As companies shift their AI budget focus from purchasing models to validating real-world returns, "site engineers"—those responsible for driving deployments within clients' systems—are becoming increasingly sought-after. TechCrunch reports that these talents are in high demand from model companies, consulting firms, and large corporations.

Demand shifts from pilot programs to expansion

Research by executive search firm Christian & Timbers shows that at the beginning of this year, only 5% to 10% of companies planned to hire for these positions, mostly for small-scale pilot programs. By the end of the second quarter, this figure had risen to 70%, with some large consulting and service firms saying that their teams needed to expand tenfold.

The organization projects that demand for on-site engineers could grow by 2,100% by the end of this year. The study is based on interviews with more than 250 executives from 180 companies, a survey of 80 Fortune 500 executives, and interviews with more than 300 relevant engineers.

Businesses are starting to ask about the returns on AI.

Jeff Christian, founder of Christian & Timbers, said that companies are now more focused on whether AI truly improves profits, rather than just completing the integration. The metric has shifted from "whether it can be launched" to "whether it can generate tens of millions of dollars in returns."

These returns may manifest as sales growth, or they may come from replacing parts of the financial planning process or reducing large-scale document processing jobs. As capital markets scrutinize companies' AI spending over the past two years more rigorously, companies that cannot demonstrate returns face greater pressure.

Limited supply leads leading companies to establish a presence.

Research estimates that there are currently about 17,000 resident engineers in the US market, but only about 2,000 of them truly possess industry experience, organizational skills, and practical AI application capabilities. The report argues that this group of talents is most capable of helping companies achieve quantifiable returns.

Palantir established this job system earlier and has already attracted a considerable number of talents. Meanwhile, OpenAI has set up a Deployment Company, and Anthropic is partnering with the service company Ode to promote the deployment of models within enterprises. Insurance, fintech, healthcare, and gaming companies are also accelerating their hiring.

Companies want to keep capabilities internal.

The report mentions that more and more companies are inclined to build their own on-site engineering teams instead of relying entirely on external service providers. One reason is that companies are unwilling to expose too much of their core business processes, to avoid giving the model provider access to key operational information in the future.

Ode CEO Chris Taylor stated that while many engineers can help companies promote existing AI tools, there are still very few who can truly create flagship AI product features. The report also points out that the long-term demand for these roles may change if automated agents mature further in the future.