As a profession, Workforce Planners and Recruiters have traditionally focused on headcounts and meeting hiring targets. However, there’s a much greater opportunity to add strategic value by considering the optimal mix of skills and experience within teams, especially in the context of building AI teams. In classical operations research, this approach is known as solving the “product mix problem,” where the right blend of inputs yields the best outcomes. I will discuss this concept in more detail at the upcoming Talent Intelligence Conference in Amsterdam, but I’d like to share some initial thoughts here.

One area that deserves more attention is the role of early-career professionals in setting up AI teams. AI teams’ skill composition and organizational structure are essential for aligning AI initiatives with overarching business objectives. A well-balanced team typically includes technical experts like data scientists working alongside analysts and domain specialists who contribute to developing AI solutions that generate real business value.

At Draup, we analyzed AI teams created within five enterprises (small sample) over the past two years. This analysis offers directional insights into how organizations structure these teams based on experience levels. A common trend is the focus on building a strong “mid-tier” layer, with employees typically possessing 6 to 11 years of experience, as this group is seen as critical to team stability and project success. Interestingly, there are growing opportunities for early-career professionals, particularly in AI deployment roles, where implementation skills are in high demand. Within the development phase, areas like synthetic data creation present promising entry points for early-career talent, offering them the chance to contribute meaningfully while building expertise in cutting-edge technologies.

Composition of AI Teams: – Directional View Only – Small Sample of five recently created teams within Enterprises

Source:  Draup Data Analysis

Summary:  Draup’s analysis of newly formed enterprise AI teams provides valuable and unique insights.  We are developing a new paper on the AI Team Pyramid, which we will be sharing soon.