Terminal Launches The First AI Fluency Standard for Hiring Global Engineering Talent

Software delivery has entered the AI native era. As AI coding has shifted the value of software engineering from code authoring to agentic orchestration, expectations of developers have shifted too. Traditional hiring based on skill matching is no longer enough to identify technical excellence. Organizations need to hire engineers with architectural context, product sense, and integrated AI workflows that actually improve results. That’s why Terminal is launching the first AI Fluency standard for hiring global engineering talent, helping companies to build beyond possible.

From Coders to Builders

Software engineers used to be assessed on their ability to handcraft solutions. When hiring, engineering managers and leaders sought to understand a developer’s knowledge of frameworks and coding languages alongside computer science fundamentals like algorithms and data structures.

Now, the game has changed: writing code is being commoditized by AI models. AI tools have shifted critical skills away from fine-grained language specifics to supercharged AI workflow orchestration. Today’s developer must be able to leverage parallel coding agents, work across languages and codebases, architect solutions, and deliver better results.

Terminal’s New AI Fluency Standard

Today, Terminal is launching the first AI fluency standard for hiring global software engineers. Our new framework provides vetting and transparency into how top software engineers leverage AI coding tools and agentic workflows to ship faster than ever.

We define AI fluency for software engineers as the mastery of AI code generation, agentic orchestration, and architectural governance. It is a software engineer’s ability to move beyond code to direct parallel agents, navigate unfamiliar languages, and maintain deep system ownership and product sense.

Utilizing our extensive experience in hiring thousands of high-performing engineers, and informed by the widely adopted AI standards set by leaders like Anthropic, we’ve developed a new rubric for identifying and hiring the top AI fluent talent.

We collect data directly from engineers through our structured candidate onboarding and live interview screening process to deeply understand how engineers are leveraging AI in their daily workflows. Our new AI fluency standard takes these inputs and classifies engineers into three AI fluency levels:  

• AI Assisted: Developers who still manually write their code and use AI for debugging, research, or suggestions.
• AI Enabled: Engineers who regularly use coding assistants like Claude or Cursor to move faster and improve output. 
• AI Native: Builders who lead with agentic delivery for the entire lifecycle, from planning and prototyping to coding and pull request reviews.

Note: For candidates who confirm that they do not use AI tooling for day-to-day development tasks, their AI fluency is flagged as Inexperienced. 

We also showcase real AI-powered products our engineers have built and shipped with shipped AI products highlights and badges. With this information, you can quickly find vetted candidates who have shipped AI-powered products, RAG systems, or AI models themselves.

A Refreshed Terminal Talent Hub Platform 

When you log into Talent Hub, you’ll be met with an updated layout and a fresh new design! In addition to updating the look and feel, we’ve added several features to bring our new AI Fluency standard to the forefront and highlight our candidates’ experience with AI:

• Updated candidate profiles detailing the candidate’s AI Fluency level
• AI work experience highlights and badges, helping you learn about the production-ready AI-powered products the candidate has shipped
• Updated filters and sorting in Explore Candidates to help you quickly find candidates with the right level of AI Fluency for your team

Flexible Solutions, Global Expertise

As the leader in global developer hiring, we’ve helped hundreds of fast-growing companies hire, contract, and employ thousands of engineers. Our talent platform offers instant access to senior, global talent at costs up to 60% less than U.S. benchmarks. We provide a comprehensive advantage for scaling modern teams:

• AI Fluent Talent: Access all AI fluent talent from individual engineers and product managers to designers and data scientists to build your entire AI-powered team. 
• Flexible Hiring Solutions: Create fully remote or co-located teams and easily scale from single hires to large groups of builders with our flexible solutions.
• Built-in Global Infrastructure: Terminal handles integrated payroll, benefits, and compliance in over 180 countries, so you can focus on building great products.
• Expert Guidance: Our dedicated in-market talent experts help you hire quickly and effectively at your speed and specification.

Terminal doesn’t just connect you with the top AI fluent talent. We offer an end-to-end hiring solution that helps you build beyond possible. From our smart hiring platform and flexible solutions to global infrastructure and expert support, we’ve got you covered. 

Ready to build beyond possible? Explore AI fluent candidates now.

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¹Anthropic defines AI fluency as the capacity to effectively, efficiently, ethically, and safely collaborate with AI systems. This definition originates from the 4D Framework for AI Fluency created by professors Joseph Feller and Rick Dakan in collaboration with Anthropic. 

Ringling College of Art and Design. (n.d.). AI Framework: Levels of Engagement Ringling College Library Guides.