Artificial intelligence is one of those buzzwords that seem to be everywhere these days. The businesses in the United Arab Emirates that are looking to adopt it for their daily operations are scattered from Dubai to Abu Dhabi. From making customer service more efficient and data analysis easier to introducing smarter products, the advantages seem endless, so much so that many business owners and HR managers begin the process of hiring their first-ever AI engineer.
However, the pursuit of an AI engineer without due diligence may result in wasted resources and frustration. The process of building and maintaining artificial intelligence is not similar to conventional software development, so you must consider a number of factors before you begin your search. Here is a list of five questions your leadership should be able to answer before they invest in a machine learning expert:
Hiring an AI engineer and asking them to handle whatever task seems to need AI is not an efficient approach.
AI engineers are specialists, and while they can offer a number of benefits to different industries, they should be hired with a specific purpose in mind. Ask your executive team the following three questions:
Until you have clear answers to these questions, avoid investing in AI recruitment services because you may not get a useful solution even if you find an expert. If you cannot even explain the task in detail, it is best to leave the hiring process for now.
Many organizations forget that AI relies on data, so if your data structure is inadequate, hiring an AI engineer may be an expensive mistake. If you do not have an organized system for your data storage or it is scattered throughout different databases, they will spend most of their time making sense of it rather than building predictive models. Before you invest in an AI engineer, check if there is already someone who can manage your data or you will need to hire a data engineer instead.
There is no universal agreement on what differentiates data scientists from AI engineers, and some employers even use the terms interchangeably. If you are unsure which category your desired specialist falls into, you may want to look at their responsibilities. While data scientists mostly rely on analyzing data and building machine learning models to identify patterns, AI engineers integrate those existing models into applications and code for new ones. If you want to launch a working product that utilizes artificial intelligence, an AI engineer should be your priority.
Apart from salary, there are several expenses that you will need to account for when you hire an AI engineer. The proper functioning and training of machine learning models require cloud computing resources that may be costly. Before you begin your search, your leadership should have a separate budget for software and AI infrastructure. In addition, make sure your current IT setup is secure and stable enough for AI implementation.
Depending on the emirate of your business, there may be regulations in place that concern personal data privacy and AI ethics. When implementing AI in the UAE, you must remember that customers’ data is sacred, and you must ensure it is handled securely. Ideally, your first AI engineer should have experience with data privacy regulations or be able to follow your legal team’s compliance instructions.
Finding qualified AI specialists for your company can be a challenging task, especially if you have limited recruitment experience. Not only are the potential candidates few and far between in the UAE, but you also need to conduct extensive technical assessments of their skills if you do not have someone qualified for the position already. The good news is that specialized AI recruiting companies are a great solution for businesses that want to reduce their risk of failure when they hire someone for the first time. The benefit of working with professional headhunters is that they have access to a network of vetted local and international AI talent.
In addition, you can shorten the hiring timeline because those agencies typically only present you with candidates who have the necessary qualifications for your project. When you collaborate with AI recruitment specialists, you also gain their insight on salary pricing and market conditions, which helps you find a balance between your needs and the candidate’s expectations. Overall, using the expertise of those companies significantly reduces your chances of making a costly mistake when you hire an AI engineer.
At TASC Outsourcing, we assist businesses throughout the United Arab Emirates in recruitment, staff augmentation, and strategic workforce planning so they can scale their technology division. Our recruitment experts will help you find and onboard the best AI specialists for your company, whether you need their assistance on a regular basis or for your first project. Get in touch with TASC Outsourcing today and take your company to the next level!
A lot depends on the quality of experience, education, and skill set of the candidate. Salaries for mid-career and senior-level AI engineers are highly competitive in the UAE, so you will also have to account for expenses related to cloud computing resources and infrastructure.
An experienced software developer can work with pre-trained AI models and integrate them into a program if you do not want to go through the time-consuming process of training a machine learning algorithm. However, if you want to utilize the benefits of artificial intelligence at your organization, a software developer may not have the expertise to do so.
It depends on the nature of your project. If you simply want to try out artificial intelligence, a contract-based engagement is a better option, but if it is a crucial element of your long-term goals, consider making the best hire for your company in the field of AI.
Since demand for these specialists is high, and most candidates will want to discuss the terms before accepting an offer, the recruitment timeline may take around six months to a year. That is why it is a good idea to work with professional recruiters who can help you shorten the search process.
Those companies help you get the most value for your investment by identifying the best applicants with relevant experience. In general, AI recruitment specialists have an extensive network of contacts and deal with a wide range of projects, so they understand how to evaluate candidates based on technical skill sets and real-world expertise.