Artificial intelligence is creating a new class of jobs on Wall Street as banks expand hiring for workers who can integrate AI systems into trading, compliance and other operations, according to an analysis of job postings by enterprise hiring data firm Draup.
AI-related job postings at banks including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Capital One rose 49% this year from 2025 to 139,819 listings, according to Draup data provided to CNBC.
Demand is growing particularly rapidly for skills related to AI agents, which can perform tasks with limited human intervention. References to “agent orchestration,” or designing agents that work together on a task, rose 1,721% this year, according to Draup’s analysis of public job postings and platforms including LinkedIn.
“This is arguably the hottest skill on Wall Street,” Draup CEO Vijay Swaminathan said in an interview. “It’s a massive opportunity. They need people who understand data and people who understand AI and where to put it.”
The hiring trend reflects a shift among financial institutions from deploying chatbots toward systems that can automate more complex workflows.
Banks are hiring so-called forward-deployed engineers, who combine technical expertise with knowledge of specific business functions. Their work can include integrating AI into trading desks, back-office operations, compliance functions and human resources.
Deploying AI in financial institutions can require several specialized agents, such as one that examines raw data, another that analyzes documents and another that checks regulatory requirements.
“There is a lot of complexity in an enterprise,” Swaminathan said. “Sometimes these complexities are visible, but many times they are hidden. It takes a long time even to automate a simple process.”
He said even an apparently straightforward process, such as automating employee vacation approvals, can involve numerous exceptions and other edge cases.
Agent orchestration is particularly relevant to forward-deployed engineers because they must determine which agents are required, how responsibilities should be divided among them and which technologies should be used, Swaminathan said. They must also determine when human oversight is necessary.
Demand is also increasing for technologies used to build AI agents and connect them to corporate data.
References to LangGraph, a framework for building multistep workflows, rose 679%, while mentions of LlamaIndex, which helps connect AI applications to data, increased 291%, according to Draup.
References to retrieval-augmented generation, or RAG, a technique that allows AI systems to retrieve information from company databases, rose 259%.
The hiring growth is not limited to technical positions. Employers are increasingly seeking workers with problem-solving, creativity and communication skills alongside technical expertise.
“Our analysis shows that there is a renewed focus on soft skills like problem solving, creativity, ability to ask tough questions, being assertive [when it comes to] deeper understanding of the processes,” Swaminathan said.
Banks are also hiring workers to oversee the risks associated with deploying AI systems.
References to “responsible AI” in job postings rose 657% this year, while mentions of AI governance and risk management increased 394% and 359%, respectively, according to Draup.
Governance-related skills accounted for more than 16,000 references in the firm’s data, nearly twice the roughly 8,400 references associated with training, deploying and operating AI models.
“There is a lot of focus on making sure that the third parties that we are using in these products are not going rogue from a cybersecurity standpoint,” Swaminathan said.
AI-related roles are also commanding higher pay than many other technology positions in finance. Generative AI managers had a median base salary of about $190,000, according to Draup.
Despite the compensation, finding workers with the combination of technical and industry expertise remains difficult, Swaminathan said.
Major banks are responding partly through internal reskilling programs designed to train existing developers and business specialists to work with AI systems.
The expansion of AI could also reshape existing jobs as banks automate more tasks. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has spoken of “huge redeployment plans” as AI takes over more work.
“I think the more we prioritize those soft skills with the right amount of technical skills, people will adapt and learn,” Swaminathan said. “It’s a very exciting time for the right talent.”
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