As we round the corner from the end of 2025 into 2026, a complicated picture for value consulting and engineering groups and roles emerges. While business development and customer success are showing continued hiring growth, value teams remain under pressure.
Many organizations are consolidating responsibilities into other GTM roles, asking solution engineers, AEs, and customer success managers to pick up the value mantle—often with minimal tooling, little training, and no relief from an already full plate.
At the same time, AI is frequently being positioned as a substitute for human-led value work, even as customer expectations for ROI proof continue to grow.
The Current Landscape
The latest Q3 hiring data from LinkedIn reveals just how uneven the market has become. Business development is one of the few bright spots, with roles increasing by 30% year over year. Customer success has also grown by 13%, though the pace is slower than earlier cycles, as companies realize that simply adding CS headcount isn’t reversing retention and expansion challenges.
Value consulting and engineering, however, tell a very different story. Layoffs, reductions in force, and in some cases the elimination of entire value teams continue to be reported. For many executives, these roles are still viewed as “overhead” compared to quota-carrying sellers. When GTM budgets are scrutinized, the question asked is often: can AI or an existing role cover this work instead?
In raw numbers, the imbalance is stark. In the U.S. we estimate 180,000+ pre-sales engineers compared to just 4,000 value engineers and consultants. For most companies, value remains the exception, not the rule.
Stretching Existing Resources
With hiring constrained, many organizations are trying to extract more from their existing teams. Solution engineers, AEs, and customer success managers are being asked to carry additional value responsibilities on top of their core roles.
On paper, these resources, although already overworked and overburdened, seem well-positioned: they understand the product, know customer pain points, and engage directly with prospects and clients.
But in reality, most haven’t been equipped with the training, certification, or coaching to lead with value effectively. Building credible ROI models, facilitating executive-level conversations, and quantifying business outcomes require skills and frameworks that go beyond technical depth or relationship management.
To succeed in this expanded mandate, these professionals need:
- Training and certification in value frameworks and methodologies.
- Coaching and practice to build fluency in customer-facing ROI discussions.
- Tools and AI support that reduce manual effort and provide scalable models.
- Ongoing guidance from experienced value leaders or fractional consultants.
Without these enablers, the push to “do more with less” risks burning out already stretched teams while diluting the credibility of value conversations at a time when buyers demand them most. With proper support, however, organizations can embed value more broadly across GTM motions, turning every role into a contributor to measurable business impact.
Bright Spots in a Constrained Market
Despite headwinds, there are areas of resilience and growth.
AI firms are leading the way. Companies such as Writer, Decagon, Intercom, Grammarly, and Notable are investing in value programs earlier than any previous wave of technology adoption. They recognize that ROI proof is non-negotiable for AI adoption and are pioneering new “AI value languages” to help customers measure impact.
A select few Enterprise growth firms are doubling down. A handful of large-scale players continue to expand their value organizations:
- Celonis is scaling one of the world’s largest value teams, adding roles such as Principal Enterprise Value Consultant – SaaS & AI.
- Atlassian is hiring globally, with value engineer positions opening in the US and across EMEA.
- Adobe is investing in industry-specific hires focused on Digital Media, Healthcare, and Life Sciences.
Most others remain cautious, holding the line on headcount or contracting further. In nearly every new hire discussion, the counter-question arises: could AI or an existing AE/SE do this instead?
Select senior-level roles are surfacing. Companies including Sprinklr, Cyara, NTT Data, Wiz, and Agiloft are hiring senior or lead consultants, designed for practitioners who can architect entire programs.
Entry- and mid-level hiring is showing some recovery. Value is being considered earlier than ever now, as leaders realize the need to add value-led growth to the PLG motion. Firms such as Clearspeed, Firstup, Infoblox, Airship, Samsara, and Motive have posted openings. But across all markets, opportunities remain scarce—measured only in the dozens across the US, Canada, and UK.
The Rise of Fractional Value Consulting
For firms that can’t justify full-time hires but still want to accelerate value programs, fractional value consulting and engineering is becoming an increasingly attractive model. Instead of waiting on budget approval—or expecting already stretched GTM teams to take on more – companies are engaging experienced fractional practitioners to design and launch programs.
Fractional leaders can architect frameworks and playbooks, establish ROI models, train GTM teams, and implement scalable processes. The appeal is clear: organizations can stand up credible value programs in months rather than years, at a fraction of the cost of permanent headcount. For companies eager to get ahead of buyer expectations without adding fixed costs, fractional resources offer a pragmatic path forward.
The Shifting Role of Value
Across the board, expectations of value professionals are evolving. The era of the late-stage “business case factory” is ending. Organizations want value embedded earlier in the journey, scaled across more roles, and supported by automation and AI.
This evolution can be thought of as a progression:
- From Player: reactive, project-based contributors.
- To Composer: builders of scalable frameworks and AI-powered automation.
- Ultimately to Orchestrator: leaders who coordinate across functions, enabling sellers, success teams, and executives to engage customers around value across the entire lifecycle.
But making this shift requires support. AEs, SEs, and CSMs tasked with “doing value” can’t succeed without proper training, tools, and coaching. AI can accelerate modeling, but human judgment and orchestration are still needed to guide the conversation, validate credibility, and sustain trust. Without dedicated enablement, the golden thread of value risks breaking – fragmented across functions with no clear owner.
The Bottom Line
For value consulting and engineering practitioners, the rest of 2025 into 2026 will be defined by fewer seats, but more strategic ones. AI firms are setting the pace.
The trends:
- A handful of enterprise growth companies are continuing to invest. Senior-level and some entry-level roles are returning, but in limited numbers.
- For firms unable to add permanent headcount, fractional consulting provides a faster, more cost-effective path to building programs.
- Training, certifying and enabling sales engineering, AEs and customer success reps is becoming much more vital to program success.
- And for those already in-role, the mandate is clear: evolve from late-stage contributors to lifecycle orchestrators. Build frameworks, enable adoption across functions, leverage AI-enabled tools, and tie everything to measurable ROI.
The Outcome Economy demands no less. And the organizations investing in value now – whether through permanent hires, fractional expertise, or retooled GTM teams – will be the ones best positioned to thrive in 2026 and beyond.
Lets discuss how to leverage fractional value consultants, AI-powered Value Expert training and role-play certification, and more to best meet the 2026 challenges, today: Click here to schedule a consult with us.