AI watch: Tech middle managers stare at job blues

Being just a software engineer is not good enough, Nina Schick, an expert on artificial intelligence (AI) and founder and chief executive of Tamang Ventures, said last week at a packed conference in Bengaluru.

- AVIK DAS

"Level up," she said while explaining the importance of thinking about the next-generation skills.

In the midst of all the upskilling talk in the AI era, middle managers in the tech sector seem to be delicately placed, analysts believe. Quite like the entry-level software roles. "It's a matter of time before middle-management jobs will come under scrutiny, especially as AI agents get better at supervision and decision-making. A significant number of middle managers in the tech sector would need to be reskilled, repurposed or made redundant," says Nitin Bhatt, partner and technology sector leader at EY.

The fact that not only entry-level roles but also experienced positions can be impacted by automation and AI has sparked off uncertainty, nudging more people to reskill themselves.

According to industry executives, jobs of mid-level managers with about 20 years of experience—essentially people managers—are at risk. This cohort, they say, must not remain just a manager but be a techie in the new AI-led universe. The way software is being written, tested, developed, and deployed is changing fast.

"AI is not taking your job but people who use AI will," points out Praveen Neppalli Naga, chief technology officer, mobility and delivery, Uber. "There is a difference between an engineer using Cursor and one not using it. The scale of this change is big."