Until just a few years ago, software engineering offered a predictable reliance on a few skills: you learned a language and the relevant frameworks, delivered on time, and evolved your skills to match market trends. AI had transformed all that.
Today’s software engineers can see their job descriptions change daily. And with vibe-coding, some even argue, controversially, that mastering a language is no longer an essential skill.
Saleem Shaik started in traditional software engineering and has seen the impact AI has had. In this interview in the TechTalks with TFN, he discusses how adaptability will always be at the core of a software engineer’s skillset, how the role has changed, and the mindset that engineers must adopt to remain relevant.
Watch full video below:
Adaptability should come long before AI
Like many, Shaik’s career started small. After graduating in computer science, in 2013, he joined Tech Mahindra as an associate software engineer. Working with the Java 7 and JSF frameworks, his job was modest, including fixing bugs and maintaining small features. His role grew over the next few years, and in 2016, he relocated to the UK, taking on a bigger role, becoming an onsite coordinator and development lead.
His experiences gave him an understanding of how systems evolve, technical debt accumulates, and incremental changes affect real users. “That experience gave me exposure to the entire software development life-cycle,” he said. “It changed my perspective on the development side of projects, where my focus became more user-centric.” This understanding of the interface between organisations, systems, and users helps engineers navigate the changes that come with new waves of technology.
That adaptability provides the foundation that supports new technologies, including AI. Shaik sees AI as another tool. The key skill for an engineer is knowing when it adds value. “If you think, ‘AI is very trendy, why can’t I develop something with AI and then push it to the users?’ That’s not going to work,” he said. This mentality is part of the reason there is a growing resistance to AI in the market. “People can see a lot of AI products, they are rapidly growing in the market,” he said. “That’s why people think AI is over-pushed.”
Shaik talks about how he has used AI in his current role. “We have used AI in monitoring systems more effectively,” he said. “Email notifications for common issues are now automated, freeing up our team to focus on the critical tasks.” By directly benefiting the end-user, it may be hype-free, but it shows the real value of AI.
While knowing how to use AI tools is no longer an option, the skills of knowing specifically when they are not needed may be an uncomfortable one to use in the current hype-driven climate. However, that judgement is likely to become more and more important.
Tools will change, responsibility will not
Shaik emphasises the importance of responsibility. “If you are trained a technology, then it’s your responsibility to use it when it is needed,” he said. With AI’s tendency to produce plausible, but not necessarily correct, answers and solutions, an engineer has to understand the deeper issues.
This means software engineers cannot be replaced by prompt engineers, and there is still a need for hands-on learning and experience. Shaik says developing in the role is not just about technical skills, “it’s about inspiring curiosity, providing guidance, and creating a safe environment for learning.”
And, just like AI’s errors, there should be space for engineers to get things wrong. “Engineers should also be allowed to make mistakes,” he told us, “experimentation and learning from failures are crucial for growth.” It is creating that culture of learning and judgement that will support growth alongside technological change. “The software engineer should be adopting new things that are coming along as a system or software evolves.”
Global engineering is not a level playing field
Shaik, coming from a South Asian background, is a realist about the imbalances that are in the global tech industry, some of which he attributes to cultural differences. “Because I’m from India, I can say Indian people are hard-working,” he told us. “When they do the hard work, they are spending time, and they are actually becoming highly skilled.”
Western engineering culture is, he says, stronger in management and innovation. While lower labour costs may have driven the growth in outsourcing, Shaik believes these complementary cultures have helped fuel multinational development as an option.
The global nature of software development provides opportunity, “I would say to every engineer who has an opportunity to get involved in an international project, just get involved,” Shaik advised. He also said that the opportunities went beyond engineering. “It gives them exposure and understanding of how people from different cultural backgrounds actually collaborate to achieve a single goal.”
Showing up in an automated future
Shaik illustrates a picture of software engineering being like almost any trade. Being skilled in using the tools of your trade is important, but perhaps more important is knowing when to use them and when not to use them.
By 2030, it’s likely much of the hype around AI will have dissipated, leaving a more realistic market where its appropriate use is better understood. By stressing the responsibility of software engineers, Shaik shows how we might get to that stage.
Despite the complexities and power that AI can offer, though, his advice is timeless, even for complex systems like machine learning and large-language models. Engage with the task, then understand it, or, as he puts it, “first, show up, and then, dig in.”
