Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the tech world by storm. AI is advancing at a breakneck pace, influencing every facet of the workforce and the world.
The extent of disruption makes it impossible to know what the future holds. What we do know is that success in the AI age depends on engineers who leverage AI to work smarter, build faster, and stay ahead of the curve.
In other words? To succeed in this period of disruption, companies need AI-enabled engineers. Ahead, we break down what an AI-enabled development team looks like and why it matters.
What is an AI-enabled engineer?
An AI-enabled engineer is a software developer who uses AI tools to enhance productivity and code quality. This new type of engineer goes beyond traditional coding, acting as a strategic orchestrator who can manage multiple AI coding agents.
The key to being an AI-enabled engineer lies in working alongside AI tools to supercharge productivity, explains Howdy.com CTO Frank Licea.
"Instead of painstakingly building 'crystal castles,' AI-enabled engineers use AI to rapidly prototype and explore multiple technical approaches simultaneously," Licea says.
By leveraging AI tools, developers can focus on the big picture, says Rodrigo Sellustti, VP of Operations at Howdy.com.
"AI-enabled engineers delegate repetitive coding chores and boilerplate testing to intelligent assistants," Sellustti adds. This frees them to focus on high‑leverage design, architecture, and problem solving."
Why AI adoption in engineering matters
AI is reshaping software engineering at every level. Teams that don't embrace the new technology risk falling behind, Licea says.
"Teams that adopt AI can achieve exponentially higher productivity," Licea says."With the help of AI, two-person teams can accomplish work of teams 10 or 20 times their size."
In addition, lightning-fast, automated AI-powered service is something consumers already expect, Licea adds.
"Engineering teams that don't learn how to deploy AI systems risk losing customers to competitors," he says.
How to find and train AI engineers, the Howdy.com way
An AI-enabled engineer is made, not born. Ahead, we break down Howdy.com's process of hiring and training AI-enabled developers, step-by-step:
Step 1: Source Latin American talent
Howdy.com starts by sourcing the top 1% of software engineers in Latin America. To find these unicorn candidates, Howdy.com takes a non-traditional approach, Licea says.
"How do you find top talent? It's not by spamming people on LinkedIn," he says. "It's by being a living, breathing member of the community."
Howdy.com has a network of offices in Latin America — so-called "Howdy Houses" — that host local tech meetups, speaking events, and dinners. Consistent engagement turns prospects into applicants.
Step 2: Rigorous vetting
Less than 5% of applicants make it through Howdy.com's rigorous vetting process. The high-touch process includes knowledge assessments and role-specific skills evaluation.
But that's not all: Candidates are vetted for strength in soft skills like curiosity and willingness to learn, says Sellustti.
“Mastery of algorithms matters less in an AI-powered world," he says. "What differentiates outstanding engineers is their ability to learn, adapt, and think outside the box."
Step 3: AI training begins
Successful hires are equipped with top-tier equipment and custom-built AI tools. As part of their onboarding, engineers enter Howdy’s AI training process.
Howdy's AI training is an ever-evolving framework supported by proactive knowledge curation, Licea says.
"We have a dedicated team tracking industry trends and distributing these insights across engineering teams," Licea says.
Howdy.com's AI curriculum includes programs on using AI tools and integrating them into workflows.
"The courses are designed to get engineers to embrace AI," Sellustti says. "We want them to understand if they don't use AI, they're already behind."
Step 4: Continuous learning
Howdy promotes continuous learning by training the developers where they're at: On the job.
"We can't take developers from teams and sit them in a classroom and force them to read a curriculum — that's never going to work," Licea says. "It's better to immerse them in an environment where they live and breathe these concepts."
Howdy.com provides learning opportunities within existing work processes without disrupting current workflows. The goal is to make AI skill development feel natural and integrated, not like an additional burden on top of their existing work, Licea says.
"We're keeping them up to date unobtrusively," Licea. "Sometimes our devs don't even realize where they got these latest techniques because they're adopting them so seamlessly into their work."
Step 5: Community-based growth
Howdy supports growth through community-based learning, Licea emphasizes.
Howdy engineers meet regularly with an engineering mentor, a senior developer dedicated to their long-term success and career development. Backed with years of technical expertise and communication skills, engineering mentors support engineers through technological transitions and facilitate continued learning and skill development.
The results
"The results speak for themselves," Licea says. "The developers in our pilot AI program saw productivity improvements averaging 30%."
Knowledge is contagious. Many clients say Howdy developers have paved the way for AI adoption among their teammates.
"Because we keep them up to date, Howdy engineers end up being AI leaders on their teams," Licea says.
In a world where time-to-market is everything, AI-enabled engineers give you the edge. Book a demo to learn how Howdy can help you build an AI-enabled team tailored to your tech stack, product goals, and roadmap.
FAQs
What’s the difference between an AI engineer and an AI-enabled engineer? An AI engineer builds machine learning models and core AI systems. An AI-enabled engineer is a software developer who integrates existing AI tools into their work to boost productivity and impact.
Can I train my existing team instead of hiring new talent? Yes — we offer upskilling options and AI training modules for in-house teams.
How fast can I hire through Howdy? We place AI-enabled engineers in as little as seven days, depending on your role and requirements.
Do Howdy engineers work in my time zone? Yes. All our engineers are located in Latin America and work standard U.S. business hours.
What tools are your engineers trained on? We train developers across the most popular AI platforms, including GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, LangChain, Pinecone, and more. Book a demo to start building your AI-enabled development team today,
