Masters, PhDs in focus at IITs as recruiters chase AI talent

As the older IITs—Bombay, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Madras, Delhi, Roorkee—began placement season on Sunday, 1 December, the fat salaries on offer were not only for BTech and computer science graduates, but equally for Masters and PhD profiles in chemistry, physics and mathematics who can work on complex modelling programs.

These problem solvers will then be responsible for working on artificial intelligence (AI) programs and algorithms. Modelling is a method in which companies use different permutation combinations to figure out the result of a particular scenario.

“Last year we hired just over 100 from IITs," Vijay Krishnan, chief technological officer of Palo Alto-based Turing, a data and training solutions partner to leading AI companies, said in an email response to Mint’s queries. “This coming year, we will probably come close to doubling last year's number."

The company will head for both older IITs and newer ones including Palakkad, Tirupathi, and Bhubaneswar to recruit from the campuses. To be sure, the second- and third-generation IITs, and the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), had begun placements in August-September to get a head start.

Also read | AI, algo trading companies set to steal the show at IIT placements

Krishnan told Mint that the firm will look at software developers, data scientists, machine learning specialists, and business analysts. “We are also looking for subject matter experts at the Masters and PhD level in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology..."

Mint reported on Friday that IITs will see a host of AI and high-frequency trading (HFT) firms and the regular consultants and manufacturing companies recruit students with skills in cognitive science, data scientists, quantitative strategists and developers, and AI-focused developers, researchers and application engineers.

Narayanan Ramaswamy, partner & leader for education and skill development practice, at consulting firm KPMG pointed out that the changing dynamics of industry, particularly evolution of AI, has changed the nature and requirement of jobs on offer for IIT students—for example, from product managers and software developers to AI professionals, design or modelling experts, and researchers.

“The companies face rapidly changing technical environment in the future (some can be disruptive—for instance, quantum computing can change industry completely)," Ramaswamy said. “So, companies are not only picking candidates with strong fundamentals, but also the ones with innovative, problem-solving skills and who are adaptable to the evolving environment."

In fact, the war to get more students who have research in their resume is palpable. “We would love for more fresh graduates to choose deep tech jobs over HFT and consulting. The deep tech option is much better for their long-term career development and insulates them against AI replacing their jobs in consultancies and arbitrage firms," said US-based Abacus AI, which is looking to hire during the IIT placements.

Also read | IIT graduates flock to edtech: A new career frontier with high salaries

The IITs scrambled to get recruiters last year (Batch of 2024) on the back of sluggish demand for new and expensive talent, while batches of 2022 and 2023 were lapped up in a jiffy. The batch of 2025 may get on to a more comfortable start, but the worry continues for the placement teams and the students, according to some placement teams from both old and new IITs that Mint spoke with.

Students getting hired are not necessarily assured of a long career with the recruiting company. An HFT firm mentioned in its job description that there will be three outcomes at the end of the first year for new hirings, according to a student sitting for placements in one of the oldest IITs.

“One will have to go for another round of interview for the post of a quant developer; the second option will be the role of a junior quant researcher," said this student, who spoke anonymously. “However, if neither works out, then the one-year old employee may face termination." The HFT is offering ₹60-66 lakh for this India-based role, the student added.

Placement executives across the older IITs say the compensation offered by some of the companies include—Graviton Research Capital ( ₹90 lakh) for India-based roles, and Da Vinci ( ₹2.2 crore) for international roles.

Japan's Sony Corp. has more than 10 roles on offer, including that of an AI engineer, with salaries up to 95,33,840 yen ( ₹53 lakh). Honda Motor Company’s R&D unit will hire an AI research engineer at 88,72,000 yen ( ₹49 lakh).

Also read | Mint Primer | IIT hiring: Will it be a rocky one for the batch of ’25?

Hedge fund WorldQuant ( ₹92 lakh), algo trading firms Databricks ( ₹45 lakh), NK Securities Research ( ₹80 lakh) and Squarepoint Capital ( ₹66 lakh) will target AI specialists. IT and consulting firm Accenture and American Express are offering around ₹21 lakh for similar skills.

Other top jobs on offer include roles at Goldman Sachs ( ₹50 lakh), Boston Consulting Group (BCG, ₹20-23 lakh), and at Microsoft's Hyderabad and Bengaluru offices ( ₹51 lakh).

Consulting firm BCG is now visiting IIT Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Guwahati, and Roorkee. “BCG is open to candidates from all profiles, including BTech and dual degrees," said Natarajan Sankar, managing director and partner and head of recruiting for BCG India in an emailed reply to Mint’s queries. “We are experiencing steady growth at BCG India, and our hiring plans will remain consistent with previous years as we continue to increase headcount in a sustainable manner."

Flipkart is looking for software developers and associate product managers for ₹26-32 lakh, while Samsung may pay ₹24-69 lakh for multiple profiles including those based in South Korea.

And read | IITs chase recruiters to avoid a repeat of last year's scramble