New Delhi, April 24 (IANS) 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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