AI engineer roles are rapidly becoming the most sought-after jobs as companies move from testing artificial intelligence to using it at scale.
According to LinkedIn's Jobs on the Rise report, the fastest-growing job is now the AI engineer role, driven by the need for businesses across industries to turn their AI strategies into actual business results.
With the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence, leaders are under pressure to deliver results. Real Time, Director, Ellis Taylor stated that many organisations are rethinking their AI strategy or scrambling to develop one. This has resulted in a number of vaguely defined AI engineer positions being created.
Taylor stated that the greatest demand is coming from industries that have a problem to solve. Health tech companies are applying AI to diagnostic imaging, and fintech companies are applying AI to solve fraud detection. He stated that companies who are succeeding with AI are hiring engineers to solve a problem, not just to create an AI team.
Although skills remain essential, companies are also focusing on delivery and impact. Heidi CEO and Co-Founder Dr Thomas Kelly stated that the best AI engineers can explain what they have done, why it was important, and their role in delivering it. He also mentioned that those who can link their past experiences to applied AI and healthcare stand out the most.
This is part of a wider shift in the hiring of AI professionals, whereby outcomes are considered more significant than theoretical knowledge.
Chipo Riva, Senior Consultant at Talenza, stated, "We need to hire an AI engineer who can operate in real-world conditions, which means dealing with messy data, sceptical stakeholders, and business outcomes instead of technical perfection."
She also mentioned, what differentiates the best candidates is their ability to link business problems with AI solutions and explain their decisions to non-technical teams. There are many people who can code, but the industry lacks professionals who can link AI engineering with collaboration and business understanding.