Salary is the number people anchor to first. It is rarely the number that decides whether an AI hire pays off.
In this conversation, Andrea sits down with Tesoro AI founder Darius Gant to break down what an AI hire actually costs once you look past the salary line. They cover why AI talent is scarce and priced accordingly, the three levers that move the price, how a seniority mismatch in either direction adds cost, what an unfilled role quietly drains from your existing team, and how currency risk plays out in nearshore hiring.
If you approve or influence engineering budgets, this is the fuller picture behind the number your finance team sees.
In this video:
- Why AI talent is scarce, and why real production experience commands a premium over pet projects
- The three levers behind the price: skill set, seniority, and hiring model
- Why a junior hire on ambiguous work, or a senior hire stuck on junior work, both cost more than they first appear
- The quiet cost of leaving a role open: roadmap slips, team overload, and burnout that rarely appears on payroll
- How currency shifts affect nearshore pay, and who feels the impact first
The infrastructure around the hire is a cost teams do not budget for. We handle compliance, payroll, and contracts, so you can bring on senior LATAM AI engineers without standing up your own entity abroad. We focus on the top 5% of LATAM AI engineers, and the same budget that buys a mid-level US hire can often reach senior capability nearshore.
Before you approve your next AI budget, it is worth pressure-testing the number against questions like these. If you want senior AI capability within a realistic budget, the link below starts a Fit Call. And tell us in the comments: what is the cost question your finance team asks first?
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