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AI Engineering Hiring in India Surges 59.5% as Demand Spreads Beyond Metros

AI engineering job postings in India surged 59.5% year-on-year, outpacing the US, UK, France, and Germany. Growth is extending beyond traditional hubs like Bengaluru and Hyderabad into emerging cities such as Vijayawada. Demand is driven by applied AI skills like AI Agents and Azure AI Studio, especially among small and medium businesses. LinkedIn's Malai Lakshmanan urged engineers to focus on practical, hands-on AI capabilities to capture growing opportunities.

Key Points: AI Engineering Hiring in India Jumps 59.5% Beyond Metros

  • AI engineering hiring in India grows 59.5% YoY, outpacing US, UK, France, Germany
  • Growth extends beyond metros to cities like Vijayawada, up 45.5%
  • Fastest-growing AI skills include AI Agents, AI Productivity, Azure AI Studio
  • AI talent in manufacturing expands 4-fold to 2% of workforce
2 min read

AI engineering hiring in India jumps 59.5 pc as demand spreads beyond metros

AI engineering job postings in India surge 59.5% YoY, with growth extending to Vijayawada and Hyderabad. Report highlights rising demand for applied AI skills.

"For engineers, this is a clear signal to focus on building practical, hands-on capabilities and integrating AI into everyday workflows. - Malai Lakshmanan"

New Delhi, April 24

AI engineering job postings in India grew 59.5 per cent year‑on‑year, higher than even US, UK, France, and Germany, as demand expands beyond traditional hubs into emerging cities, a report said on Friday.

The report from LinkedIn said Bengaluru and Hyderabad remain leading metros for AI hiring, sustaining hiring momentum, while growth is extending into cities such as Vijayawada.

Cities saw strong growth in AI engineering hiring, with Hyderabad up 51 per cent and Vijayawada up 45.5 per cent year‑on‑year.

Fastest-growing AI skills amongst Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) in India include AI Agents, AI Productivity, Azure AI Studio reflecting rising demand for applied, execution-focussed capabilities, the report said.

In industries such as manufacturing, AI Agents and AI Prompting are emerging as critical skills to strengthen employability.

The growth in AI engineering hiring stemmed from rapid AI adoption across organisations of all sizes. Large enterprises continue to lead employing the highest share of AI talent as they invest in infrastructure, governance, and large-scale deployment, the report noted.

Meanwhile, smaller and mid-sized businesses are catching up quickly, serving as a bridge between early experimentation and enterprise-scale adoption.

AI talent supply is also expanding across industries as adoption deepens. In manufacturing, AI engineering talent has expanded 4-fold in India reaching 2 per cent of the workforce in 2025.

"We are seeing strong growth in applied AI skills such as AI agents and productivity tools, which are directly tied to real-world deployment," said Malai Lakshmanan, Head of LinkedIn India Engineering.

"For engineers, this is a clear signal to focus on building practical, hands-on capabilities and integrating AI into everyday workflows. As adoption accelerates across industries and organisations of all sizes, those who can move from experimentation to execution will be best positioned to capture the opportunity," Lakshmanan added.

Lakshmanan also urged engineers to tap into growing AI opportunities by focussing on developing skills in fast-growing areas such as AI tools, data, and applied problem-solving that employers increasingly demand.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

A
Arjun K
Impressive numbers! India is definitely leapfrogging in AI adoption. But I wonder if our education system is keeping pace with these applied skills like AI Agents. Hope engineering colleges update their curriculum fast, otherwise we'll have a skill gap despite the demand.
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Rohit L
Finally some good news for job seekers! 💪 My cousin just got placed in Hyderabad for an AI role. The LinkedIn report is spot on about practical skills—my cousin says companies want people who can build AI agents, not just talk theory. Good advice for freshers.
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Priya S
This is promising but a bit worrying too. If AI engineering hiring is growing this fast, what about other non-AI engineering roles? We need balanced growth, not just hype around AI. Also, small businesses might struggle to afford AI talent at current salary levels. Just saying.
M
Michael C
As someone working in Bangalore's tech scene, I can confirm the shift. Even startups in tier-2 cities are hiring AI engineers now. The 4-fold growth in manufacturing AI talent is also a game changer—industries are waking up to automation. But infrastructure in smaller cities needs to catch up for remote work to be sustainable.
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Nisha Z
Good to see India leading, but we need to be realistic. Many of these "AI jobs" might just be rebranded software engineering roles. Also, the article says SMBs are catching up—but can they afford cloud costs for Azure AI Studio? Let's hope this doesn't create another metro-centric bubble despite the "beyond metros" hype.

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