The AI Jobs Companies Are Fighting Over in 2025

The CEO of Icon recently offered a $50K referral bonus to anyone who could help find the top 0.1% AI engineers, highlighting just how valuable this specialty has become. To identify the most in-demand AI roles, Yijin Hardware examined a combination of key factors, including salary, hiring activity, growth, and visibility. The average base salary reveals how much companies are willing to invest in a skill, while job postings indicate where demand is strongest. Meanwhile, annual growth rates show how quickly interest in these roles is rising, and search volume reflects how much interest they’re generating. Time to hire reflects how quickly employers fill these positions, with shorter times pointing to greater urgency. By combining these metrics into a single score ranging from 1 to 99, the study highlights which AI roles offer the greatest value and opportunity heading into 2025.

You can find the full research findings by following this link.

Data scientists are the most in-demand AI talent with a composite score of 99. The average base salary reaches upwards of $117K a year, and with 11K job postings, many are looking to hire. This talent is also the most looked for online, with the most searches in this list, triple any other sector, at 1.8M searches.

Data engineers come in second as the most demanded talent, with the lowest barrier to entry. Double any other specialty, data engineering sees the highest number of job openings at 23.3K. This is further supported by a high search interest of 268K, the second highest among all roles, contributing to its final score of 80.

AI solutions Architects rank third with a total demand score of 66. This talent is needed greatly, with employers paying upwards of $166K a year for starting positions. The highest pay in the list, combined with a high growth rate of 35% makes this skill one of the most popular among employers.

AI product managers come in fourth, reflecting strong demand with the shortest hiring time of any role. On average, the position is filled in just 23 days, showing how urgently employers are looking for this talent. It also offers strong compensation, with a base salary of $128K per year.

Machine learning engineering rounds out the top five most in-demand AI roles. Interest has grown by 36% over the past year, as more companies look to move their AI projects from testing to production. With an average salary of $123K, it’s a role that’s not only growing fast but also pays well. Altogether, it earns a final score of 51.

AI consultants follow closely with a composite score of 48. They rank among the best-paid AI professionals, with an average salary of $136K, the third highest on the list. Demand for this role mirrors that of AI managers, with both seeing a 36% increase in job growth over the past year.

AI research scientists come in seventh as the most sought-after talent in the AI world. These professionals are searched for 24K times, and see a high overall yearly growth rate. They’re among the most highly paid, with compensation starting from $146K, second only to AI solutions architects.

MLOps engineers take eighth place with a total demand score of 44. Interest in this role has grown faster and higher than any other on the list, with demand nearly doubling in the past year as companies look to fill these positions. Its urgency is further reflected in an average base salary of $126K.

Robotics engineers rank ninth, following with a demand score of 32. These engineering positions are searched for 209K times, and with such high interest, hiring takes just 29 days. This hiring need is also reflected in employee compensation, with an average salary of $111K a year.

Reinforcement learning engineers finish off the list of the top-demanding AI talents. With a growth rate of 36%, these engineers are advancing at the same rate as Data scientists, which fills the number one spot. Combined with its accessibility, reinforcement learning engineers earn a final demand score of 31.