Zomato is looking for algorithm engineers at IIT campuses. High-frequency trading companies are looking for experts in statistical process control with high scores in the quantitative field. Consulting companies want associate product managers. And conglomerates are looking for chemical engineers for their ESG activities.
Recruiters scouring the top engineering schools during this year's hiring season are avoiding students with mainstream academic profiles, choosing instead future engineers who have worked on complex projects. Blame AI.
“If we wanted to have permanent programmers and engineers, or be impressed by presentations, we would have relied on ChatGPT,” says a partner at a leading consultancy firm that has recruited over a dozen students from the Indian Institutes of Technology in Mumbai, Delhi, Kharagpur has adopted. and Kanpur.
“We look for students who can carry out complex projects and work in operations that require them to bring more than one skill set.”
The campus rental season started on December 1 this year.
Threat of automation
Internship agencies at the IITs said food delivery platform Zomato was looking for algorithm engineers and students with a combination of software engineering, machine learning and data science skills.
Ride-hailing and electric vehicle manufacturer Ola is targeting students familiar with autonomous technologies, artificial intelligence, machine learning, silicon design, vehicle engineering and research experience in cell development.
There is a demand for engineers who can take on more of an advisory role and who are also armed with digital skills that go beyond coding, recruiters say.
“Companies are figuring out which roles will be automated… they won't hire from IITs for profiles that will become redundant,” says Sunil Chemmankotil, CEO of staffing firm TeamLease Digital. “For algorithm engineers with work experience, job market candidates are offered Rs20-45 lakh.”
In comparison, engineers from level 2 and 3 colleges who code are paid Rs4-8 lakh per year.
Look for specialists
Quantitative companies, known to offer salaries exceeding Rs 1 crore, emphasize higher levels of mathematics and statistical modelling, say students who are part of the placement cells at the IITs.
But “scenario modeling is difficult and there are not many suitable for these roles,” says a student at IIT-Delhi.
High-frequency trading and quantitative companies use quantitative analysis and algorithms to predict global market movements. Such companies, many of which are based in India, the US, Singapore and Amsterdam, hire candidates who can analyze markets using mathematical and statistical models.
HFTs have attracted attention at a time when global markets are experiencing rapid booms and busts.
So far, at this year's IIT placements, companies including Quadeye, Graviton Research Capital, Maverick Derivatives, Da Vinci and Quantbox Research have also offered a number of roles outside India, including in the US, UK, Singapore and Hong Kong Kong.
Then there are companies looking at green energy profiles, for which they need chemical engineers with some experience in environmental, social and governance (ESG) projects.
“Electric vehicle makers, battery companies and conglomerates like Reliance Industries are coming to campus for their new energy business units,” said a person who is part of the placement team at one of the top three IITs.
Reliance Industries Ltd, for example, is offering about Rs15 lakh in annual remuneration for engineers who want to join its new power company, this person said.