Why London’s AI engineers are worth £360,000+
Jack & Jill co-founder Saaras Mehan just hiked the minimum salary for engineers from £240,000 to £360,000. He says that's what London’s AI talent is worth.
Saaras Mehan, co-founder of AI recruitment startup Jack & Jill, has increased the minimum salary for engineers at the company from £240,000 to £360,000. Mehan believes that London's AI talent is worth the higher pay. Jack & Jill's co-founder and Mehan founded the company with the belief that "tiny teams of talent-dense individuals can outperform larger ones." The company now pays above-market compensation to build such a team capable of making significant impacts and doing their best work.
Over the last year, London's tech scene has transformed, attracting frontier labs like OpenAI and Anthropic, and some of the fastest-growing companies in the world, such as Cursor. These companies now focus on engineering talent, offering high salaries to attract top engineers. This shift in the market has increased engineering pay expectations in the UK by 10% and almost 20% in the US.
Mehan emphasizes that the biggest question for top engineers is the opportunity cost of their time. In addition to salary, the environment created by the company plays a significant role in attracting the best engineers. Mehan and his co-founder aim to assemble a group of exceptional engineers that other top individuals would want to join.
The presence of AI agents at work multiplies each person's impact, allowing companies to grow more with less. This shift in London's tech scene signifies the city's technological and economic ambition, making it a competitive location for the best engineers.
Written by urgent.news from City AM's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
