AI creates 13 new jobs at this software company
What's the story
While many tech companies are letting employees go, a Silicon Valley software firm is doing the opposite. Box, a California-based enterprise software company, has created 13 new job categories as a result of artificial intelligence (AI). The company's growth comes from its dual role as both an AI product seller and user.
Growth strategy
Box's unique position in the AI landscape
Box's CEO Aaron Levie said their dual role in the AI space is driving their growth. "We ourselves are selling AI to our customers, so that's actually causing us to need to hire more people," he said. He also noted that as a user of AI, they are getting new forms of productivity that also necessitate hiring more people.
Job diversification
New job roles at Box
The new job roles created by Box cover a wide range of technical and operational functions. Some of the positions include AI architect, AI solutions manager, and senior director of AI, data and integration. Other notable additions are "forward deployed engineers," who help customers without the technical expertise to implement AI, and "AI business automation engineers," who assist colleagues in deploying AI to boost productivity.
AI evaluation
Evaluating AI models for optimal performance
Box has also hired employees to evaluate and benchmark AI models. One such employee is Sidharth Srinivasan, who measures the performance of AI models to help customers determine which ones are best suited for particular tasks. He said if he had told his past self that he was working on AI evals, he would have been surprised.
Industry perspective
The broader tech industry's AI-driven employment dynamics
The tech industry has been divided on AI and employment, with companies like Meta and Coinbase announcing redundancies at least in part due to AI-driven efficiency gains. However, Box presents a different picture. The demand for cybersecurity professionals has skyrocketed due to the amount of AI-generated code that needs human vetting. Google and other big companies are actively hiring engineers to help integrate AI into client systems.
Growth strategy
Box's cautious approach to hiring during the pandemic
Unlike many of its peers, Box did not go on a hiring spree during the pandemic years. Its headcount grew by 20% from 2019 to 2022, reaching some 2,500 employees. Several similar companies doubled or tripled their size during that period and then followed with major job cuts.
Layoff policy
Commitment to avoiding broad-scale layoffs
Box has maintained a consistent stance against large-scale redundancies. "We have never done any kind of broad-scale layoffs, and that remains a huge commitment of ours," Jessica Swank, the company's chief people officer told The New York Times. This restraint has positioned the company differently as AI becomes central to the software industry.
Tech adaptation
Integrating ChatGPT into Box's product suite
When OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, Levie recognized the technology's transformative potential and quickly integrated it into Box's product suite. The company now offers features that automate tasks like document drafting and contract review. Despite the arrival of sophisticated AI coding tools, Box's demand for software engineers has not decreased but actually increased due to these developments.