Data, AI and tech job titles

Titles102Open roles9,340

102 titles · 9,340 open roles

Prompt Engineer job title trend since Apr 2011

Engineering · Fading · in 0% of HN hiring posts · no open roles tracked

First sighting

Writes and tests the instructions given to language models; the 2023 breakout title.

first seen Mar 2024, Hacker News

Why it exists

Written from the sources below

After ChatGPT, companies hired people to write and test the instructions given to language models, and prompt was runner-up for Oxford's 2023 word of the year. The title faded as models got better at reading intent and prompting became a skill every AI engineer and many employees are expected to have.

  1. NewsThe Hottest AI Job of 2023 Is Already ObsoleteThe Wall Street Journal, 2025 · backs: the fall of the standalone title
  2. DefinedPrompt engineeringWikipedia, 2026 · backs: prompt engineers were hired, then the title became less common; Oxford word of the year runner-up in 2023
No open postings with this title on the tracked job boards right now. Tracked companies

Lineage

Share of Hacker News hiring posts

4 posts since Apr 2011
November 2026 0 of 207 postings, 0%
3-month averageEach monthFirst sighting

Related titles

Emerging-Context EngineerDesigns what a model sees: retrieval, memory, tools and instructions assembled into the context window.0% of HN posts, 12 mo · 1 open · $112k median · new on job boardsEmerging-9%AI EngineerA software engineer who builds products on top of models rather than training them.6.4% of HN posts, 12 mo · 244 open · $240k median · since Jun 2011Established-22%Full Stack EngineerWorks across the browser, the API and the database; the default startup hire.16% of HN posts, 12 mo · 294 open · $196k median · since Apr 2011Established+12%Product EngineerA full-stack engineer who owns product decisions too, not just tickets.7.8% of HN posts, 12 mo · 109 open · $220k median · since May 2011Established-7%Founding EngineerOne of a startup's first engineers, usually with equity and a wide remit.5.9% of HN posts, 12 mo · 25 open · $194k median · since Jul 2011Established-10%Platform EngineerBuilds the internal platform other engineers deploy on: clusters, CI, paved roads.5.8% of HN posts, 12 mo · 206 open · $185k median · since Apr 2011
Title6 mo
Context EngineerDesigns what a model sees: retrieval, memory, tools and instructions assembled into the context window.Emerging ·0% of posts · 1 open · new on job boards-
AI EngineerA software engineer who builds products on top of models rather than training them.Emerging ·6.4% of posts · 244 open · since Jun 2011-9%
Full Stack EngineerWorks across the browser, the API and the database; the default startup hire.Established ·16% of posts · 294 open · since Apr 2011-22%
Product EngineerA full-stack engineer who owns product decisions too, not just tickets.Established ·7.8% of posts · 109 open · since May 2011+12%
Founding EngineerOne of a startup's first engineers, usually with equity and a wide remit.Established ·5.9% of posts · 25 open · since Jul 2011-7%
Platform EngineerBuilds the internal platform other engineers deploy on: clusters, CI, paved roads.Established ·5.8% of posts · 206 open · since Apr 2011-10%
About this title

Writes and tests the instructions given to language models; the 2023 breakout title.

Also counted: prompt engineering

First sighting
...for a developer who live and breath AI/LLM/Python * Prompt Engineer * Are you AI whisperer of prompting? Then we most definitely would want...
Faktory, Ask HN: Who is hiring? (March 2024)

No open posting for this title states a pay range yet, so no median is shown. Not a survey of what people earn.