India posts over 45,000 job openings for AI engineers in February

Even as technology firms around the firms have been cutting jobs, and slowing down hiring, artificial intelligence (AI) engineers in India may still have opportunities. According to a report published by staffing firm Teamlease Digital, today, the country had 45,000 job openings for AI engineers in February 2023 alone. Data scientists, machine learning (ML) engineers were among the most sough-after among these openings.

Further, the report also said that AI professionals with eight years of experience in AI and allied fields can earn salaries ranging from ₹25-45 lakh per annum. For entry-level professionals, like data engineers, business intelligence (BI) analysts and data scientists, salaries can go up to ₹14 lakh per annum, while and an ML engineer may get up to ₹10 lakh. Freshers joining as DevOps engineers or data architects and database admins can earn up to ₹12 lakh respectively, the study said. 

To be sure, jobs in AI aren't coming from the tech industry alone. The report found that a wide variety of key job roles came from across major industries. In healthcare the job roles in demand includes, clinical data analyst, medical imaging specialist, health informatics analyst, among others. Similarly, in education, the demand is for edtech product manager, AI learning architect, AI curriculum developer, and chatbot developer.

The banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) industry too has a part to play, with fraud analyst, credit risk analyst, compliance specialist jobs being the most sought-after. The manufacturing industry and retail sector are also hiring individuals skilled in various AI-related tasks.

Lastly, the study noted that the answer to the existing digital skills talent gap in the country lies in reskilling and upskilling the existing workforce. "With automation and AI transforming industries across the board, having a basic understanding of AI and its applications can give individuals a competitive edge in the job market. Moreover, developing AI skills can lead to higher-paying job opportunities and help individuals stay relevant and adaptable in an ever-changing job landscape,” said Siva Prasad Nanduri, Chief Business Officer, TeamLease Digital.