For around two decades, the unwritten rule for talented Poles was to develop and leave the country. Ambitious specialists aimed their career trajectories towards hubs like Germany, UK or USA. But as the global tech market recalibrates, the current is changing. Mid-level and senior IT professionals want to return home… and they should.

Maturing with the market

The IT market boom days of youthful enthusiasm are settling into a mature, value-driven landscape. Post-pandemic corrections in the US and Western Europe fractured the gold rush dream in places like the Silicon Valley. Major tech capitals grapple with bloated living costs, prudent investors and changing quality of life. In the meantime, Polish founders, engineers, and "tech nomads" have built a reputation for world-class technical talent and entrepreneurial drive.

The trends show that these skilled professionals are now looking for new places to settle, work, and invest. What better place to do that than their home country? Even more, what better place to settle than a highly tech-friendly region that boasts an exceptional quality of life?

They’re coming home…

The signs that the tide is turning are already shown in multiple reports. It’s not at its peak yet but the trends are visible. The post-pandemic IT correction has ended in Poland, and the most visible proof is the Just Join IT 2025 report. After two years of a market decline in 2023 and 2024, year 2025 brought an 8,4% year-over-year increase in job offers, summing up at around 110 thousand open roles. Additionally, the report shows that the maturing market is no longer seeking juniors, it’s looking for experienced mid and senior IT specialists who earn competitive salaries but with a bigger purchasing power in Poland, when compared with Western Europe or USA.

Furthermore, Hays IT Contracting 2026 Report states that 82% of tech organisations in Poland plan to actively recruit this year. Their focus: experienced, mid-to-senior specialists. This creates the perfect landing spot for senior Polish engineers aiming to return from hubs like London or Berlin.

To paint a bigger picture about this coming back to roots trend, it's worth having a look at the broader demographic data. Polskie Radio reported that return migration from the UK to Poland has tripled in 2025. It estimates that 25 thousand Poles left the UK while 7 thousand arrived. This is the highest rate since the Brexit vote.

But this phenomenon is not exclusive to the British Isles. According to PolandWeekly’s report published in spring of 2026, data shared from the German Federal Statistical Office show that for the first time in 25 years more Poles left Germany than arrived. A negative migration balance has also been recorded in the Netherlands. What’s the main driver behind these changes? Shrinking wage gaps.

But it’s not only the salaries themselves that lure seasoned tech veterans back home. It’s the overall economic reality in Poland that has drastically improved. While the wage gap is narrowing, especially in the highly skilled IT sector, the cost of living difference hasn’t. Staying in expensive Amsterdam or London is no longer justified from a financial point of view.

According to the Polish Bank’s PKO report “The Polish IT Sector - Algorithm of Success”, the tech sector now accounts for an estimated 8%-9% of the country's total GDP. This translates to around 85 billion zloty or 19,5 billion euro. This is a massive number that’s a product of Poland’s evolution. Transforming from a pure outsourcing hub into one of the most important startup ecosystems in the region is fuelling these numbers and it doesn’t seem to stop yet. The returning IT seniors chose an environment full of EU funding, mature Venture Capital ecosystem, and global tech giants who have moved or are moving their R&D centres to Poland.

…and so should you

As the trend is clearly visible, for tech leaders, returning founders, and investors seeking to capitalize on this shift, the logical next step is looking north to the Polish Bay Area. With the launch of Gdańsk Bay Tech, the world-class ecosystem Polish expats have historically had to cross borders to find is being built right on the Baltic coast.

Officially inaugurated at the Infoshare conference, Gdańsk Bay Tech is a unified innovation ecosystem designed to position Poland’s Pomerania region among the top five startup hubs in Central and Eastern Europe. Co-created by nearly 50 stakeholders, including Starter Gdańsk, InvestGDA, Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot Metropolitan Area, major universities, and private founders, the initiative is a highly coordinated effort to keep top talent at home and attract the diaspora back.

- We are not building an ecosystem just to catch up with others - explains Paweł Orłowski, President of InvestGDA - We are building it so that companies that compete globally, from the first ambitious startups to future unicorns, can emerge directly from Pomerania.

Gdańsk Bay Tech leans heavily into the region's existing strengths, a deep pool of highly skilled technical talent, a culture of ambitious action, and natural advantages in sectors like maritime logistics, offshore energy, and deep tech. It provides the specific environment high-growth companies need to thrive from day one. It is an ecosystem built by founders, for founders.

Drop your anchor in the Bay!

For Polish tech professionals who have spent years building expertise, networks, and capital abroad, Gdańsk Bay Tech serves as a landing pad to bring that global experience back home.
Whether you are a seasoned founder ready to launch your next venture, an engineer wanting to tackle complex deep-tech challenges without leaving the country, or an expat looking to open a European R&D hub for your current company, the infrastructure is now in place.
You no longer have to export your talent to build something globally significant. The ecosystem you’ve been looking for is here. It’s time to come back and build.

See more: gdanskbaytech.pl