This isn't another story about AI replacing jobs. 

It's about something more disruptive: the emergence of new tech professionals who use AI to carry out the work of entire departments. The shift to AI-powered roles raises urgent questions about the future of digital experts and the skills they will need to acquire to stay relevant.

To understand this paradox, we talked to four team members who are seeing— and are going through—this change daily: Thijs Morlion (Team Lead), Quentin Braet (Engineering Lead), Niels Boey (Design Engineer), and Robrecht Meersman (Senior Software Engineer).

What are product engineers?

The concept of a "product engineer" or "design engineer" represents a more versatile professional who works beyond traditional boundaries. With AI filling knowledge gaps, these profiles no longer need to master every technical skill in depth. Instead, they need to understand the broader context and know how to leverage AI tools effectively.

"The concept of engineering is being challenged at the moment," observes Thijs. "Today, I'm building my internal tooling using AI agents. With expert knowledge, we can feed guidelines to those agents to maintain code quality while dramatically increasing efficiency." 

This transformation isn't about eliminating specific job functions but expanding capabilities. "We will need to break the walls between the roles that we have today and get out of the comfort zone," he explains. Success in this new landscape demands more than deep expertise in one area—it requires the ability to weave together insights and skills from multiple disciplines.

Some see this transformation primarily through the lens of efficiency, with smaller teams accomplishing what once required large specialised departments. As Quentin observes, "Some AI startups, such as Cursor, have gone from zero to 100 million revenue in 21 months with only 20 people. That's the future. Extremely small teams building complex software extremely fast."

Building products is much more efficient now forcing a fundamental restructuring of how tech teams operate. Organisations with large specialised departments are finding themselves at a disadvantage. As Robrecht explains, "That's just a lot of overhead that other companies had in the past. If you keep having it, you will become the most expensive partner possible for a client because others will become much smaller, just like the AI startup teams."

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Claude code, where do we go from here?

Some argue this could be a natural evolution of professional roles. The boundaries between disciplines are becoming more fluid, with professionals increasingly able to contribute across the entire product development lifecycle.

Others are sceptical about whether any team can succeed in this new paradigm. "You can do the same work but with fewer people; however, the people you require are more of a unicorn profile. It's not a fit for any engineer - or a designer," comments Robrecht.

These "unicorns" aren't just engineers who can do a bit of design or designers who can code. They're professionals who understand how to orchestrate AI tools to perform tasks that once required full-blown teams. Niels explains this based on his no-code tool experience: "Despite having no prior Flutter experience, I can now create Flutter components by leveraging AI and applying my existing iOS development knowledge."

The human element: Our lasting value proposition

One thing everyone agrees on is that despite technological advances, human expertise remains irreplaceable. Thijs states: "System thinking will become increasingly crucial in the future. This means understanding the complete picture—from market context to organisational dynamics—and analysing how different elements interact. It's about identifying which parts of the system need adjustment to ensure stability and optimal results."

AI lacks the comprehensive awareness of real-world dynamics. “It can't fully grasp the nuanced interactions between people or understand the complex relationship between users and products,” adds Thijs.

Clients understand and value our strategic expertise—our ability to combine technical skills with deep understanding of user experience and design to deliver holistic solutions. "Companies will continue to rely on our expertise, particularly in managing and refining AI-generated output," says Niels.

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Enhanced client value through AI integration

Far from replacing our expertise, AI integration amplifies the value we bring to our clients in three crucial ways:

‍1. Explore more options and solutions in less time

With AI handling more of the implementation work, we can provide clients with broader possibilities and multiple scenarios.

‍2. Deliver higher-quality results through AI-enhanced capabilities

Our deep familiarity with AI gives clients access to cutting-edge capabilities they might otherwise miss. As Quentin points out: " Much like how clients relied on our mobile expertise a decade ago, they now turn to us for guidance in leveraging AI effectively."

3. Adapt more quickly to changing requirements

The new paradigm makes us more adaptable to client needs. "AI tools help teams overcome resource limitations by filling knowledge gaps and expanding individual capabilities," points out Quentin.

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The team of the future 

So, what does the team of the future look like? What are the roles? What are the processes? 

The consensus points toward smaller, more versatile teams that will likely:

• Consist of versatile professionals who understand good product development principles across disciplines
• Bring in specialists on demand rather than permanently staffed on every project
• Focus on quality curation rather than manual production
• Reduce dependency on specific skill sets
• Gain more time for creative exploration.

AI-assisted coding, where developers leverage both traditional coding tools and artificial intelligence, represents not just a challenge but an opportunity for agencies willing to adapt. 

And we are already going through changes. 

By embracing AI tools, developing versatile talent, and focusing on the high-level expertise machines can't replicate, we can deliver more value to clients than ever. Our mission is to balance efficiency with quality, automation with human insight, and specialised knowledge with cross-functional capabilities. 

Are you seeing similar changes in your organisation? We'd love to hear your perspective and share more detailed insights about how we're navigating this transformation. Reach out to discuss how these changes affect your team and how to prepare for the new era of product development.

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