Chinese internet giants, such as JD.com, NetEase, and Meituan, are significantly looking for app developers with experience in the HarmonyOS mobile platform from Huawei Technologies.

This shift is being made in response to US sanctions against the telecom giant, as Huawei increases the use of its operating system to become less reliant on Google's Android ecosystem.

A Shift in Operating System Preferences

Businesses like Meituan are hiring for various positions, most notably for HarmonyOS infrastructure engineers. They are paying developers with HarmonyOS experience and the capacity to contribute to R&D projects based on current technological infrastructure a substantial monthly salary of 40,000 to 60,000 yuan (about US$5,492 to US$8,238).

JD.com and NetEase are also looking for developers specializing in crafting applications tailored to Huawei smartphones. These job postings signify the growing emphasis placed by major tech players in the Chinese market on HarmonyOS-based app development.

The coordinated hiring campaigns by these significant internet companies highlight Huawei's deliberate efforts to increase HarmonyOS adoption in China.

The founder and CEO of Huawei, Ren Zhengfei, has stressed the need for HarmonyOS to be a strong substitute ecosystem, mainly to lessen the impact of US sanctions on the business.

According to Richard Yu Chengdong, the chairman of Huawei's Intelligent Automotive Solution business unit and CEO of the company's consumer business group, HarmonyOS is presently used by over 700 million devices, demonstrating significant traction.

Additionally, as was mentioned during Huawei's annual developer conference in August, over 2.2 million third-party developers have contributed to the development of apps for this platform.

Yu also outlined plans for the forthcoming iteration, HarmonyOS Next, indicating a strategic shift.

The new system is expected to discontinue support for Android-based apps across devices running this updated operating system. Huawei plans to unveil a developer preview of the Next system in the first quarter of the upcoming year.

The Effort to Strengthen Harmony OS

According to other sources, more internet services, computer software, and value-added service companies have increased hiring this year to support their HarmonyOS-related efforts.

These companies establish high standards for applicants' educational backgrounds and work experiences, according to data from online recruiter Zhaopin.

They also pay an average monthly income of about CNY17,537, which is significantly more than the market median.

Wu, a well-known industry personality, announced that programmers working on HarmonyOS development received pay increases ranging from 30 to 50 percent. The average salary in this industry could stabilize as more programmers switch to HarmonyOS development because there won't be many major technical obstacles to overcome.

Acknowledging the platform's growing significance, a product manager from an online services company affirmed their initiation of HarmonyOS app development.

While their existing app lacks HarmonyOS compatibility, efforts are underway to build an app aligned with this operating system, emphasizing the industry's pivot towards HarmonyOS integration.