Female software engineer writing code on desktop computer with multiple screens setup in coworking office space (Courtesy of Getty Images Bank)
More South Korean information technology companies are seeking engineers with business capabilities as artificial intelligence is expected to handle development tasks.
Danggeun Market Inc., South Korea’s largest online flea market service provider, promoted a developer to a leader of its job-matching service, one of its core new growth businesses, according to industry sources on Sunday.
“We need someone who can prioritize business factors in a conflict between technical and business issues,” said an official at Danggeun, which operates Karrot app in overseas markets.
“Developers with entrepreneurial perspectives on products are a good fit for our company,” added the official of the SoftBank-backed unicorn.
The fast-growing AI technology is predicted to eliminate jobs for engineers without business capabilities or unique development skills.
About 84% of developers expected generative AI to replace some of their tasks, according to a report by Wanted Lab Inc., a local referral-based recruiting platform.
PRACTICAL PERFORMANCE
IT companies, which had looked for engineers only with new technology capabilities, preferred developers who could make an impact on their businesses.
“Important factors in the development sector are different now given the harsh investment environment,” said a tech industry source. “Companies are searching for talent who can quickly solve problems and make practical performance.”
Viva Republica Inc., the operator of South Korea’s fintech platform Toss, appointed several developers as product owners, who are responsible for the outcomes of projects.
Those developers actively came up with service plan ideas and led whole projects.
“Those engineers changed their roles realizing new interests or feeling a sense of accomplishment while working on new projects,” said an official at the unicorn backed by US-based venture capital firms — Goodwater Capital and Altos Ventures Management Inc.
Ably Corp., the operator of the fashion shopping app Ably, sent its delivery service developers to its fulfillment center in Seoul several times.
The visits allowed those engineers to understand the site better to streamline product demand forecasting and inventory management systems.
By Eun-Yi Ko
koko@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.
