Career Coaching
in Cambridge

Employment Landscape

Cambridge’s job market right now feels nuanced and demanding. In life sciences, the dominating presence of Takeda, Biogen, Moderna and others remains—but Takeda’s decision to wind down its cell therapy program has led to layoffs of around 137 jobs starting in early 2026, even as it prepares a new half‑million‑square‑foot R&D facility in Kendall Square. At the same time, Thermo Fisher has cut another 300 jobs across its Cambridge and Plainville sites due to shifting customer timelines in viral vector production. That said, professional services firms like Cambridge Associates have also trimmed about 5 percent of their staff as fee pressures mount. Meanwhile, higher education and health care hold relatively stable ground, anchored by employers such as Harvard, MIT, and Mount Auburn Hospital, though growth in computer and tech roles has softened recently. Job seekers in Cambridge will find opportunity—but also tough competition and uncertainty, especially in biotech and adjacent sectors.

Dominant Industries

Typical Roles

Hiring Patterns

Hiring is mixed. Biotech and pharma remain the backbone of Cambridge’s market but are undergoing contraction in certain subfields like cell therapy and viral‑vector manufacturing. Higher education and health care are steady sources of opportunity. Professional services and tech roles show softening demand compared to previous years.

"In Cambridge, even strong sectors can retrench; you are up against deep expertise and shifting priorities, so persistence matters."