When the CEO of a billion-dollar company offers to hire you into literally any position based on one skill set, you know something big is happening in the job market that you are aware of.
That is exactly what Wade Foster, CEO of Zapier, did recently. He publicly announced he would hire professionals with this specific expertise into any role at his company. Not just engineering roles. Any role.
This was not an isolated incident. Within days, tech leaders from companies like Quora were creating entirely new positions, while venture capitalists predicted a hiring wave across the industry.
What started as a single viral tweet has revealed the most sought-after professional in tech today. Here is how a role most people had never heard of became the career opportunity everyone’s talking about.
On June 22, Ryan Carson, a founder and entrepreneur, dropped a bombshell on X that made everyone stop scrolling about the hottest job in tech right now. The tweet went viral, collecting almost 500,000 views.
That tweet hit different because it named something many of us in the technology industry had been feeling but could not quite put into words. But what happened next proved just how spot on Carson’s job market prediction was.
Tech CEOs Are Fighting to Hire This Role
Wade Foster, Co-founder and CEO of Zapier, saw the tweet and immediately shared his own bold statement. He posted on LinkedIn, saying,
“We’ll hire you into ANY role at Zapier. Seriously, any role. 100% of our open jobs are up for grabs.”
The CEO of Zapier was not just making headlines. His post revealed something significant happening across the software industry.
“…we’re seeing this trend across our customer base. The best companies are embedding these professionals into every function. Part strategist, part builder. Fully fluent in automation.”
When a CEO offers to hire someone into literally any position at their company based on one skill set, that tells you everything about the current job market demand.
Marcos Aguayo, a developer, engineer, and also farmer, captured what many were thinking…
“This is the next big thing. I genuinely believe every company should have a few people focused on optimizing and automating their processes.”
Coming from someone who works both in technology and agriculture, Aguayo’s perspective carries weight. If process automation makes sense across industries as different as software development and farming, the potential reach becomes clear.
Major Tech Companies Are Creating New Positions
The momentum kept building. Adam D’Angelo, co-founder and CEO of Quora, added his voice to the conversation with a concrete hiring action.
“We are opening up a new role at Quora: a single engineer who will use AI to automate manual work across the company and increase employee productivity. I will work closely with this person.”
When two different tech CEOs from major companies are all talking about the same role within days of each other, it is not a coincidence. It is a career trend that is impossible to ignore.
Tanay Jaipuria, a venture capitalist, reinforced this sentiment, saying,
“I expect many more companies to start hiring for this role.”
From the investment community’s perspective, this validation carries significant weight. When VCs start predicting widespread adoption of a position, it usually means they are seeing the hiring demand signals across their portfolio companies.
So, what exactly is this role that has everyone talking?
The AI Automation Engineer.
Basically, think of automating workflows, streamlining processes, and deploying AI agents to scale intelligent decision-making.
While discussions continue about AI’s impact on employment, companies have recognized they need professionals who can effectively implement AI solutions. These specialists serve as the bridge between advanced AI models and practical business applications.
These technology professionals combine technical expertise with business understanding. They analyze company workflows and identify opportunities where AI tools can handle routine tasks, allowing human workers to focus on what actually matters to them.
Why This Role Is in Such High Demand
The numbers tell a compelling story. AI engineers are experiencing exceptional demand in 2025, with average salaries soaring to $206K, a huge $50K increase from the previous year.
More specifically, computer and information research scientists, a category that includes AI engineers, are projected to grow 23% from 2023 to 2033, much faster than the average for all occupations.
The demand is driven by the rapidly increasing adoption of AI tools across industries. In the United States, the percentage of all job postings demanding AI skills rose to 1.8 percent, up from 1.4 percent in 2023. Even more telling, by 2025, 65% of businesses are expected to adopt cloud-based AI tools.
For engineering roles specifically, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates engineering jobs will grow at a faster-than-average rate, adding 195,000 each year from 2023 to 2033. When you combine traditional automation expertise with AI capabilities, the demand becomes even more pronounced.
If you have ever sat through endless meetings about AI strategy that never seem to lead anywhere, you understand the frustration. These professionals are the people who actually make things happen in the workplace.
Companies from Silicon Valley startups to enterprises want to leverage AI capabilities, but many lack the internal expertise to implement these systems effectively. This creates a skills gap that these specialists fill by transforming AI concepts into measurable business improvements and productivity gains.
Career Requirements and Skills Needed
Entry into this field doesn’t require advanced academic credentials in computer science. Or years of hardcore software engineering experience.
Many successful professionals in this space come from diverse backgrounds, bringing fresh perspectives to automation challenges.
Success depends more on:
– Practical technical skills
– Problem-solving abilities
– Understanding where automation creates the most business value
– Knowledge of AI tools and platforms
-Process optimization experience
As AI technology becomes ubiquitous while implementation expertise remains scarce, professionals who can deliver working AI solutions have become essential to business operations. The job market for these specialists is expanding rapidly across every industry.
For every professional looking to transition into high-demand tech careers, this role represents one of the most promising opportunities in the 2025 job market.
