Artificial intelligence engineering is among the most coveted skills of this generation. It is slowly becoming a necessity for professionals seeking to scour the digital space for opportunities.
Over the last couple of years, artificial intelligence has slowly replaced human labour and intelligence in various job categories, resultantly creating a demand for AI engineers.
AI engineering as defined by Carnegie Mellon University is an emergent discipline focused on developing tools, systems, and processes to enable the application of artificial intelligence in real-world contexts.
The rise in the availability of computing power and massive datasets has led to the creation of new AI, models, and algorithms encompassing thousands of variables capable of making rapid and impactful decisions. Too often, though, these capabilities work only in controlled environments and are difficult to replicate, verify, and validate in the real world.
AI engineering aims to provide a framework and tools to proactively design AI systems to function in environments characterized by high degrees of complexity, ambiguity, and dynamism.
What do AI engineers do?
AI engineers are responsible for developing, programming, and training the complex networks of algorithms that make up AI so that they can function like a human brain. This role requires combined expertise in software development, programming, data science, and data engineering.
Though this career is related to data engineering, AI engineers are rarely required to write the code that develops scalable data sharing. Instead, artificial intelligence developers locate and pull data from a variety of sources, create, develop, and test machine learning models, and then utilize application program interface (API) calls or embedded code to build and implement AI applications.
In summary, AI engineers;
- Create and manage the AI development and production infrastructure.
- Conduct statistical analysis and interpret the results to guide and optimize the organization’s decision-making process.
- Automate AI infrastructures for the data science team.
- Build AI models from scratch and help product managers and other stakeholders with analysis and implementation.
- Transform machine learning models into APIs that can be integrated with other applications.
- Collaborate across teams to help with AI adoption and best practices.
How to Become an Artificial Intelligence Engineer?
One may become an AI engineer by pursuing a related diploma, degree, or Masters’ programme course.
Today, there are several AI certifications offered by multiple institutions, both on-site and online.
AI Engineering in the real world
Artificial Intelligence (AI) engineering is implemented across various sectors, transforming traditional operations and enabling new capabilities. These include healthcare, automotive, finance, retail, manufacturing, smart cities, and agriculture.
AI Engineering Jobs to consider in 2025
Machine Learning engineers are the backbone of AI development. They design and implement algorithms that enable systems to learn from data, making them crucial to applications like recommendation engines, predictive analytics, and fraud detection.
2. Natural Language Processing Specialist
NLP specialists are at the forefront of bridging human language and machine understanding, enabling machines to understand, process and generate human language. They are behind the development of chatbots, sentiment analysis tools and advanced language models like OpenAI’s GPT.
3. AI/ML Product Manager
AI/ML product managers serve as the bridge between business and technology. They play a pivotal role in successfully developing and implementing AI solutions. Additionally, they are responsible for managing the entire lifecycle of AI products, from initial ideation to final deployment, ensuring alignment with business goals and market demands.
4. Data Scientist
Data scientists analyze and interpret complex data, creating actionable insights for organizations. They combine statistics, analytics, and AI to predict trends, optimize operations, and guide business decisions. Skills include Python, SQL, data visualization, and big data technologies.
5. Computer Vision Engineer
Computer vision engineers build systems that allow computers to interpret visual data, enabling innovations in facial recognition, self-driving cars, and augmented reality. Skills include image processing, machine learning, and tools like OpenCV.
6. Robotics Engineer
Robotics engineers design and build AI-powered robots for industries like manufacturing, healthcare, and defense. These experts work on both hardware and software, requiring skills in coding, mechanical engineering, and robotics frameworks like ROS.
7. AI Research Scientist
Research scientists push the boundaries of AI, developing new algorithms and improving AI frameworks. They frequently work in academia or tech labs, requiring advanced knowledge of deep learning, reinforcement learning, and academic research methods.
8. Business Intelligence (BI) Developer
BI developers use AI to help companies understand and utilize data better. They build dashboards, reports, and tools that make data insights accessible, driving strategic decisions. Skills include SQL, data warehousing, and visualization tools like Tableau.
9. AI Security Specialist
As AI becomes more common, securing AI systems is critical. AI security specialists protect systems from malicious attacks and prevent data breaches. They need a background in cybersecurity, knowledge of AI vulnerabilities, and expertise in risk management.
AI jobs outlook and salaries
AI engineers typically work for tech companies like Google, IBM, and Meta, among others, helping them to improve their products, software, operations, and delivery. More and more, they may also be employed in government and research facilities that work to improve public services.
AI engineering is a specialized field that has promising job growth and tends to pay well.
According to Glassdoor, the average salary for an AI engineer is $133,651 in the United States as of January 2025. Falling under the categories of Computer and Information Research Scientist, AI engineers have a median salary of $145,080, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
