After 18 months of conversations with founders, technical leaders and investors across the UK’s photonics and semiconductor sectors, I’m seeing a market that is still investing but demanding far more proof that great technology can become a great business. Deep tech has to prove it can scale to profitability faster.

One of the things I’m noticing is that the investment story is more positive than the wider technology recruitment market might suggest. Investment is clearly still happening but the expectations around investment seem to have changed.

The UK semiconductor sector has continued to grow. The latest government sector study estimates 705 semiconductor companies in the UK, generating around £10.6bn in revenue and employing approximately 16,350 people in 2025. Employment was up around 9%.

The UK photonics industry is also growing. Its latest industry data puts output at £18.5bn and employment at around 84,800, with revenue growth significantly outpacing employment growth.

So why does the market sometimes feel cautious?

I think the answer is that investors are becoming much more focused on how technology becomes a scalable business. The question isn’t simply:

“Is this great technology?”

It is increasingly:

“Can this technology become a commercially defensible product?”

That means customers, IP, manufacturing, supply chains, margins and a credible route to scale matter enormously.

There is also a much bigger conversation around AI. The rapid growth in AI infrastructure is creating opportunities across semiconductors, photonics, optical communications, lasers, sensing and connectivity. The demand for more computing power ultimately creates demand for the technologies that enable it.

For UK companies, that represents a huge opportunity but it also raises the bar. Being technically impressive isn’t necessarily enough. Companies need to demonstrate that their technology can be manufactured, integrated and deployed at commercial scale and that is influencing headcount.

I’m seeing fewer companies hiring simply because they have raised money and more companies hiring because they have reached a specific milestone such as a customer has signed or a product needs scaling or a manufacturing process needs developing.

More than ever a funding round needs to translate into commercial progress.

Headcount is becoming increasingly connected to outcomes. I think this is a healthy development rather than growth for growths sake. It means companies are becoming more disciplined about where they invest. It also means that when they do hire, they increasingly want people who can make an immediate difference.

The UK has no shortage of brilliant science and engineering. Our bigger challenge is turning more of that capability into globally successful technology businesses.

Over the next few years, I think the companies that win will be those that can combine strong technology with disciplined investment, commercial focus and the people capable of moving a product from the laboratory into the real world.

That last part is where the recruitment challenge gets particularly interesting.

I’m Ben Hanley, Director of Enigma People Solutions, a specialist recruitment partner to the UK’s deep tech sector.

I work across electronics photonics, semiconductors, quantum, sensing and connectivity, helping companies secure the technical leaders and specialist engineers they need to grow.

For critical appointments, our retained search service is different from conventional contingency recruitment. We work exclusively and proactively on your behalf mapping the market, identifying exceptional people who may not be actively looking, approaching them directly and managing the process through to appointment.

We stand behind the appointments we make with a clear 12 months 100% guarantee of the placement fee giving our clients additional confidence that their investment in a critical hire is protected.

If you’re scaling a deep tech business and have a key technical appointment on the horizon, let’s talk.

Enigma People Solutions is an award-winning technology recruitment consultancy. We find technical leaders for the emerging and enabling technology industries. Visit our services page for more information. Visit our job search page for the latest vacancies in photonics, electronics, semiconductor, software and IoT in Scotland and the UK. Check out our blog page for the latest in the technology industry. You can get in touch with us hello@enigmapeople.com or call us on + 44 131 510 8150