This article is a part of Poland Unpacked. Weekly intelligence for decision-makers
Artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally transforming the IT industry. Market participants stress that the sector is moving from a phase of media hype to one of tangible results, visible in hard data and rising investment.
Data presented by Just Join IT show that AI and machine-learning specialists are posting record salary increases – up to 15% year on year. Demand for AI-related skills is surging: in 2025, the number of job postings in the AI category increased more than fourfold.
AI in IT: Redefining the role of the developer
The transformation affects not only the job market but also the daily practice of software development. Representatives of Just Join IT note that, both in the near and more distant future, AI will become a standard work tool – just as essential as a development environment or version control system.
Developers will write less boilerplate code. Greater emphasis will be placed on verification, architectural design, and the security of code generated by AI.
Specialists who have learned to collaborate with generative AI tools rather than compete with them are not only commanding higher salaries but also enjoying greater job security.
"The biggest change: I no longer work alone with my own thoughts. As a tech lead, I make dozens of technical decisions every day. Now, with AI, I have a brainstorming partner available 24/7. I can test ideas or discuss approaches before involving the team. On top of that, I hand over much of the repetitive work – like setting up environments or generating boilerplate code – to an AI agent. This frees me up for priority tasks: work planning, architecture, and strategic decisions," says Dawid Szulim, technical lead at Just Join IT.
He emphasizes that AI has not diminished the developer’s role but has elevated it.
"There are fewer mechanical tasks now, and more scope for engineering thinking," he adds.
Good to know
Salaries for AI and Machine Learning specialists
According to Just Join IT (based on job postings published on the platform in 2025), the average salary in the AI/machine learning category was PLN 16,400 (EUR 3,840) per month on a standard employment contract (gross) and PLN 19,500 (EUR 4,560) on a B2B contract (net, invoiced, excluding VAT). These figures stand out well above the industry average.
Junior specialists started at PLN 8,300 (EUR 1,940) (employment contract) or PLN 9,700 (EUR 2,270) (B2B). Mid-level specialists earned PLN 17,400 (EUR 4,070) / PLN 21,700 (EUR 5,080), while seniors commanded PLN 23,500 (EUR 5,490) / PLN 27,000 (EUR 6,320).
Analysts noted very high financial expectations among the youngest AI specialists. Their salary expectations exceeded actual offers by more than 56% on employment contracts, indicating a significant overestimation of the value of beginner-level skills.
The industry climbs the “AI coding” ladder
Paweł Baraniewicz, Director of Engineering at Just Join IT, notes that collaboration between software developers and AI tools is maturing and moving through successive stages. He refers to the concept of “AI coding levels” described by Dan Shapiro:
- Level 1 – “autocomplete”: AI suggests the next line of code;
- Level 2: AI acts like a junior developer, writing larger chunks, such as functions;
- Level 3: the developer manages the AI – assigning tasks, reviewing outputs, approving or correcting them;
- Level 4: based on a specification, AI builds an entire solution, while a human verifies it through acceptance testing;
- Level 5: often referred to as the “dark factory,” where finished software is delivered without any human involvement.
“It sounds appealing, but it’s a classic black box with real risk. A recent case proves the point: in December, an Amazon AI agent that had been granted overly broad permissions by its operator autonomously deleted a production environment on Amazon Web Services, causing a 13-hour outage. Without human oversight, the machine made a decision that paralyzed part of the cloud infrastructure for 13 hours,” says Paweł Baraniewicz.
In his view, most IT teams today operate at levels two or three. In practice, this means that a developer’s work increasingly involves less manual coding and more precise problem definition, along with validating the results generated by AI.
“The profession of software developer isn’t disappearing – it’s being redefined. Developers are becoming operators, coordinators, and quality controllers. AI is an amplifier of human intelligence: a tool that makes it possible to build solutions faster and tackle problems that previously lacked the necessary resources,” Paweł Baraniewicz emphasizes.
New skills and roles in the IT industry
The development of artificial intelligence also brings new competency requirements. As Just Join IT points out, the ability to work with autonomous AI agents and to debug so-called model hallucinations is becoming increasingly important. The effectiveness of experienced specialists may rise significantly, which – if overall productivity is maintained – could reduce team sizes. At the same time, the market remains demanding for juniors, who are competing for just 5% of available job openings.
“Looking more broadly, we are still at an early stage of this transformation. The industry is evolving at a rapid pace, and with it the way software is built. This will bring new areas of responsibility – and most likely also roles that we are not yet able to clearly define today,” says Jarosław Dąbrowski, Managing Director at JetBrains Poland.
Expert's perspective
AI has raised the entry bar for junior talent
This shift is particularly visible in software development. AI has taken over many repetitive production tasks, accelerating the development process. At the same time, it has increased human responsibility for quality and security. In other words, AI tools have moved the developer’s role away from writing code and toward design, verification, and the critical evaluation of generated solutions.
This change requires software developers to have a deeper understanding of technical context. Employers expect programmers to understand code architecture and how systems interact with one another. They are also looking for the ability to view software development in a broader perspective, as writing code itself is increasingly handled by AI.
As a result, the entry threshold for junior candidates is rising as well. Employers are now prioritizing more mature technical skills and the ability to work effectively with artificial intelligence.
Juniors enter the workforce in a new reality
As a representative of JetBrains Poland points out, demand is already growing for developers who can supervise the use of AI – selecting the right tools, steering them effectively, and rigorously validating outputs against both technical standards and business objectives. New roles and specializations are emerging, including AI engineer, prompt engineer, and AI integration or implementation specialist.
“In response to the development of AI, further niches are also taking shape: multi-agent system orchestration, the design of AI testing environments, and AI security engineering. The ability to build so-called ‘agent teams’ is becoming critical – teams made up of people and AI agents, where humans precisely define requirements for specialized sub-agents. For juniors, this is an opportunity, because they are growing into a world where AI is a natural working tool. At the same time, seniors bring something machines cannot replace: years of experience,” says Jarosław Dąbrowski.
He emphasizes that the real transformation spans the entire software life cycle – from system design, through testing and deployment, to monitoring and maintenance – rather than being limited to simply “writing code faster.”
Key Takeaways
- The rise of AI is creating new specializations and roles, such as AI engineer, prompt engineer, and multi-agent teams. Developers are increasingly acting as coordinators and quality controllers, while artificial intelligence serves as an amplifier of human intelligence – accelerating software development and enabling projects that were previously difficult to deliver.
- Artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping developers’ day-to-day work. They spend less time writing code by hand and more time on architecture design, validating outputs, and making strategic decisions. This shifts the role to a higher level, requiring deeper engineering judgment and greater responsibility for system security.
- Working with AI tools delivers tangible benefits. Experienced professionals command higher pay and enjoy greater job stability, while junior candidates face a higher barrier to entry. The transformation of the IT market brings new competency requirements and is changing how development teams operate.