How Do I Get
My First AI Job?
The experience catch-22 is real. You need experience to get hired, but you need a job to get experience.
Here's how to break the cycle with a portfolio-first strategy.
You're Ready to Work.
But Nobody Will Give You a Chance.
Every job wants 2+ years of AI experience. How do you get experience when nobody will hire you without it?
You've applied to 50+ roles and heard nothing back. Or worse, automated rejections within hours.
Watching people with fewer skills land AI jobs while your applications disappear into the void.
Your First AI Job Starts with the Right Portfolio.
The World-Class AI Engineer Cohort
The catch-22 has a solution: build proof of skills that makes experience requirements irrelevant. When you have production-ready projects that solve real problems, hiring managers overlook the missing experience.
Build Strategic Projects
2-3 projects that prove job-readiness
Position Your Story
Frame your background as a strength
Apply With Precision
Targeted outreach that gets responses
Meet Your Mentor
My aim has been the same for years: become a world-class AI engineer. Every career move I've made has been measured against that.
I started as a software tester on a $500/month internship in the Netherlands. Taught myself to code, learned to ship real systems, and worked my way to Senior Engineer at GitHub.
Then I left GitHub. I joined an AI research lab as Member of Technical Staff, where I currently build products for secure AI monitoring.
The cohort draws directly from my real experience so you can make progress fast.
I run this special cohort with only a few people because hands-on work with me is what it takes to bring you to become a world-class AI engineer.
Real Results
Vittor
AI Engineer
Built and deployed his portfolio piece, then landed the AI role
"The coaching played a huge part in my success. I focused on AI fundamentals, the certification path, and soft skills like professional writing. Having access to expert guidance gave me confidence during interviews and helped me feel I was on the right path.
I built my own platform (simple but functional) and deployed it on AWS. I used it in my portfolio and showcased it during interviews. The way complex topics were explained, especially the restaurant analogy for AI systems, really stuck with me. Focusing on doing the basics well was absolutely essential."
What You Will Get
8 Weekly Tuesday Sessions
3 hours each for 24 live hours total.
Project Scoping at Kickoff
We set the scope of what you'll ship and the milestones to get there before the live sessions start.
Code Reviews
Reviews of your code from Zen during the cohort.
Lifetime Demo Access
Every architecture demo is recorded and yours to keep.
Demo Day
You present what you built and get feedback from Zen, with a recording you can use in your portfolio.
12 Months Community Access
Included with the cohort.
Every Week Without a Strategy Is Another Week of Rejections
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get your first AI job?
With a focused portfolio strategy: 2-4 months for developers with relevant backgrounds, 4-6 months for career changers with programming skills. The timeline depends less on your starting point and more on building the right projects and applying strategically. Random applications to hundreds of jobs rarely work. Targeted positioning and outreach does.
How do I get an AI job with no professional AI experience?
Build proof that replaces experience requirements. A deployed RAG system that solves a real problem demonstrates more than a resume claiming 'familiar with LLMs.' Create 2-3 production-ready projects, document your process, and apply to roles where your background is an asset. Many companies specifically want people who bring diverse perspectives to AI work.
How do I compete for AI jobs against more experienced candidates?
You compete by being different, not by being more experienced. Most entry-level applicants have identical portfolios: same tutorials, same Kaggle datasets, same generic projects. Build something unique that shows business thinking, not just technical ability. A well-positioned junior candidate often beats a poorly-positioned senior one.
How much time will this take?
You'll spend 3 hours every Tuesday in the live session and roughly 3 hours of async work in between, for 8 weeks. The Tuesday session time is fixed.
I've signed up for cohorts before and dropped out. How is this different?
It probably isn't, and you should hold the money. Most cohort dropouts are people who couldn't articulate what they were shipping when they signed up. That's why the consult exists, and why I turn down most applications. If we get on the call and you can't tell me what you'll have shipped at the end of week 8, I'll point you to the AI Native Engineer community until you can.
I'm not pivoting careers. I want to build a product. Does this still work?
Yes, the cohort works for people shipping their first serious AI system whether the goal is to land a senior role or to launch a product. The shipped system serves both equally well.
Do I need prior AI experience?
You need to be able to code in Python or TypeScript. Complete beginners can follow the classroom they get access to before the cohort sessions to come in well-prepared.
What does it cost?
It's a four-figure investment that we discuss during the 30-minute consult, alongside whether the cohort is the right fit for your project.
Can I do this while working full-time?
Yes, most attendees do. The live session is one Tuesday a week and the async work fits around your existing schedule, as long as you can carve out roughly 6 hours a week.
I accept those who have the highest chance of success.
In the 30-minute call we discuss your goals and whether you are ready for the program.