production
- Video and Podcast Editors
- Senior Marketing and Video Editors
- Multimedia Designers
AI-Enabled Content & Video
- Gen-AI Video Creators
- AI-Powered Copywriters
Engineering, AI & Tech-Support Roles 🤖
Engineering and AI-powered roles became an increasingly important hiring category in 2025. Rather than focusing only on traditional engineers, many SMBs hired technical operators who could apply automation, AI tools, and systems thinking to real business workflows.
These roles were scoped to improve efficiency, support scale, and reduce complexity across teams.
Roles included:
Engineering & Technical Execution
- Full Stack Developers
- Technical Support Engineers
- Technical Support Managers
- QA Engineers
- Database Admins & QA Specialists
AI & Automation
- AI and Automation Specialists
- AI-Powered Litigation Associates
- AI-Powered SEO and Content Specialists
Product, Systems & Delivery
- Product Managers
- Project Managers for AI and Automation Systems
- Technical Project Coordinators
These hires reflected a broader shift toward practical, tool-driven roles.
Estimation, Analysis & Industry-Specific Roles 📐
In 2025, many founders hired remote talent for highly domain-specific roles that directly impacted margins, pricing, and planning.
These weren’t generic support roles. They required industry knowledge, accuracy, and sound judgment.
Roles included:
- Senior Electrical Estimators
- Construction Estimators
- Business Analysts
This category highlights how remote hiring expanded into specialized, high-impact functions traditionally kept in-house.
Finance, Accounting & People Operations 💼
Founders made finance and people operations hires to bring structure, consistency, and clearer visibility into how their businesses were running.
Rather than outsourcing fragmented tasks, many SMBs hired experienced finance and people operations professionals they could trust with ongoing ownership across reporting, compliance, payroll coordination, and internal processes.
Roles included:
Finance Leadership & Oversight
- Finance Managers
- Certified Financial Advisors
Accounting & Compliance
- Accountant and Tax Specialists
- Senior Accountants
- Senior Bookkeepers
Billing, Reporting & Execution
- Billing and Accounts Officers
- Finance Associates
- Finance and Fulfilment Specialists
People Operations
- HR and People Operations Associates
- Finance and HR Associates
Regions by Affordability 💸
Founders used these tiers to match affordability with role importance, seniority, and collaboration needs.
Ready to see how a remote hire could fit into your business?
More SMBs are leaning into remote hiring to scale their teams. A Goodwork hire joins in a core role, builds trust, and becomes someone the business can rely on. As the company grows, founders often return to Goodwork to help build the next part of the team.
Goodwork supports long-term retention and helps remote talent excel in their roles through programs like the Talent Accelerator, while enabling businesses to scale and helping women from emerging economies gain financial independence through remote work.
If you’re planning to explore remote hiring in 2026, book your free consultation today and discover how Goodwork can help your company grow with global remote talent at a fraction of the local hiring cost.