Krafton (259960.KS), the gaming company behind the "AI First" initiative, has launched an experimental hiring drive to recruit AI transformation (AX) engineers with no academic or career requirements whatsoever. The move reflects a growing recognition that companies need not only engineers who excel at model development but also those who can help non-development teams leverage AI. As practical, communication-oriented AI talent becomes increasingly scarce, competition among companies to secure such workers is intensifying.
According to the IT industry on the 27th, Krafton began focused recruitment of AI FDEs (Forward Deployed Engineers) on the 25th. FDEs are engineers primarily embedded in non-development organizations within a company to support AX initiatives. They are also referred to as "field-deployed engineers." This marks the first time Krafton has recruited FDEs, despite the company's aggressive push into AX — including establishing a deep learning division in 2022 and creating a Chief AI Officer (CAIO) position earlier this year. The FDEs will work alongside employees across Krafton's various divisions to identify tasks that can be automated with AI and develop solutions. The company aims to hire a double-digit number of FDEs.
What stands out is that Krafton has put the condition of "no degree or experience required" front and center. Even high school graduates without a separate degree can be hired as long as they demonstrate the ability to solve real-world industry problems using AI. Krafton has always classified educational background as an optional field on its application forms, but the company has reportedly never conducted a focused developer recruitment drive with no education or experience requirements like this before. Notably, Krafton plans to administer a job skills test to every single applicant who submits documents, in order to stay true to the spirit of the hiring initiative.
This recruitment is a "pilot hiring" program with a strongly experimental character. FDEs will work on three-month contracts, with extensions determined based on performance. "As the entire company has started using various AI tools, the need to improve work efficiency through AI has also grown," a Krafton official said. "Requests from frontline departments have increased, which led us to proceed with this recruitment." Krafton plans to offer FDEs monthly salaries and performance bonuses that exceed the starting pay for college-graduate developers.
Krafton's move aligns with a broader domestic and global trend in which "AI native" talent is gaining prominence. With the emergence of coding agents such as Claude Code and OpenAI Codex, development has become accessible to virtually anyone, and practical problem-solving skills using AI are now highly valued. The Financial Times reported in November last year that FDE is one of the most sought-after new professions in the AI era, noting that OpenAI and Anthropic are actively recruiting FDE engineers.
Korean companies share this perspective. According to an AI talent demand survey released this month by the Korean Standards Association, companies ranked "practical project and field application experience" (32.9%) as the top priority skill for AI talent. "Communication, attitude, and collaboration skills" (28.0%) followed in second place. "As talent evaluation criteria are changing, the need for AI utilization skills is growing not only in development but also in management and marketing roles," an industry official said. "Going forward, the ability to understand and utilize AI technology will become an increasingly important competitive advantage."
