Overqualified as a Backend Engineer, Underqualified as an AI Engineer.
It’s been a long and somewhat tiring year.
The layoffs from the past few AI years, the job market for software engineers, the saturation of certain roles in tech, and what sometimes feels like the metaphorical cancellation of junior and mid-level engineers from specific roles.
In the middle of all of this, I decided to transition from backend engineering into AI and agentic systems engineering.
Not because I stopped enjoying backend engineering.
AI systems were exciting to me for almost the same reason backend engineering was.
There is still a lot of engineering underneath.
Systems to build, infrastructure to think about, distributed components, architecture, reliability, failure modes, and a lot more surface area to have fun while pushing what is currently possible.
It also built nicely on a lot of the computer science knowledge and concepts I already enjoyed.
So I did what I've seen people do when transitioning from one role to another.
I researched.
I drafted a proper roadmap.
I got hands-on.
I made deliberate mistakes.
I studied properly.
Then I started building in public and sharing what I was learning.
Well, fortunately for me, some of that started getting attention.
I've gained a bit of social visibility from posts on LinkedIn about things I've learned and things I'm working on. I've had people check my profile and send connection requests, which honestly gets me geeked because some of them are people whose work I genuinely respect and would love to have conversations with around AI.
Maybe even work with someday.
But here's another dilemma.
Almost every AI engineer I've connected with or reached out to doesn't respond.
Which, to be fair, is understandable. Everyone is busy, and I'm probably just some random person on the internet asking for a conversation.
It is what it is.
But I have found something interesting about building in public.
Visibility doesn't always mean access.
People can see what you're doing, appreciate it, maybe even follow your work, without it necessarily leading to the conversations or opportunities you hoped would come from it.
And then there is the bigger dilemma.
I'm overqualified as a backend engineer and underqualified as an AI engineer.
I have years of professional backend engineering experience and have built and worked on production systems.
But when it comes to AI engineering roles, I still run into the requirement for production AI experience.
Which is funny because I have two products I'm currently building toward production. One is a developer tool, and the other is a product for neurodivergent people.
So I often find myself in this weird position.
I understand the systems.
I can discuss the architecture.
I can build them.
I can perform well technically.
But I still need production AI experience.
Which I need an opportunity to get.
A slightly frustrating loop if you think about it.
You need production AI experience to get the opportunity to gain production AI experience.
Haha.
Still, I am very confident in my ability to build and deliver AI products.
My years as a backend engineer have taught me to think beyond just making something work.
I think about how systems are designed, how they fail, how they scale, how they evolve, and how to avoid creating unnecessary technical debt while building something that can grow.
Over the past year, I've deliberately been adding AI and agentic systems engineering to that foundation.
I've built systems. I've studied the space. I've written about what I'm learning. I've also been working on my communication and soft skills alongside the technical side.
I even started applying for technical talks myself.
And honestly, I'm excited about where all of this goes.
I genuinely believe I'll eventually grow into an engineering leadership position. I also know that when I find the right organisation—one where I believe in the work and can continue growing—I want to stay and build for as long as I can.
I've seen a couple already. :D
But I guess the essence of what I'm saying is much simpler.
I need an opportunity.
I need someone to take a bet on me.
If you're an AI engineer reading this and think you can offer advice, perspective, or even just have an interesting conversation, I'd appreciate it.
If you're an HR or recruiter reading this, I have years of professional backend engineering experience and two AI products I'm actively building toward production.
Give me the opportunity, and I genuinely believe I'll be one of your best decisions this year.
If you're a founder or CTO, let's have a conversation about what you're building and how my skills can be valuable to your company.
If you're an Engineering Manager or Team Lead with an opening, let's talk about what I'll be working on. Test my knowledge in the domain. Challenge my understanding. See how quickly I can adapt.
Because at this point, that's really what I'm asking for.
A chance to prove myself.
So yes.
I'm actively job searching.
And I'll need all the help I can get.