Q: Do I need to know PyTorch and TensorFlow for an AI Engineer role?

No. PyTorch and TensorFlow are tools for building and training neural networks — that's the machine learning side, not AI engineering. They show up in AI Engineer job descriptions because the role is new, and HR teams are writing descriptions for a profession they've never hired for. The result: they mix AI engineering up with classic AI (machine learning, ML engineering, deep learning), and tools from that world end up in the requirements.

Other terms to watch for: "applied machine learning," "MLOps," "neural network fine-tuning," "time series forecasting," "image recognition." Candidates see these, get scared off, and don't apply — even though these lines are usually just mistakes in the description. Read the responsibilities instead: if they say build, integrate, deploy — agents, RAG, LLM APIs — it's an AI engineering role. Apply, and clarify in the interview what the team actually needs.