Every couple of months, someone in my LinkedIn network proudly announces they’ve left the tech world behind. They’re excited about a new life as a potter, or they plan to surf in Costa Rica for the next few years.

Don’t get me wrong — part of me is genuinely happy for them. But I also feel a twinge of disappointment. Another highly skilled person, someone who benefited from decades of strong tech salaries and opportunities, is checking out of the field for good. They often express relief at leaving the corporate grind.

It may be a bit cliché, but the Japanese concept of ikigai — often translated as “reason for being“ — helps explain why so many senior technologists feel unfulfilled and burned out, despite all the objectively great parts of a tech career.

If you look at the classic ikigai Venn diagram, many people in tech have nailed three of the four circles. A lot of us discovered “what you love“ early in our lives, and it turned out to align nicely with “what you are good at.“ Then we lucked out that tech pays extremely well, too. We love the work, we’re good at it, and we’re paid top dollar. Sounds perfect.

The missing piece is often the hardest one: “what the world needs.“ It’s increasingly difficult to convince ourselves that much of what we’re building actually makes the world better. Most of what we’re tasked with primarily helps a few corporate leaders to make a lot of money — and in some cases, it may even be doing net harm to the world. That realization is hard to sit with.

I don’t blame anyone for throwing up their hands and choosing to go surfing in Costa Rica. But there is another path. It’s possible to apply your tech skills to problems that satisfy the fourth quadrant of ikigai: things the world genuinely needs. You’ll probably have to trade off some $$$, but you may finally find the balance that’s been missing from your career.

I can’t promise it will be easy, but at least you’ll know why you get out of bed in the morning to go to work.

Daniel Burka, Co-founder of Hard Problems

Board of Directors, Euki

Euki is a tech nonprofit on a mission to co-create accessible, private, and secure digital health tools with and for people and communities facing barriers to sexual and reproductive healthcare. To complement their current board, they are looking for candidates with one of more of the following skills or experiences:

• Senior-level fundraising experience

• Legal expertise

• Experience in nonprofit or board leadership

• Experience building or managing software, with a preference for open-source technologies

User Research & Design Specialist, Agami (India)

Agami is reforming the Indian judicial system by creating a new category of courts called “24×7 ON Courts”. These courts seek to not just digitize existing processes, but reimagine processes to create an efficient, predictable, and seamless experience for all users.

They are looking for a design specialist to effectively understand user needs and design solutions that are people-centric.

Product Design Lead, U.S. Digital Response (Remote, US)

U.S. Digital Response (USDR) works alongside state, local, and tribal governments to modernise how they deliver digital services. They are hiring a Product Design Lead for their election program to help ensure transparent, secure, trustworthy elections for the 2026 midterms.

Salary: $140 to $156K
Contract: 12-month term, 4-day work week
Apply by: Feb 13, 2026

AI Adoption Project Manager, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders)

MSF is an international independent medical-humanitarian organisation, which offers assistance to populations in distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters and to victims of armed conflict. They are seeking an AI project manager to lead projects related to responsible AI adoption within MSF, coordinating and managing full lifecycle of strategic initiatives.

Apply by: Feb 15, 2026

Product Manager, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), (Delhi, India)

National Highways Authority of India is building citizen-facing digital solutions that help them stay informed (on weather & amenities such as hospitals & petrol stations), report road problems (such as encroachments, potholes, obstructions), and manage toll services. They are looking for Product Managers to build the official application & 1033 helpline.

Salary: Rs. 24-36 lakh/- (open to negotiation)