Understanding the AI Engineer Role - Nasser Qadri

About this episode

Nasser Qadri discusses his journey from social science to AI engineering and the evolving role of AI engineers.

In this talk, Nasser Qadri, AI Engineering Manager at Google, shares his unique career journey—from a PhD in Politics and International Relations to leading high-stakes AI initiatives. We explore the evolution of the AI Engineer role, the critical intersection of social science and machine learning, and how to build robust agentic workflows with engineering rigor.You’ll learn about:- Moving beyond simple API calls to implementing full-stack engineering principles and "Agent Ops."- How a background in qualitative research and statistics provides a unique "moral compass" for building ethical AI.- A strategic roadmap for transitioning from non-traditional backgrounds into elite AI engineering roles.- Using design thinking and personal "pain points" to drive meaningful technical innovation.- Why traditional ML and model distillation will remain vital as we move from generalist LLMs to specialized, high-speed agents.- How to navigate the complex landscape of AI frameworks and build depth in your technical stack.TIMECODES:00:00 Transitioning from Social Science to Software Engineering07:45 Applying Statistical Rigor to Generative AI Evaluation12:10…

People in this episode

Host: DataTalks.Club

Guest: Nasser Qadri

Topics covered

• AI Engineering
• Career Transition
• Ethical AI
• Machine Learning
• Design Thinking
• Technical Innovation

Keywords

• AI Engineer
• Career Journey
• Machine Learning
• Ethical AI
• Design Thinking
• Agent Ops
• Technical Innovation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Google

Books & works: DataTalks.Club

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