Great question about privacy engineering as a career in 2026. I'd add that browser security and digital fingerprinting are rapidly growing specializations. As companies face tighter privacy regulations globally, there's strong demand for engineers who understand how browsers are tracked, how fingerprinting APIs work, and how to build compliant tracking-resistant systems.
The technical depth required is significant - understanding canvas fingerprinting, WebGL signatures, AudioContext entropy, WebRTC leaks, and font enumeration requires both browser internals knowledge and security expertise. This translates directly to roles in ad tech, fintech compliance, fraud prevention, and privacy-focused product development. Projects like FireKey (usefirekey.com) that tackle browser isolation are good examples of the kind of infrastructure companies need. Privacy engineering roles seem quite recession-resistant compared to general software engineering.