It feels like AI is revolutionizing everything right now — from how we experience customer service to upending entire business models. But let’s not forget: behind every mind-blowing AI tool is a person who made it happen. A lot of persons, in fact. So, how do you find the right ones to build your AI team?
In a recent X-Team webinar, How to Hire for AI Skills, I had the chance to dive deep into this challenge with Vincent Lonij, technical lead at SkillsTrust; Hung Lee of Recruiting Brainfood; Sandi Besen, applied AI researcher at IBM), and Amit Sion, CRO at X-Team.
Check out the highlights of our conversation or watch the full session on demand. Spoiler alert: it’s not just about assessing specific technical skills.
What Are AI Skills, Really?
We kicked off the discussion by breaking down what “AI skills” really mean — and surprise, it's not all about coding.
Vincent set the stage by categorizing AI skills into three buckets: AI hard skills, AI tools, and AI literacy. While most people think AI skills are about building and training models, the real game-changer is AI literacy — knowing when and how to use AI to solve business problems. As Vincent put it, “You don’t need to be a technical whiz to leverage AI for business impact—you just need to use it smartly.”
This point hit home for me. We spend so much time focusing on the tech, but AI tools are only as powerful as the people deploying them. And that includes knowing when to leave them alone.
Adaptability Trumps Experience
Next, we tackled the evolving role of data scientists, which Sandi from IBM described as a world in flux. “It used to be segmented—data engineers, scientists, developers—but now those categories are shrinking,” she said. Today, data scientists are expected to do more than ever before, from building AI systems to putting them into production.
Her advice? Stop focusing on credentials and look for people who are adaptable, curious, and willing to tackle ambiguity. AI is moving too fast for traditional experiences to be your guiding star. Upskill your current team, and be on the lookout for individuals who can roll with the punches in this rapidly evolving space.
Hung concurred: “When the field is emergent, as it is with AI, you don’t prioritize years of experience. You look for curiosity and a willingness to experiment.” In other words, you need people who aren’t afraid to dive into the unknown and figure things out as they go. The perfect candidate isn’t necessarily the one with the most experience — it’s the one who’s excited to evolve.
And adding just one or two of those people can have an outsized impact, Amit noted, which is why X-Team focuses so much on finding candidates who will level up the entire team, not just fit into a specific role. “We’re not just filling seats; we’re finding people who will infuse AI thinking across the business—from HR to marketing to finance.”
Soft Skills Are the New Hard Skills
We also dove into something I’ve been pointing out for some time: the growing importance of soft skills. As AI takes over many of the more technical or repetitive tasks, creativity, problem-solving, and strategic thinking are becoming the key skills that separate the good from the great.
“It’s no longer just about building models,” Sandi said. “Now, it’s about thinking holistically—how different AI systems work together and what solutions they can create.”
Translation: Adaptability and big-picture thinking are just as critical as technical chops when you’re evaluating developers.
How to Find and Retain AI Talent
As AI transforms how we work, it’s creating opportunities for those who want to tackle more complex, strategic problems. But it also means you need people who can thrive in that new landscape, where ambiguity and fast-paced change are the norms.
Vincent’s advice was decidedly low-tech — especially for a guy building an HR tech startup:: “Meet your candidates. Actually talk to them.” Because, sure, AI can help automate parts of the hiring process, but finding someone who’s curious, adaptable, and passionate about the work? That still requires a human touch. A chat. A real conversation.
And remember, hiring for AI isn’t about replacing your team — it’s about finding people who can level up the team you already have. As Amit put it, “You don’t need to replace your current team. You need to find people who can make them stronger, more adaptable, and more innovative.”
This, to me, was the heart of the conversation: hiring for AI is about hiring people who make everyone around them better. People who not only understand AI but who can inspire your entire team to think bigger and be more innovative.
As we wrapped up the webinar, one thing became crystal clear: the future of AI in the workplace isn’t just about having the right AI tools — it’s still very much about having the right people. The engineers who will lead your business through this era of rapid change won’t just be the ones who can code. They’ll be the ones who are curious, adaptable, and unafraid to take risks.
Keep Moving Forward With X-Team’s AI Talent Solutions
The gap between demand and availability for AI skills is only getting wider. You need the help of an experienced AI talent partner like X-Team that’s ready to help you fill the gaps and capitalize on business opportunities.
When you partner with X-Team, you get a partner that will match you with highly skilled staff who easily integrate into your workflows and culture — delivering results from day one. You can focus on building your product — not sitting in interviews or scrambling to replace people. We’ll help you hire the talent you need to deliver your most ambitious projects on time and under budget.
Find out how X-Team can meet your on-demand engineering needs.
