Leland+ for AI Careers

AI Job Market Noise, Networking Strategies & Referrals

Examines challenges posed by imprecise AI job listings and teaches targeted networking practices, referral system insights, and rapport-building with insiders, plus an assignment to initiate connections and refine messaging.

Mastering AI Networking & Referrals

Guide to building meaningful relationships in the AI ecosystem, overcoming hiring noise, and securing referrals through thoughtful engagement and value-add interactions.

Creating Impactful Pre-Job Projects

Walkthrough of building and presenting portfolio pieces that resonate with AI employers, featuring tips on storytelling, technical demonstration, and networking through project sharing.

Introduction to Roles in AI — How It Differs from Traditional Tech

This reading introduces you to key roles like research engineer, forward deployed engineers, and different GTM jobs at AI companies. It includes an assignment designed to teach you how to better understand these roles.

Forward-Deployed Engineers & AI Services-Led Growth

Explores the FDE role in detail: client-facing integration, technical implementation, rapid prototyping, and serving as a bridge between engineering and GTM, supported by insights from a16z and industry examples. Assignment encourages role research and personal reflection.

Inside the Forward-Deployed Engineer Role

Interactive session dissecting the FDE role with real-world examples, skill mapping, and discussion on how FDEs accelerate AI adoption in enterprise environments.

Walk through to Roles in AI — How It Differs from Traditional Tech

This guided session introduces you to key roles like research engineer, forward deployed engineers, and different GTM jobs at AI companies and how to think about them.

Which AI job is the right fit for me?

Reading to understand roles and impact on things like work-life balance, focus time vs. meetings, and more. Includes a research assignment and table laying out different aspects of each job.

Navigating AI Salary Data & Market Trends

Walkthrough of key salary datasets and trends, explaining what drives compensation differences and how candidates can evaluate offers and align career goals with compensation realities.

Walk through of AI Company Landscape with Live Examples

In this live guided walkthrough, we'll walk through Bessemer's AI market map to understand the entire landscape of how these AI companies operate together, and talk about different considerations in taking jobs in different parts of the AI stack.

Which AI job is the right fit for me personally?

A guided walkthrough discussing how to view different jobs like research engineer, forward deployed engineers, and different GTM roles and which one might be a fit for you based on your skillset and experience.

Building Your AI Portfolio & Outside-In Projects

Detailed strategies for engineers, designers, marketers, and data scientists to craft projects showing value aligned with target companies. Includes best practices for packaging and sharing work and an action-oriented assignment.

Introduction to the AI Company Landscape & Assignment

This will introduce the AI jobs landscape and also share reading to help you dive deeper to understand the entire AI market. There is an assignment to research three companies of interest to better understand what companies in this space do.

Understanding AI Compensation Data 2025

Provides updated, accurate AI salary ranges across roles such as AI researcher, MLE, and FDE, based on Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, and recent industry reports including the NYT's superstar compensation story. Includes assignment to benchmark target roles against market pay.