Easy Guide to Getting Started with Your First AI Engineer

Many of my clients have shown interest in AI engineers. No surprise—AI is the future. I’ve hired for this role and helped others do the same. Here are tips to make the most of your first hire.

By Joseph Burns, Founder and CEO of Lupa

If you’re a tech company not hiring AI engineers, reconsider calling yourself “tech.” AI is essential, infiltrating every part of our lives. About 77% of companies are using or exploring AI to stay competitive. AI helps businesses work smarter and faster, becoming vital across industries.

I’m a big fan of AI, using it as the main ingredient in my business to let my team focus on what truly matters. AI engineers create smart solutions that simplify our lives. Ready to hire your first one? Here’s how to make the most of your new AI engineer.

What is an AI engineer?

An AI engineer is someone who uses their skills in engineering and computer science to build machines or software programs that can think for themselves. They’re always using the latest technologies because AI is advancing so fast. What was used six months ago might already be outdated. The goal is to solve business problems in new and creative ways, whether it’s giving more accuracy to a process, offering more in-depth analysis, or speeding up tasks that are usually slow.

Key responsibilities:

• Do a lot of research and development.
• Make sure their work aligns with the company’s goals. It’s not just about building cool AI stuff, but building cool AI stuff that matches the company’s objectives.
• Understand the company and clients really well.
• Analyze and fact-check everything to ensure quality.
• Be mindful of costs. AI projects can be expensive, so they should work efficiently and avoid costly solutions unless truly necessary.

What to Consider When Hiring Your First AI Engineer?

• Technical expertise: Having the technical know-how is essential. There’s a bunch of options here. Usually, it’s languages like Python or Java, and then some AI or machine learning frameworks like TensorFlow or PyTorch. You may adapt these requirements depending on the specific needs of your business.
• Problem-solving skills: AI engineers need to focus on solving the right problems first, not just using AI for the sake of it. Good problem solvers can identify and prioritize issues effectively, leading to useful AI applications. Nowadays, with easier tools and integrations, technical expertise isn’t as crucial as before. It’s more about finding quick, cost-effective solutions.
• Data manipulation skills: If someone knows how to move data around and set it up for AI, it can save a lot of money. A person who’s skilled in data handling and logical thinking can help build AI tools that won’t be too expensive. So, being good at SQL or Python is definitely something I’d look for. Data manipulation ahead of time is a big plus.
• Communication skills: If they can really talk to stakeholders, understand them, and communicate effectively, they’ll be much better off. Since it’s more of a problem-solving role now than a purely technical one, good communication is key.

Things You Should Have Your First AI Engineer Doing

1. Assign them a small pilot project: Choose something really small and well-defined that lets them get used to integrating your database and tools with the AI software. The simpler, the better. This approach allows them to demonstrate their abilities and forces them to understand the company’s needs thoroughly.
2. Delegate them data analysis tasks: Another good starting point is tasks related to data analysis. Any task involving analyzing data or identifying trends is super important and relatively easy to do. This helps them get a feel for the data and understand the patterns that are crucial for building effective AI solutions.
3. Focus on process automation: Automating repetitive tasks is crucial, and almost all of these can be handled by an AI engineer using tools like MindStudio. Tools like this can even help you create a custom GTP based on your specific needs, making it easier to automate various business processes.
4. Give them the chance to build their own AI tools: Initially, have them focus on using existing software and integrating AI tools through a small pilot project, data analysis, and process automation as I mentioned before. Once they prove they can handle these, they can move on to creating their own customized AI tools.

Tips to Make the Most Out of Your First AI Engineer

Be clear about objectives

The first thing is to be really clear on the objective. Like, “I want to reduce the time of this process from X to Y,” or “I want to increase the quality of this process from A to B.” Make sure your goal is simple, clear, and measurable. Starting with straightforward and easy-to-measure goals helps you get a few quick wins under your belt. Once you’ve got those working well, you can move on to more complex stuff.

Ensure they understand the operation and the why

Make sure your AI engineer understands the operation and the why behind everything you’re doing. Get them to be cross-functional and collaborate with the whole team. This helps them see the bigger picture and align their work with your overall goals.

Encourage them to share their knowledge

Have your AI engineer teach other developers or team members to build AI solutions, from no-code to complex ones. This helps others create their own AI tools and understand the basics. Even non-technical team members, like operations staff, can start to see potential AI solutions once they get the fundamentals.

Integrate their work with the overall business strategy

You need to sit down and plan how to integrate their work into the overall business strategy. If you’re not incorporating AI into every process, someone else is, and you’ll fall behind. Unicorn companies with just one or two employees are thriving, and this trend will grow. Making AI part of your long-term strategy is crucial, especially for online businesses. A good AI engineer can save money by replacing many roles and allowing investment in other areas, offering a high ROI.

Putting It All Together

Think of AI like the internet’s impact on business—just as transformative, if not bigger. AI might not replace people but can make your service or products infinitely better. Every organization will soon have AI specialists, so be one of the first and stay ahead of the trend.

Interested in hiring your first AI engineer? I’d love to chat and share insights on making the most of your first hire. Also, you can check out our talent navigator page for guidance on choosing top AI engineers from LatAm, adapted to your specific needs.