The next time you’re at a networking event, don’t be thrown if you spot new job titles on people’s name tags.
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AI companies aren’t just changing the way people work. They’re changing the kinds of roles being hired, including within their own companies.
The wider jobs marketplace is responding, with org charts morphing as a new class of jobs emerge.
In some cases, companies are creating new job titles altogether; in others, existing roles are seeing a resurgence in value — or a rebranding for the AI age.
The hiring sprees and the creation of new positions stand in stark contrast to a growing number of companies that have cited AI as the impetus for layoffs.
Job listings show that companies are looking for everything from one of the oldest pursuits (philosophy) to an entirely new category of jobs spawned by the generative AI models (vibe coders). Then, there’s the armies of engineers tasked with helping companies implement the technology effectively.
From the niche to the novel, meet the new and expanding class of AI jobs.
The AI Storyteller
AI and tech companies are looking for people who can help tell their stories, both in traditional communications and as new “evangelists.”
Anthropic is looking for a Claude Evangelist, someone who will be its “face” for the startup ecosystem. Adobe is hunting for its own “Business Architect & AI Evangelist.” Last year, Microsoft began publishing a print magazine, Signal.
Who is hiring: OpenAI and Anthropic, the latter of which has tripled the size of its communications team.
Skills required: For communications management roles, companies are looking for roughly a decade of work experience and deep relationships with reporters. Some roles consider experience in specialized areas, such as government work, a plus. For Anthropic’s Claude Evangelist role, the company is looking for a minimum of seven years in a combination of founder-builder startup roles and developer-facing jobs.
Salary: The average director of communications in the US makes $106,000, according to Indeed. In comparison, both Anthropic and OpenAI are hiring communications managers with starting salaries above $200,000. The “Claude Evangelist” role pays even more, starting at $240,000.
The Forward Deployed Engineer
The hottest job in AI predates OpenAI’s ChatGPT. To get a sense of the scale, there were about 19 times as many job postings for forward deployed engineers in January 2026 as in the year before, according to Indeed.
Popularized by Palantir in the 2010s, the role aims to give companies a tailored solution to their needs, rather than off-the-shelf software by embedding a specialized engineer directly with a customer.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp has compared the job to that of a seasoned waiter in a French restaurant, combining exquisite service and knowledge of the food (product).
To tap into the lucrative enterprise AI market, frontier model makers, hyperscalers, and everyone in between need these AI engineer-meet-consultant roles.
Who is hiring: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Amazon Web Services, and Palantir, among others.
Skills required: A bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or a related field, experience with multiple coding languages, experience with the particular company’s AI tools and models. Some companies want applicants who are willing to travel.
Salary: Depending on the role and company, starting salaries range from roughly $115,000 to $200,000 or more.
The AI Accelerator
While FDEs are focused on spurring external AI adoption, companies are increasingly creating roles to push their own coworkers to better utilize AI.
Stripe is hiring a “Forward Deployed AI Accelerator” to embed within its marketing team, aimed at getting their colleagues “to make AI the default mode for all work.” Box, whose CEO, Aaron Levie, has zealously pursued AI adoption, is hiring an “AI Business Automation Engineer” to integrate AI agents across the cloud management company.
Who is hiring: Stripe, Box, and other tech companies
Skills required: A deep level of AI knowledge and the ability to work with teams and spur AI-driven results specific to a team’s own goals. Box is specifically looking for someone who has “2-3+ years of hands-on engineering experience in IT or software engineering.”
Salary: The Stripe role’s base salary starts at $132,000. The Box job starts at $146,500.
The AI Philosopher
AI and tech companies have breathed new life into the job prospects of philosophy majors.
Anthropic has a resident philosopher, as does Google DeepMind. Both positions focus on making sure that AI models are broadly aligned with human values. Anthropic goes so far as to publish a Constitution for Claude, a detailed description of the values it wants its AI to have. Similar positions also include AI Ethicists.
While you shouldn’t expect companies to each be hiring armies of philosophers, the profession officially has a new pipeline into tech.
Skills required: Experience in AI ethics and safety.
Salary: Google DeepMind recently sought an emerging impacts manager in AI ethics and safety with a base salary of $212,000 to $231,000.
The AI Gig Worker
Some foundational jobs in AI have focused on gig-style work, especially on the human side of training AI models.
Companies like Scale AI and Mercor are major players in the space. This can involve anything from giving feedback on the AI models’ creative writing output to helping train translation skills — or even its comedy chops.
Traditional gig-work companies, including Uber, DoorDash, and Instawork, are also starting to offer jobs that pay users for uploading photos and/or videos of chores and other tasks that will be used to help train AI models.
Skills required: Depending on the specific job and knowledge category, Scale AI and Mercor require a bachelor’s Degree and a couple of years of professional experience. The barrier to entry is lower for the Uber and DoorDash recorded chores and tasks — think typical gig work qualifications.
Salary: Depending on experience, workers can earn anywhere from $15 to roughly $200 per hour.
The Vibecoder
Vibe coding isn’t just for fun anymore. The popularity and ease of use of generative AI coding tools have spurred a whole new category of jobs.
Vibe-coding platforms like Lovable are hiring professional vibe coders.
Other companies, both inside and outside tech, are asking for applicants with vibe coding experience. TikTok is looking for a product designer who can create prototypes using “with code … and AI tools.” YouTube wants an “AI Solution Architect” who is able “to bypass traditional, slow-moving development cycles by utilizing AI-assisted development (vibe-coding) and low code solutions.”
Skills required: Most jobs want some degree of technical proficiency. For example, YouTube’s role prefers applicants who are proficient in “Python, SQL, and API integrations.” The minimum requirements call for six years of work “in product or program management.”
Salary: Salaries vary widely, based on the exact nature of the role. The TikTok job starts at $108,000. The YouTube role starts at $149,000.
The AI Chief
AI is also changing the C-suite.
In July 2024, PwC announced it had appointed a “Chief AI Officer.” Similarly, Accenture announced its first chief responsible AI officer in 2024. In 2025, Raymond James created the role of “Principal AI Architect.”
It’s not just corporate America. Local governments are also hiring chief AI roles.
Salary: Glassdoor estimates the pay range between $265,000 to $494,000. In the government realm, Arkansas is hiring a “Chief AI Officer” with a starting salary of just over $117,000.
