Andrew Ng outlines six core skills for building and deploying AI applications

Andrew Ng's AI Engineering Skills Map ranks building and deploying AI applications as the top skill tier, spanning LLM foundations, data grounding, agentic systems, evaluation-driven development, production operations, and machine learning foundations.

He explains that AI outputs are less predictable than traditional software, so skilled engineers build iteratively, examining results and deciding next steps based on intermediate outcomes.

The skills map was derived from job postings, expert interviews, and survey responses.