Member of technical staff role gains popularity in AI hiring boom
Updated
Updated · MarketWatch · May 9
Member of technical staff role gains popularity in AI hiring boom
3 articles · Updated · MarketWatch · May 9
LinkedIn says professionals using the title rose 14.5% since January, while Anthropic hired former Workday CTO Peter Bailis into an MTS role focused on reinforcement learning.
Companies from AI labs to startups are using the flexible title to attract elite individual contributors as they compete for AI dominance and as traditional software businesses face disruption.
Rooted in Bell Labs and popularised by OpenAI, MTS has expanded from a research label into a broad, status-heavy title spanning AI research and engineering.
As AI talent costs skyrocket, are frontier labs creating a massive financial bubble destined to pop and reshape Silicon Valley?
Beyond the hype, is the MTS title a genuine return to Bell Labs innovation or just a clever recruiting tactic?
2026 AI Workforce Paradox: 73,000 Tech Layoffs Amid 1.3 Million New AI Jobs and the Rise of "New-Collar" Talent
Overview
In Q1 2026, the technology sector faced a paradox: while significant layoffs swept through companies due to rapid AI-driven restructuring and efficiency gains, the global demand for AI-enabled technical talent surged. As businesses integrated artificial intelligence into their operations, many traditional roles were eliminated, but new opportunities emerged, especially in AI-related positions. Over 1.3 million new AI-enabled jobs have been created globally since 2022, reflecting a major shift in workforce needs. This dynamic highlights how the adoption of AI is both streamlining existing processes and transforming the types of skills and roles that are most in demand.