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Hire AI developers and engineers on demand. Top companies and startups choose AI developers from Toptal for machine learning models, neural networks, natural language processing, computer vision, and more.
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Hire Freelance AI Developers
Francesc Guitart
Francesc is a machine learning engineer and data scientist passionate about building pipelines to automate tasks. He has a PhD in artificial intelligence and 8+ years of experience in the data science sector. He's been working in consultancy firms and technology companies contributing with an innovative attitude and an always-learning spirit.
Show MoreIshola Babatunde Isaac
Isaac brings extensive experience in applying machine learning (ML), including Generative AI (GenAI), across diverse fields and complex challenges. He has worked on ML applications in ad security, supply chain management, business analytics, image tracking, healthcare technology, hardware, and failure prediction. Isaac has successfully led teams and managed projects from initial conception through full deployment in both startup and enterprise environments.
Show MoreMatthew Warkentin
Since 2014, Matthew has been working professionally in the fields he loves, software and data—culminating in him co-founding the Rubota corporation in 2017. Before that, he spent the past decade at Cornell University conducting scientific research specifically in statistical and biological physics. All in all, Matthew is an engaging, intense communicator with a passion for knowledge and understanding.
Show MoreHafiz Haseeb Ahmed
Hafiz is a full-stack developer with more than four years of experience developing robust applications for high-volume businesses in an agile environment. He is a problem-solving team player with a can-do attitude and phenomenal communication skills. Hafiz has been working as a remote independent contractor with companies all over the globe.
Show MoreKaustubh Kulkarni
Kaustubh is an experienced machine learning and artificial intelligence engineer with a proven history of working in the field of natural language processing. Proficient in TensorFlow, Python, C++, big data, big data analytics, and Linux, he applies a strong technical skill set to complex challenges. With a master of technology degree in computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Kaustubh combines advanced education with practical expertise.
Show MoreFilip Boltuzic
Filip is a machine learning engineer with several years of professional experience. He's worked on large-scale problems at Amazon Web Services as a software developer and built natural language processing models as a research associate at the University of Zagreb. Filip's main interests are machine learning and natural language processing, with an emphasis on building text classification models.
Show MoreNimrod Talmon
Nimrod is a researcher, consultant, and developer with 12 years of experience and expertise in software architecture and development, mathematical modeling, and algorithm development, in fields such as mathematical optimization, AI, algorithmic game theory, and operations research. Early in his career, Nimrod was a software engineer and tech team lead at Google, and he holds a PhD in computer science. From a polymath perspective, his EBS numbers are Erdös 3, Sabbath 7, and, arguably, Bacon 6.
Show MorePetr Smital
Petr is a freelance IT developer and startup co-founder with 15+ years of experience in software automation, cloud services, artificial intelligence, and management consulting. He has worked with large companies and small startups and knows how to save time and costs by building things right the first time, reliably, and securely. Petr prefers innovative projects with high personal responsibility, especially in web services, automation, and new tech.
Show MoreMetti Paak
Mehdi is a data scientist and machine learning/deep learning expert who has extensive experience in software development and mathematical/statistical modeling. He has worked in the aerospace, manufacturing, and healthcare industries developing custom, data-driven predictive software tools. He is proficient in translating business goals into data products and architecting the entire pipeline to the point of delivery. His work has led to multiple patents, publications, and successful fundraising.
Show MoreWilliam Zhu
William has three years of professional experience in data science and artificial intelligence. Key projects include text classification to identify hate speech in social media and fraud detection applications. He specializes in data analysis, data visualization, and predictive modeling, and his strongest programming language is Python. William is diligent and obsessed with quality.
Show MorePawel Kaplanski
Pawel is an experienced data-scientists and machine learning professional. He has worked for Fortune 100 companies, and he has an academic background in the field. Before moving to data science, he was a former lead architect in Samsung R&D Center. Pawel holds a Ph.D. in knowledge representation and reasoning as well as a master's degree and a bachelor of science degree in computer science.
Show MoreDiscover More AI Developers in the Toptal Network
Start HiringA Hiring Guide
Guide to Hiring a Great AI Developer
AI developers are versatile experts who improve business systems and processes, automate tasks, build AI models, and perform statistical analyses. Pinpoint the top candidates for your business with this guide to hiring AI developers, including skill requirements, tips on writing the job description, and sample interview questions.
Read Hiring Guide... allows corporations to quickly assemble teams that have the right skills for specific projects.
Despite accelerating demand for coders, Toptal prides itself on almost Ivy League-level vetting.




How to Hire Ai Engineers Through Toptal
Talk to One of Our Client Advisors
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EXCEPTIONAL TALENT
How We Source the Top 3% of AI Developers
Our name “Toptal” comes from Top Talent—meaning we constantly strive to find and work with the best from around the world. Our rigorous screening process identifies experts in their domains who have passion and drive.
Of the thousands of applications Toptal sees each month, typically fewer than 3% are accepted.
Toptal Artificial Intelligence Case Studies
Discover how our AI developers help the world’s top companies drive innovation at scale.

Toptal AI engineers help USC launch AI-powered mental health chatbot to support 40,000+ students.
Challenge: The University of Southern California set out to build a 24/7 mental health app with an authentic, conversational AI chatbot interface and an AI-powered chatbot. To bring this vision to life, the university needed specialized expertise in software development and AI engineers with expertise in chatbot integration.
Solution: In close collaboration with USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies, Toptal helped build Ask Ari, a first-of-its-kind mental health chatbot that uses generative AI to deliver personalized, on-demand support to students.
Outcome: Toptal’s AI engineer helped USC move beyond traditional resources with a smart, responsive platform that adapts to student needs. The Toptal collaboration met USC’s high standards for innovation, and students using Ask Ari report feeling empowered to better handle their anxiety and stress.
Kelly Christoffersen
Senior Software Engineer, USC Institute for Creative Technologies
Capabilities of AI Developers
AI developers are pivotal in crafting intelligent systems and data-driven solutions. Toptal’s AI experts design machine learning models, natural language processing (NLP) systems, and neural networks to create predictive analytics, automate processes, and deliver personalized experiences tailored to real-world applications.
Machine Learning
Natural Language Processing
Neural Networks
Computer Vision
Automating Business Processes
Predictive Analytics and Forecasting
Developing Recommendation Systems
Optimization and Deployment
Integrating AI into Existing Systems
Ethical AI and Bias Mitigation
Find the Right Talent for Every Project
Senior AI Developers
Dedicated AI Developers
Offshore AI Developers
Remote AI Developers
FAQs
The cost associated with hiring an AI developer depends on various factors, including preferred talent location, complexity and size of the project you’re hiring for, seniority, engagement commitment (hourly, part-time, or full-time), and more. In the US, for example, Glassdoor’s reported average total annual pay for AI developers is $154,000 as of November 2024. With Toptal, you can speak with an expert talent matcher who will help you understand the cost of talent with the right skills and seniority level for your needs. To get started, schedule a call with us — it’s free, and there’s no obligation to hire with Toptal.
Typically, you can hire AI developers with Toptal in about 48 hours. For larger teams of talent or full end-to-end project delivery, timelines may vary. Our talent matchers are highly skilled in the same fields they’re matching in—they’re not recruiters or HR reps. They’ll work with you to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics, and match you with ideal candidates from our vetted global talent network.
Once you select your artificial intelligence engineer, you’ll have a no-risk trial period to ensure they’re the perfect fit. Our matching process has a 98% trial-to-hire rate, so you can rest assured that you’re getting the best fit every time.
The demand for talent skilled in AI is surging, as 77% of consumer services or devices are powered by AI, according to Pega AI’s global consumer survey. With the increasing scope and accuracy of models, the proliferation of generative AI, and advances in natural language processing (NLP) and computer vision (CV), it is pertinent, if not urgent, to have an AI engineer on your team. The field of AI only continues to grow—with global AI spending expected to surpass $631 billion by 2028, according to IDC—and AI developers will help businesses remain competitive.
To choose the best AI expert for your project, you should assess a candidate’s proficiency in programming, data science, mathematics, deep learning frameworks, and cloud computing. They should possess a mastery of one or more programming languages (e.g., Python, R, Java, or C++) and a solid understanding of computer science fundamentals. The required data science skills include knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and ML models, and the necessary mathematical background includes knowledge of linear algebra, calculus, and statistics. Finally, AI experts should have experience with the top deep learning frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras) and cloud computing platforms (e.g., Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform) to deploy AI models at scale.
To hire the right remote ai developer, it’s important to evaluate a candidate’s experience, technical skills, and communication skills. You’ll also want to consider the fit with your particular industry, company, and project. Toptal’s rigorous screening process ensures that every member of our network has excellent experience and skills, and our team will match you with the perfect AI developers for your project.
AI has become increasingly important in recent years and has various real-world applications. It can be used for chatbots, fraud detection, risk assessments, medical diagnoses, personalized marketing and customer services, image recognition, autonomous vehicles, customized learning experiences, and video games. Across most industries, AI can accelerate and optimize business processes and automate tasks with the help of an experienced AI consultant.
At Toptal, we thoroughly screen our ai/ml developers to ensure we only match you with the highest caliber of talent. Of the more than 200,000 people who apply to join the Toptal network each year, fewer than 3% make the cut.
In addition to screening for industry-leading expertise, we also assess candidates’ language and interpersonal skills to ensure that you have a smooth working relationship.
When you hire artificial intelligence developers with Toptal, you’ll always work with world-class, custom-matched AI developers ready to help you achieve your goals.
You can hire artificial intelligence engineers on an hourly, part-time, or full-time basis. Toptal can also manage the project end-to-end based on your specific requirements as part of our Consulting and Services offerings. Whether you hire a AI developer for a full- or part-time position, you’ll have the control and flexibility to scale your team up or down as your needs evolve. Our AI developers can fully integrate into your existing team for a seamless working experience.
We make sure that each engagement between you and your AI developer begins with a trial period of up to two weeks. This means that you have time to confirm the engagement will be successful. If you’re completely satisfied with the results, we’ll bill you for the time and continue the engagement for as long as you’d like. If you’re not completely satisfied, you won’t be billed. From there, we can either part ways, or we can provide you with another AI developer who may be a better fit and with whom we will begin a second, no-risk trial.
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Guide to Hiring a Great AI Developer
Tetyana is an AI expert who has served as a founder, chief data scientist, and consultant for clients in several countries. She has worked on projects for large companies like MultiChoice Group and Control Risks in industries including energy, government, education, and biotechnology. Tetyana has built systems for finance and accounting purposes, ML-powered NLP, forecasting, and anomaly detection.
Previous Role
Chief Data ScientistPreviously at
Companies Clamor to Hire AI Experts As Demand Surges
Today, 66% of users interact with a service or device powered by artificial intelligence on a regular basis. AI applications include chatbots, video surveillance tools, object detection applications, and autonomous systems (e.g., humanoid robots and self-driving cars). AI can help us make more sensible financial decisions and improve our health and wellness. This is just the start: As AI use cases expand and automate repetitive tasks, global AI spending is projected to surpass $2 trillion in 2026. In this surge, practically all businesses can benefit from hiring the right AI engineers.

With AI courses and terminology becoming more commonplace among professionals, you may assume that there exists a large talent pool, and hiring an AI engineer is easy. It is not. There’s a big difference between the many software engineers who list AI as a skill on their résumés and capable artificial intelligence engineers who can add value to a company by building cutting-edge AI systems, integrating them into existing company infrastructure, and guaranteeing they work efficiently.
So, how can you hire artificial intelligence developers who will give your enterprise an AI advantage? Read on to discover the critical skill requirements, tips on crafting an effective job description, and interview questions that will help you identify exceptional candidates.
What Attributes Distinguish Quality AI Developers From Others?
Strong candidates are well-versed in the required core technical skills for AI development:
- They have experience developing machine learning (ML) or AI models, and generative AI solutions, from scratch.
- They provide scalable solutions with API development (i.e., turning models into APIs).
- They understand ML algorithms.
- They incorporate DevOps processes into the ML and AI development workflow, and deploy models in a continuous learning pipeline.
- They monitor, retrain, and refine AI models as new data becomes available to help maintain accuracy, reliability, and scalability in production applications.
- They maintain ML and AI systems infrastructure.
- They can work with big data and perform statistical analysis of data.
Complementary Skills of Leading AI Developers
An artificial intelligence developer should be comfortable working across programming languages, machine learning frameworks, databases, cloud platforms, and model integration tools. Though the right tech stack varies by project, the following complementary AI developer skills are typically considered industry standards.
Programming languages: Proficiency in at least one programming language (e.g., Python, R, Java, MATLAB) is a must when working with AI. Strong software development skills will allow engineers to collaborate effectively with teams and implement solutions with the reliability and accuracy required for a production environment.
- Python: Due to its many libraries and ease of use, Python is particularly popular for AI development. AI developers use Python to prepare and manipulate data, rapidly build and evaluate models, integrate AI systems with APIs, and prototype features before deployment. When hiring artificial intelligence developers, prioritize applicants who can explain how they use Python to accelerate prototyping, support model integration, and move AI features toward production.
- R: AI developers use R for statistical analysis, data visualization, model validation, and exploratory data analysis. While Python is usually preferred for production AI development, R is helpful in data initiatives that require rigorous analytics and visual reporting. When hiring artificial intelligence developers for data-centric initiatives, note applicants who show proficiency in validating data, interpreting model results, and communicating insights to technical and non-technical stakeholders through reports, dashboards, and visualizations. While R is especially useful in those scenarios, similar outcomes can be achieved with Python, depending on the project’s requirements and existing tech stack.
- Java: AI developers may use Java to integrate AI capabilities into backend systems and production environments where stability and security are priorities. While Python is the standard for training machine learning models, Java can be useful for deploying trained models and connecting AI services to existing applications. When hiring AI developers for Java-based environments, applicants who have used Java to integrate AI models and services to modernize existing software should be prioritized.
- C++: Artificial intelligence developers use C++ for performance-tuning AI applications, especially those that require strong memory and hardware control. While Python is preferred for most AI development workflows, C++ is valuable when teams need to optimize inference, support robotics or computer vision systems, or work closely with GPU-accelerated libraries. When hiring AI developers for performance-sensitive AI projects, prioritize applicants who can explain when C++ is necessary and how they have used it to improve speed, efficiency, or system reliability.
- MATLAB: AI developers use MATLAB for simulation-heavy AI projects, embedded systems, signal processing, robotics, medical devices, and other engineering-focused applications. It can also be useful for built-in toolboxes, visual modeling, or workflows that interface with hardware integration layers like sensors and smart control systems. When hiring AI developers for MATLAB-based environments, prioritize applicants with experience using MATLAB to prototype models, validate systems, or support AI applications in technical or regulated industries.
Machine learning and deep learning frameworks: Additionally, artificial intelligence experts should be familiar with modern large language models (LLMs) and deep learning frameworks. This will ensure that they can deploy AI models at scale and serve enterprise-level projects.
- TensorFlow: A leading deep learning application suite, TensorFlow supports production AI workflows through tools like TensorFlow Serving, TensorFlow Lite (LiteRT), TensorFlow.js, TensorFlow Extended, and TensorBoard. When hiring artificial intelligence developers for applications that depend on large datasets or require complex neural networks, prioritize those with experience using TensorFlow to move models from development to production environments across cloud, mobile, browser, and edge deployments.
- PyTorch: Artificial Intelligence developers use PyTorch to build, train, evaluate, and refine machine learning and deep learning models. Its Pythonic structure and dynamic computation graphs make it especially useful for rapid experimentation, debugging, and research-to-production workflows. When hiring AI developers for projects involving LLMs, computer vision, NLP, or custom model development, applicants with experience using PyTorch are recommended.
- Keras: Artificial intelligence developers use Keras to design, train, and evaluate deep learning models through a high-level Python API. Its simplified interface makes it useful for rapid prototyping when teams need to build neural networks without writing extensive code. When hiring AI developers, applicants with Keras experience are well-suited to validate prototypes and test models before moving to production.
- Scikit-learn: If Keras is the standard choice for prototyping and evaluating deep learning models, scikit-learn serves a similar role for traditional machine learning. AI developers use scikit-learn to build and evaluate models for classification, regression, clustering, and dimensionality reduction. It is especially useful for structured datasets, predictive modeling, data preprocessing, feature engineering, and establishing baseline model performance before moving to more complex applications. When vetting AI developers for new machine learning initiatives, prioritize applicants with scikit-learn experience; they can compare, test, tune, and validate models.
Model integration and API development: AI developers use model and API integration skills to transform AI capabilities into functional application features. When choosing AI developers to deploy trained models, connect LLMs, or enhance existing programs with AI services, seek candidates with the following expertise:
- REST APIs: Artificial intelligence developers use REST APIs to modernize websites, tools, software, and applications with AI capabilities. REST APIs can help developers send inputs to a model, return outputs to users or systems, expose model functionality through endpoints, and connect AI features to existing software. When selecting AI developers for modernization or integration-centric projects, REST API experience connecting models, LLMs, or AI services to production applications is recommended.
- GraphQL: Artificial intelligence developers may use GraphQL to connect AI applications, LLMs, and agents to structured data across multiple systems through a single query layer. GraphQL can help reduce over-fetching, expose only the data an AI feature needs, and give applications a more flexible way to retrieve context from existing products, databases, or services. When hiring AI developers for data-rich or agentic AI applications, prioritize those who can explain how they have used GraphQL schemas, queries, and APIs to connect AI features to reliable business data.
- FastAPI: For Python-based applications that require high-performance integrations, FastAPI is a widely used framework. It’s especially useful for serving model predictions, validating inputs, generating API documentation, and supporting real-time or asynchronous AI-heavy workflows. If an initiative requires secure, reliable endpoints for model inference or production-ready AI application features, look for candidates with FastAPI experience.
- Flask: AI developers use Flask to build lightweight Python web applications and RESTful APIs that connect AI models to software, applications, and other web services. Flask is especially useful for quick prototyping, small-scale model serving, webhooks, and AI features that don’t rely on complex frameworks. For lightweight or prototype-driven AI initiatives, hiring developers well-versed in Flask is beneficial.
Data Handling and Databases: AI applications are only as reliable as the data they use, so AI developers must understand how to access, clean, structure, and retrieve data from the systems that support model training, inference, and application features. When hiring AI developers for data-centric AI projects, look for applicants who can work with structured and unstructured data, connect models to databases or data warehouses, and collaborate with data engineers to maintain data quality.
They typically hold proficiency in the following databases:
- SQL: SQL databases are commonly used for structured business data, reporting, analytics, and application records. If your project depends on transactional data, customer records, dashboards, or business intelligence workflows, look for artificial intelligence developers with strong SQL experience and the ability to query, join, clean, and validate structured datasets.
- NoSQL: NoSQL databases support flexible, semi-structured, or high-volume data that may not fit neatly into relational tables. If your AI project includes real-time applications, document data, user activity logs, chat histories, or rapidly changing data models, look for AI developers with experience working with NoSQL systems that support AI-powered features.
- Vector databases: Vector databases store embeddings that allow AI systems to compare meaning, retrieve relevant context, and power semantic search or retrieval-augmented generation. If your initiative involves LLMs, chatbots, recommendation systems, document search, or knowledge retrieval, prioritize applicants with vector database experience and an understanding of embeddings, similarity search, and retrieval workflows.
- Data warehouses and data lakes: Data warehouses and lakes support large-scale analytics, historical data storage, and model training datasets. If your project depends on business intelligence, predictive analytics, forecasting, or large volumes of structured and unstructured data, focus on developers with data warehouse or lake experience. Bonus points to those who emphasize collaborating with data engineers.
Cloud Computing: Cloud experience is essential when projects use large datasets, high-volume inference, model retraining, real-time analytics, or distributed application infrastructure. For cloud services support, hire AI developers well-versed in the following cloud platforms and deployment tools.
- AWS (Amazon Web Services) is commonly used for e-commerce personalization engines, customer service chatbots, fraud detection systems, logistics forecasting tools, healthcare data platforms, and enterprise document automation. Artificial intelligence developers experienced with AWS have typically worked with Amazon Bedrock, Amazon SageMaker, AWS Lambda, and Amazon S3. Skilled applicants can readily discuss cloud architecture decisions, security requirements, cost considerations, and model inference workflows.
- Microsoft Azure is commonly used for internal knowledge assistants, Microsoft 365-integrated copilots, enterprise search tools, customer support automation, financial reporting workflows, and the implementation of secure AI applications for regulated organizations. Developers experienced with Azure will have worked with Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI Service, Azure Machine Learning, Azure Functions, or Azure Kubernetes Service. Skilled applicants can discuss model deployment, RAG workflows, cloud architecture, access controls, monitoring, and how Azure services integrate with existing business systems.
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is often used in predictive analytics platforms, recommendation engines, marketing attribution models, demand forecasting systems, search or discovery tools, and data-heavy AI products that rely on large-scale analytics. AI developers experienced with GCP are typically familiar with Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, BigQuery, BigQuery ML, TensorFlow, Cloud Run functions, and Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE). Skilled applicants can discuss model deployment, RAG workflows, data pipelines, cloud architecture, IAM roles, monitoring, and how GCP services support scalable AI applications.
- Docker appears in a multitude of stacks as it is used for packaging AI APIs, deploying chatbot backends, standardizing local development environments, containerizing model-serving applications, and moving prototypes into reproducible staging or production environments. Applicants versed in Docker are likely to have experience with Docker’s container ecosystem and AI solutions and can readily discuss how containers support secure, efficient AI application development, testing, and deployment across project environments.
- Kubernetes is used to orchestrate containerized AI applications, including high-performance APIs, high-traffic recommendation engines, ride-share or delivery routing systems, and models running across distributed environments. AI developers experienced with Kubernetes should have experience managing namespaces and permissions, configuring autoscaling, and supporting model versioning or rollout strategies.
- CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery) experience is essential for any AI initiative that requires frequent testing and deployment with monitoring and rollback capabilities. AI developers with CI/CD experience implement model updates, handle API changes, run evaluation checks, and support integration with software delivery workflows. Seasoned developers have experience with automated testing, model or prompt versioning, code review, staging environments, rollback strategies, and human-in-the-loop approvals for AI-generated code or model updates.
- MLOps tooling is important for projects and organizations that require reproducible AI workflows and ongoing model maintenance. Artificial intelligence developers with MLOps expertise help teams manage model versions, automate pipelines, track performance, detect drift, and coordinate updates across development and production environments. Skilled applicants may have worked with tools like MLflow, Kubeflow, ZenML, Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, or Evidently.
LLMs and Generative AI Tools: LLM and generative AI expertise is needed for projects that use chatbots, internal knowledge assistants, content generation, document automation, semantic search, code generation, or any agentic workflows. When hiring AI developers for generative AI initiatives, look for candidates who understand how to connect models to active business systems, manage prompts and context, evaluate model outputs, and build safeguards to make AI applications useful and secure.
Testing, Monitoring, and Model Maintenance: Testing and monitoring are fundamental for AI applications. As new data is introduced to the system, model performance can change. When vetting AI developers, strong candidates will exhibit an understanding of model performance monitoring, drift detection, logging, evaluation workflows, retraining, and reliability checks. These skills help them identify degrading models both before release and after deployment.
AI-assisted Development and Tool Fluency: AI-assisted development tools help developers generate code, debug issues, review pull requests, and work more efficiently in AI-enhanced integrated development environments (IDEs). It’s important to note that these tools do not substitute professional judgment. When choosing an AI developer, pay close attention to how applicants treat these tools. Astute developers use them to generate and review code and documentation strategically while validating, debugging, and making architecture decisions with their own professional discernment.
Problem-solving: The best AI engineers combine their technical abilities with soft skills, specifically, the ability to evaluate and solve the complex problems that businesses face. Experts who can speak to experience in this area (e.g., designing or contributing to an AI strategy) are top candidates. These AI developers recognize the potential of AI technologies to bring unprecedented progress and massive cost savings to organizations.
Collaboration: AI initiatives touch stakeholders across a multitude of departments and practices, from interns to the C-suite. When considering AI developers, look for candidates who can collaborate and communicate effectively and clearly. Effective developers can adapt their explanations to each stakeholder’s priorities and level of technical understanding.
In summary, when hiring AI developers, look for seasoned professionals with several years of experience in your industry or across multiple sectors. Review the projects they have worked on and completed to confirm their fit. Many candidates list their portfolio projects on their résumés, though you may also request that they provide GitHub links with their application or in a cover letter. Publicly available portfolio projects highlight the experience and accomplishments of top AI engineers.
How Can You Identify the Ideal AI Developer for You?
AI engineers often focus on different specialization areas, and you should choose a developer whose skill set aligns with your project goals.

Individual candidates may have varying levels of expertise across each specialization area. Overall, a dedicated AI developer should possess most of these skills and be an expert in at least one area:
Specialization | Required Skills | Applications |
Mathematics and statistics |
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Machine learning |
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Data structures and algorithms |
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Data analysis |
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Databases |
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What is the difference between AI and ML developers?
One common challenge for hiring managers is understanding the difference between AI and ML engineers, especially since AI engineers need various ML skills and may specialize in this area. How do artificial intelligence versus machine learning developers compare? The two professions require similar training, aptitudes, and academic backgrounds (typically in statistics, mathematics, computer science, or engineering). Both of these types of experts may build ML models, analyze data, and build ML pipelines.
However, the role of an AI engineer is broader than that of an ML engineer. It can require the ability to build automated systems based on ML models, and AI engineers may be more involved in computer or data engineering tasks. Dedicated AI engineers may also be responsible for setting the direction of a corporation’s AI strategy and managing the AI infrastructure. Unless you are looking to hire machine learning engineers, target AI developers for hire who possess the specialization that matches your requirements.
Artificial Intelligence Developer Roles and Responsibilities
AI development work often spans multiple specializations, from application development and model integration to machine learning operations and data-heavy analytics systems. When selecting an AI developer, consider which responsibilities are central to the role you must fill and whether your project requires a generalist, a specialized AI engineer, or an AI developer with experience in a specific application area.
AI developers typically assist with the following roles and responsibilities:
Support machine learning engineering: Machine learning engineers typically design, train, evaluate, and optimize models. Artificial intelligence developers help turn those models into APIs, applications, workflows, and user-facing software features. When hiring AI developers for machine learning initiatives, prioritize applicants with strong communication skills, as they’ll need to translate model requirements into production-ready application features.
Support Data Engineering teams: Data engineers design, build, and maintain the data infrastructure that AI systems rely on. AI developers support this work by integrating AI tools into data workflows, automating repetitive tasks, and building applications that depend on the aforementioned data. When choosing artificial intelligence developers for data-centric projects, look for portfolio examples or project experience showing how applicants have connected pipeline outputs, APIs, or structured datasets to AI-powered features, internal tools, dashboards, or automated workflows.
Support Data Science initiatives: Data scientists analyze data, test hypotheses, develop models, and identify insights that guide AI strategy. AI developers support their work by turning models and insights into applications, dashboards, and automated workflows. Applicants with experience converting prototypes and analytical findings into reliable AI-powered tools are the gold standard when hiring AI developers for data science-centric initiatives.
Deliver business intelligence and analytics features: AI developers may help build AI-powered analytics systems to uncover trends and predict outcomes, enabling more informed business decisions.
The right candidate profile depends on the type of BI work your organization needs.
- For forecasting and predictive analytics, look for artificial intelligence developers with machine learning, statistical modeling, data preparation, and model evaluation experience.
- For dashboards and reporting automation, prioritize candidates with data visualization, SQL, data pipeline, and business intelligence platform experience.
- For AI-powered analytics products, look for developers who can integrate models into applications, connect outputs to business workflows, and explain results to non-technical stakeholders.
For hiring managers, business intelligence and analytics experience can be evaluated by how well applicants connect technical model outputs to measurable business decisions. The strongest developers can explain how predictive systems work, translate raw data and model outputs into accessible forecasts or dashboards, and make AI-driven insights usable for executives, analysts, and other non-technical business stakeholders.
Hire Dedicated AI Developers
For businesses that are integrating AI into their products, workflows, and customer experiences, choosing to hire a dedicated AI developer is an effective strategy. Whether you’re launching AI-powered features or refining your AI-driven solutions, this model ensures continuity through dependable access to an artificial intelligence engineer who is aligned with your long-term business goals.
This includes building machine learning models, integrating large language models, developing automated processes, and improving your data pipelines. When you hire dedicated artificial intelligence developers, you gain consistent support for AI initiatives that require long-term oversight and consistent knowledge transfer. Dedicated developers can help new team members understand your organization’s AI ecosystem while preserving institutional knowledge. They can also manage ongoing performance refinements and adapt models as new data becomes available, to ensure your AI systems stay relevant. As your AI strategy evolves, hiring a dedicated AI developer allows for faster iteration and better technical alignment at scale.
Hire Remote AI Developers
Sourcing remote AI engineers through a vetted, on-demand developer platform is a good option for startups, SMBs, and enterprise-level companies. With this model, the marketplace verifies the skill set of each local or offshore AI developer through testing and interviews.
Benefits include:
- Vetted, remote AI developers with your preferred experience, communication skills, and industry specializations.
- Full-time, dedicated AI engineer availability, with the option of hiring part-time or hourly candidates.
- Professional, junior, mid-level, or senior artificial intelligence developers ready to step in whenever you need additional support for your team, or special projects.
Hire Remote Offshore AI Developers
For companies facing budget constraints or hard-to-fill AI skill gaps, another remote strategy is to hire an offshore AI developer. Offshore artificial intelligence developers can provide access to specialized expertise across numerous AI sectors.
Benefits include:
- Access to specialized AI expertise across numerous sectors.
- Flexible support for intensive project sprints and cost-conscious scaling.
- Extended development coverage across time zones, including off-hours monitoring or lower-traffic upgrade windows.
Note: Establishing preferred time zones for remote teams will ensure smoother collaboration and effective real-time communication when you hire remote AI developers.
Cost to Hire an AI Developer
The cost of hiring an AI developer depends on your requirements, such as level of expertise (junior, mid-level, or senior), area of focus (generative AI, deep learning, computer vision), the type of project (architectural design, large-scale AI integration, performance optimization), and your location.
In the US, the base pay range for AI developers falls between $99,000 and $132,000 USD as of April 2025, according to Glassdoor. These numbers represent salaries as reported by Glassdoor’s proprietary machine learning model, which uses data from platform users and government sources to make pay predictions. Please note that actual pricing can vary greatly, with experienced AI developers and artificial intelligence engineers able to command higher pay.
How to Write an AI Developer Job Description for Your Project
You’ll need to be clear on your organization’s needs to attract skilled artificial intelligence developers with your job description. Some companies want engineers who can optimize their organization’s use of artificial intelligence and machine learning, while others look for experts to design and implement AI solutions from scratch. Consider whether you need an AI consultant to define a new strategy or a full-time staff member who will be deeply involved in all aspects of your corporate operations.
Next, write your job description with critical project details in mind. Describe the project’s budget, timeline, relevant business context, and existing software technologies. Identify the desired outcomes you want from the AI engineer’s work, and provide an overview of the development team the new employee will join. It is also helpful to specify whether you’re looking for on-site, hybrid, or remote AI engineers.
With a comprehensive job description complete, the next part of the hiring process is selecting high-quality candidates and interviewing them to assess their fit with your other team members.
What Are the Most Important AI Developer Interview Questions?
To conduct an effective interview, focus on the questions relevant to your business industry and those testing the applicant’s knowledge of the AI ecosystem and processes your AI project will use.
Regardless of project or industry needs, AI experts should be able to enunciate the core value provided by AI and how it works, as these skills are crucial to convincing stakeholders of the importance of AI solutions. The following examples provide a model for these types of questions and how you might expect experienced developers to approach interview answers:
How does AI work?
In general, AI can be defined as software that mimics human thinking and decision-making. It works by using actual or artificially created data to match questions to potential answers based on ML and statistical algorithms. These questions and answers include both those posed in natural language and a wider set of questions like determining the next location of a vehicle or recognizing objects in a video clip. In the past, AI was used to create expert systems by assembling all possible answers to all possible questions, a method with storage and time constraints. But new ML advances have allowed for a strategy that provides questions and answers that are not an exact match but a probabilistic pair, allowing AI to answer a broader range of questions—albeit with varying accuracy.
What are the main applications of AI?
While the range of AI capabilities is limited in specific ways compared to human intelligence, AI solutions are highly efficient in natural language processing (NLP), computer vision (CV), and classical simulation and optimization problems. AI can be used in a wide variety of applications, including sentiment analysis, predictive analytics, automatic speech recognition, and more. It can even help programmers write code. Experienced artificial intelligence developers should understand the best ways to help your organization optimize processes and build AI solutions based on your industry and products.
Why is AI important?
AI can potentially add up to a 14% GDP boost globally by 2030. It is already widely used by many businesses in healthcare, crime systems, knowledge synthesis, transportation, security, and finance. Artificial intelligence experts who will spearhead new AI initiatives should be able to speak to existing AI uses and benefits to convince stakeholders of its importance.
Since AI solutions vary across industries and project needs, it is vital to ask a developer how they plan to address your specific problems.
What type of model would you recommend for our business needs?
A dedicated AI engineer should choose an algorithm and appropriate tools based on a company’s specific problem and data. For instance, certain models (e.g., decision trees) are suitable for handling tabular data resembling spreadsheets, while others (e.g., deep neural networks) excel at processing unstructured data like images or audio.
How would you measure the performance of your AI solution?
Candidates must always keep in mind the objective of delivering tangible business value and establish a means of quantifying that value. Look for artificial intelligence developers who provide a specific plan for measuring the performance of machine learning models with business-relevant metrics. For instance, when predicting customers at risk of churn, it is essential to involve subject matter experts from the business domain. Their insights can help identify client segments that generate higher revenue, ensuring that the model excels at detecting such valuable customers. Merely detecting at-risk clients with low value would not prove useful in this scenario.
How will you ensure your model’s quality over time?
The performance of artificial intelligence and machine learning models can vary over time as the underlying context and circumstances for which the models were trained evolve. For example, a revenue prediction model may have experienced a significant increase in errors during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Candidates should outline a clear monitoring plan to track the performance of ML models over time and promptly identify any degradation in their performance.
After assessing a developer’s understanding of broader and project-specific AI topics, you should supplement these questions with additional ones that are specific to your desired AI specialization:
- 10 Essential Machine Learning Interview Questions and Answers
- 19 Essential Algorithm Interview Questions and Answers
- 10 Essential Data Analysis Interview Questions and Answers
- 76 Essential SQL Interview Questions and Answers
- 11 Essential Python Interview Questions and Answers
- 11 Essential Business Intelligence Interview Questions and Answers
There is no one-size-fits-all answer for how to prepare your interview questions, especially when hiring AI experts. Tailoring your topics to your specific project requirements will go a long way in ensuring you hire a quality artificial intelligence engineer.
Why Do Companies Hire AI Engineers?
AI will undoubtedly change the future. It has the potential to automate routine manual tasks and help with strategic decision-making, saving companies considerable money. AI may disrupt key industries like consumer marketing, finance, and healthcare: It can personalize the user experience for consumer products, power financial algorithms impacting markets and risk management, and improve healthcare diagnoses (e.g., AI-powered personal wellness assistants that monitor our health or computer vision systems that assist with surgery and disease diagnosis).
The increasing use of AI and the resulting demand for talent is clear, but what does an artificial intelligence engineer do, exactly? AI developers are the force behind a growing variety of real-world AI applications: task automation, chatbots, fraud detection, risk assessments, medical diagnoses, personalized marketing and customer services, image recognition, autonomous vehicles, customized learning experiences, video games, and more.
AI engineers stay at the forefront of research developments to advise organizations on AI strategy. They may create entire AI processes and strategies, oversee data collection and processing, perform statistical analysis of the data, build and update models, and integrate results into the company’s processes, applications, and systems.
With the increasing scope and accuracy of models and recent developments in NLP and CV, having a dedicated AI engineer on your team is pertinent, if not essential, to maintain competitive pricing and innovation, especially for startups looking to disrupt traditional markets.
- If you aren’t sure how AI fits into your business, hiring an experienced artificial intelligence developer in a consulting role can help you identify the systems that can be optimized with AI.
- If you already have ML engineers and data scientists on staff, an AI expert can maximize the efficiency of ML model integrations, AI strategy, and processes.
Securing the right AI engineer to address company goals is vital to an organization’s present and future success. With the selection criteria and practical hiring tips covered in this guide, you’ll be prepared to select a new employee for various AI specializations.
The technical content presented in this article was reviewed by Matias Aiskovich.
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