Stop Hiring the Wrong Engineers: The Critical Gap Between ML and AI Roles

The industry's systematic conflation of ML Engineers and AI Engineers creates hiring misalignment and project failure. Using a food supply chain analogy—farmers, distributors, chefs—the article reveals how these roles operate at distinct layers: ML Engineers build intelligence at scale, while AI Engineers deliver it to users. Clarity on this distinction is essential for effective hiring and team organization in the expanding AI era.