As AI adoption accelerates, so does the urgency to hire the right AI developer. For many companies, the challenge isn’t whether to invest in AI – but how to hire AI talent in a way that supports speed, flexibility, and long-term impact. Should you hire a full-time AI developer, bring in a freelance generative AI developer, or engage a project-based team?
The right answer depends on your goals, timelines, and internal capabilities.
AI developers are in high demand, and the available talent pool remains limited. At the same time, AI roles are highly specialized. A generative AI developer supporting marketing automation requires different expertise than an AI engineer focused on data infrastructure or model training.
Some organizations also face internal challenges, such as lacking the internal expertise to properly evaluate highly specialized technical skill sets or the ability to move quickly enough to keep pace with business priorities. Choosing the right hiring model for AI talent can reduce friction and spur faster progress.
Hiring a full-time AI developer makes sense for organizations embedding AI into their core business strategy. This model supports long-term ownership, deeper institutional knowledge, and tighter integration across teams.
Full-time hiring typically requires longer timelines and a greater upfront investment. It’s often best suited for companies with sustained AI needs, internal stakeholders ready to support development, and a clear roadmap for ongoing optimization.
For organizations that need to move quickly, hiring a freelance AI developer can be the most prudent path. Freelancers bring hands-on experience with specific tools, platforms, and use cases, making them well suited for rapid experimentation or short-term initiatives.
A freelance generative AI developer can help launch pilot programs, automate workflows, or support marketing and creative teams without adding long-term headcount. The key challenge is finding vetted talent who can deliver quickly and collaborate effectively with internal teams.
Project-based AI talent offers a scalable solution for organizations tackling clearly defined initiatives. This approach provides access to a coordinated team of AI developers and engineers aligned around specific goals, timelines, and deliverables.
It’s particularly effective for large digital transformation efforts, product launches, and enterprise AI integration, offering flexibility without sacrificing accountability or results.
Before you hire an AI developer, consider a few critical questions:
Many organizations take a blended approach, starting with freelance or project-based AI talent to validate use cases, then transitioning to making full-time hires as priorities and ROI become clearer.
Hiring AI talent requires an understanding of how AI is applied across marketing, creative, and technology teams, and how those functions turn strategy into deliverables that make a meaningful impact.
24 Seven helps companies of all sizes hire skilled AI developers and generative AI developers through flexible talent solutions designed to meet your most pressing business needs. We help you align the right AI talent solutions model to the right business objective, so work moves forward with clarity and confidence while reducing hiring risk.
Need to hire a freelance generative AI developer, a project-based AI team, or a full-time professional? Explore our AI talent solutions or contact us to learn more.