The hot new AI job every grad should get into, according to an AI chief product officer

In the evolving job landscape, traditional business operations roles are being overshadowed by a new opportunity: AI workflows. Jiaona Zhang, the chief product officer at Laurel, an AI-driven time management platform, emphasizes the significance of this emerging position. Laurel, which secured an impressive $100 million in Series C funding last year, is at the forefront of this trend. According to Zhang, the AI workflows role is essential for recent graduates seeking to carve out a niche in a workforce increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence. This position entails pinpointing processes within organizations that can benefit from AI enhancements and implementing those changes effectively. Zhang, who also teaches product management at Stanford and has a rich background with companies like WeWork, Airbnb, and Dropbox, believes this role is versatile enough to span multiple departments. For instance, in sales, a professional might develop automation tools for tasks like cold emailing or scheduling demo calls. Laurel recently hired a new graduate for this role, who successfully designed an AI agent that acts as a personal assistant for the sales team. "He has quickly become a standout performer within our company," Zhang remarked, noting that Laurel has since expanded its AI Ops team. Zhang advocates that every organization should consider adding AI workflows positions, dubbing it the successor to traditional business operations roles. Even if such positions aren't widely recognized yet, she encourages graduates to create these opportunities within their companies. By automating sales workflows using AI, individuals can amplify their contributions beyond their personal quotas, transforming how their teams operate. "Demonstrating how you've saved time and created leverage is a powerful way to showcase your value to potential employers," Zhang asserts. This month, the CEO of Box, a cloud services company, announced a similar role titled 'AI business automation engineer,' offering a salary of up to $183,000. He described this position as a modern take on internal engineering roles, suggesting that many companies will adopt variations of this in the near future. As AI continues to reshape industries and redefine entry-level roles, experts from various fields, including notable figures like Jensen Huang and Scott Galloway, are advising students on essential skills and subjects to study to remain competitive in the job market. Have you navigated the path to securing a coveted AI role? Reach out to share your experience.