More than two-thirds of new AI Engineers and Forward Deployed Engineers are from the “zoomer” generation. Median salaries for these positions range from approximately $166,000 to $199,000 per year.
More than two-thirds of new AI Engineers and Forward Deployed Engineers are from the “zoomer” generation. Median salaries for these positions range from approximately $166,000 to $199,000 per year.
This is reported by CNBC.
This is the picture shown by a new LinkedIn study, "The AI Talent Divide," in which the company analyzed who is being hired for the 12 most common professions directly related to the creation and implementation of AI. The study shows that "zoomers" are especially actively entering new technical specialties. But among managers, millennials already dominate: they account for 60% of new Heads of AI.
The typical AI job in LinkedIn’s sample offers around $177,000 per year, while the median for non-AI jobs is $80,000. However, salaries vary by position. People in Head of AI or Director of AI positions earn more than Data Annotators, who earn less than the average non-AI worker.
Also, in 2023–2024, companies were more likely to search for Machine Learning Engineers than AI Engineers. But in 2025–2026, they switched places, with AI Engineer now the most common AI job in LinkedIn’s sample. However, it is assumed that employers are simply increasingly calling a position “AI Engineer” that might previously have been called “Machine Learning Engineer.” Together, these two jobs account for almost two-thirds of all AI vacancies.
But the position of Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) has already “broken out” of third place. This is an engineer at the interface of development and work with the client. He helps create or adapt AI solutions to the needs of a specific company and bring them to real use. In general, companies are increasingly looking for specialists who can implement AI into the business, support it and manage entire AI areas, rather than just train and maintain systems.
Previously, dev.ua wrote that the demand for Forward Deployed Engineers has increased by more than 700% in a year — from 643 to 5,330 vacancies in the US. Now, LinkedIn data shows that more than two-thirds of new FDEs are representatives of the “zoomer” generation.
